Happy New Year! I’m very excited for this new decade. 2020 sounds so great. When I think of the year 2020, I think about vision. The start of a new year is always an opportunity to start fresh and with a new decade, I feel this is even more so.
Did you know that what we do now sets the stage for how our year will unfold?
It’s true. What we do now is a clear indicator of what our year will be like. So why not ensure this year will be an amazing year. It’s within our control so take the time to decide how you want things to be.
Before moving forward, you need to know where you have been so it’s important to review what has happened and use that to help you in creating your vision and setting intentions. Many people I know don’t actually do any sort of planning or goal setting. My response to that approach is if you don’t set any goals, how will you know what you are working towards and even more importantly, what you have accomplished?
One of the main reasons clients seek me out is to help them get clear on what they want. Amazingly, most people don’t know what they want so spending time to really gain clarity on what’s important to you will set you on the right path.
Here are seven goal-setting tips to help you create your vision for success.
- Create Space and Get Quiet: Set aside some quiet time for yourself or meet with a coach to really get clear on what’s important to you and why. Most people can come up with generic things that they want such as happiness, financial independence, good health, etc. but defining what each of those things means to you is important and will help provide the motivation required to make significant changes.
- Be Patient: If you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious, lacking structure or direction in either your job or your personal life, recognize that change requires time, so be kind to yourself and give yourself the space needed to make these changes.
- Know Your Values: Make sure you have a clear understanding of your values. Without a strong set of core values, passion is weak and commitment is soft. We are more likely to lead our lives from the outside in, rather than the inside out. When our values aren’t in focus, our energy is easily scattered. Core values provide a context for continuous growth and development that takes us toward our dreams.
- Visualize: Start visualizing or dreaming about what you want. Most of us don’t actually do this but rather narrow our focus to what we think is possible for fear of failure. Challenge yourself to think big. What would that look like?
- Create a Plan: Once you have your dreams, write them down in the present tense. To turn your vision into concrete goals, start breaking them down so they become manageable action steps. It may help to devise a weekly, monthly or quarterly plan to ensure it doesn’t become overwhelming.
- Go Deep: A picture is worth a thousand words. Create your own vision board to connect your goals deeply into your subconscious. Pictures that are meaningful for you and trigger strong emotions will help to solidify your goals and provide a visual reminder for you.
- Take Action: Finally, in order for your goals to turn into accomplishments, you need to take action and to be held accountable. Research indicates that having an accountability partner increases your chances of reaching your goals by 95%. Life is full of opportunities. Whatever stage you are at, there is always more to learn, more ways to grow and more to do.
If developing your vision for success in 2020 still seems daunting, consider hiring a coach to assist you with the visioning, planning and actioning. Simply contact Louise at louise@leadingandliving.ca or at 905-466-1903.