At the end of each year, I like to review what I've achieved over the past 12 months, what's gone well, and what I'd rather forget. This exercise is a great way to do that. It also encourages you to think about what you'd like to get out of 2016. By thinking ahead, you gain a clear picture of what actions you need to put in place in order to achieve this year's goals. It also enables you to document your goals so you can refer back to them throughout the year. So, grab a notebook, or copy and paste the questions in to your phone, and get started with planning how you want 2016 to look.
‘Honouring 2015 and Kick Starting The New Year’ Exercise
The exercise involves you thinking about the answers to the below questions in great detail. Give yourself some time and write down your responses. Display them somewhere prominent, or save them on to your phone, and every month (put a reminder in your diary) refer back to what you've written. This will help you keep on-track, and remain clear on what you want to achieve over the next 12 months.
1. List all breakthroughs, accomplishments, milestones, joys, and other exciting stuff of your 2015.
2. List all breakdowns, failures, frustrations, missed opportunities, and other messy stuff of 2015.
3. What are at least 4-6 important lessons you learnt from 2015, which you want to take with you into 2016? e.g. when I get stuck or lonely, asking a friend for help gets me moving forward again.
4. What do you need to let go of / forgive yourself for that’s hanging over you from 2015?
5. If 2015 was a chapter in the book of your life, what would it be called?
6. Imagine it’s the end of 2016 and it’s been a year to remember - a year that you can’t quite believe has been possible. You are reflecting on all the breakthroughs, accomplishments, successes, and the way in which relationships in your life have become more fun, intimate, and loving. What's on the list of things that have happened?
7. What are you tolerating at the moment that you'd like to change or eliminate from your daily routine this year?
8. What joys and ordinary pleasures will you add to your schedule, starting today?
9. What financial goals do you have for 2016 to support your vision?
10. If 2016 was a chapter in the book of your life, what would it be called?
11. What is something you would do this year if you really didn’t care what other people thought of you?
12. If you could only do one BIG project in your lifetime, what would it be? How can you get started in 2016?
At the end of 2016, go through your answers to the above. Tick off the goals you've achieved, and repeat for 2017.
If you'd like to book in a coaching session to run through the above and set your goals for 2016, drop me an email and we can book in a free introductory session to discuss things further. I look forward to hearing from you.
Happy New Year! I wish you all the best for 2016.
Alice coaches those who want to change career but don’t know what they want to do instead. She offers Career Coaching designed to help graduates, early to mid-level career-changers, and parents returning to work gain a clear vision of what career is right for them, and how to achieve it. She is also an accredited Coach Supervisor, and host of The Career Change Diaries podcast.
