Your Year in Review 2018

In this busy time of year, what if you were to pause for a few moments and rejoice in the good thingsthat you have experienced this year?

Why?

Stopping to recognize how far you have come is a powerful motivator to keep moving forward.

Reflecting on what you accomplished, however large or small, gives you a sense of pride and can serve as a confidence boost.

Reviewing what went well helps you decide what you may want to add more of, or reduce in the new year.

Your year in review can also help you clarify your 2019 goals and focus, seeing how and where they fit into the bigger picture of, and importance in your life.

How do you conduct your year in review?

To get started, grab a journal, a notebook or your computer
You can look at your life as a whole or conduct a separate review for different areas of your life including Career, relationships, family, recreation, finances, personal development, etc  –asking the same questions of each
Here are some Questions for you to get started:

1 – What did you accomplish, achieve or experience this year?

2 – For each of these, ask the following questions

  • What was most important about each (most meaningful or most valuable)?
  • Why were they most important?
  • What worked really well in each area?
  • Why do you think that was?  (Especially think about what YOU did/brought to the experience that enabled it to work so well)

What is most important for 2019?

  1. What do you want?  To achieve? To experience? To Do?
  2. What overall feeling/emotions would you like to bring with you into 2019 to help make it an amazing year for you?
  3. Why those feelings/emotions?  What is most important about them?
  4. In a few sentences or paragraphs, write your VISION for the year with that feeling/emotion in mind – imagining what your year could look or be like if you were to carry that feeling with you day to day

Happy Holidays!

Using What Works

How often do you see what is right with who you are and how you operate?

For so many of us, when we look at ourselves we often see what is wrong with us.  Things we wish we could be, have or do as we compare ourselves to others that have those qualities and skills or strengths we wish we had.

We wish we could…

  • be a planner when we are a last minute person
  • be an early riser when we are a night owl
  • be more outgoing at events/parties when we prefer the company of a few

Sure, some of these areas we can choose to work on, enhance and change – especially those that truly hinder us.  However, what I have found is…

If we look at what we DO have, who we already ARE, we will find that there is a lot that works WELL in our lives…..when we actually embrace it and use it.

Example 1: Time Management

I had a client wishing she was better at time management as she would cram all of her studies in the day or so before her exams (she was in a graduate program) and was so stressed by it. I asked how her grades were – they were great.  I asked how often she met deadlines – she always did.  Clearly something was working well here.  I then asked what is the real issue then?  It was the stress that showed up when she thought she shouldnot be cramming the day before, when she thought she should bea planner, study a little every day leading up to the exam.  When I asked how often that worked for her, she admitted that it didn’t.  For her, there is something about the energy that infuses her when she crammed.  

So what did she choose instead?  

When she began to accept and embrace her “gift” of how she gets things done,how she learns best, she reduced her stress.  We also went a step further and made sure, in her schedule, that she allowed the space in her day – the day before her exams – to cram. That slight change further reduced her stress in cramming, thus enhancing what already works for her!

Example 2: Going it Alone

Many clients wish they could go-it-alone in their job search process.  Just plowing through their day, applying for job after job like they see their friends/colleagues doing.  For many, having the support, company or accountability of others is what springs them to action.  Yet I hear, time and again, the suffering people experience when they do not build that support into their job search plan and suffer in silence (or worse, not engage in the process at all).  When they acknowledge their need for support partners, when they seek them out and make commitments with them, Then they thrive!

Think about your own life..

When are you wishing away a trait or behavior – seeing it as a cross to bear or curse when it actually might be a gift instead?

What are the giftsthat trait or behavior give you?

What would happen if you embraced them, fully allowing yourself to use what works?

How are you measuring progress?

Progress means I have reached my goal.

Does that statement ring true for you? 

If you are like many of my clients, that definition of progress may be actually hindering your achievement and accomplishment!  How can that be?

When you measure progress only as the achievement of a goal, what happens when you are not reaching your goal as quickly as you would like (or think you should)?  Often you stop.

Why is that?

Goals, and progress in general, often means the approaching of a reward and the reward usually means the completion of something.  When that reward is not met, we often stop trying, striving or taking any action. We give up, let go of or get distracted from our intent/goal.

What to do about that?

Change your definition of progress.

What if you were to see Progress as every, any and all effort that you put toward any endeavor or goal?

  • Everything you learn, discover and uncover about yourself, your likes, your wants, your values as you embark on your career discovery
  • Every person you speak with, and every attempt you make to connect with them as you build relationships and get connected to your community/network
  • Every word you write in your cover letter, every tweak you make to your LinkedInprofile
  • Every resumeyou write and submit, every interviewyou have, every thank you note you write as you embark on your job search
  • Every word you write, call you make, research you do, idea you have toward any and all of your personal and professional projects.

Progress can be, and truly is, every single tiny step you take along any journey you are on.  When you see it this way, you will realize just how much progress you have already made and can be making day to day.  It can inspire and motivate you to keep going and even have more ease while on your path.

What would change for YOU if you chose to measure progress this way?