As this year hurtles at break-neck pace towards its finale, we vow that somehow, 'next year will be better'. But, hang on, is 'better' good enough? Don't we want it to be the best ever?
Like a fresh, blank page in a book, the New Year marks a brand new chapter in your life. Whether you’re on track to achieve bigger goals or wanting to make smaller changes, these tips will help you set next year up to be a 'ripper'.
1. Learn from the past and move on
If you’ve made a few mistakes this year, don’t worry, we all have! Take time to identify what went wrong, convert your precious life lessons into wisdom and move on. By extracting the lessons from mistakes or failures, you can let whatever was ‘wrong’ about that event go.
2.Take stock of where you are
Step back and give each area of your life an A – F grade. Review what’s working and what isn’t in your relationships, health, wealth/finances, career, home, environment, community, challenge/growth and spirituality/beliefs.
3.Consciously decide what to keep and what will be different
Having mentally reviewed each room in your ‘life house’, decide and make a list of what needs to change. If you do make a change, what will actually be different and how will that be better than what you have today?
4. Create a Next Year Vision
If next year was to be your best, what would you most like to achieve? By this time next year, what will be happening that isn’t happening today. Write down change keywords to decide where you’re going to invest time, energy and effort. Based on where you’re heading, what will it look, sound and feel like and who will be there with you?
5. Decide how you’ll make your vision a reality
This includes setting goals and developing strategies to bring your vision to life. Without these your vision will be based on wishful thinking – unlikely to ever be realised. Make concrete plans and hold yourself accountable for making change happen. Set yourself up for success by surrounding yourself with everything you need to make it happen.
6. Keep it simple
Unecessary complexity often creates drag on life redesign plans. Like barnacles on a boat, the more you add, the heavier it gets and the slower progress moves. Before you know it, your big plans have ground to a halt, bogged down in red tape. Pack light, only do what's necessary and remove any unecessary clutter.
7. Commit to the plan
Change without commitment is like a car without petrol – there's a limit to how far you'll get without it! What will it take to commit to the necessary action and stick with it for as long as it takes? Deciding what to say 'no' to will help create the necessary time and energy to make important life redesign changes happen.
8. Engage your support team
Even Hilary didn't conquer Everest alone. Behind every great achievement is a strong support team – those people who'll protect your back and cheer you on. Identify what challenges you're likely to face and who you need to keep you on track. How can you best help them? Remember, life is karmic – what you put out will come back to you many times over.
9. Celebrate the wins
In the quest to 'get things done', we often forget to celebrate our achievements big and small. Take time to feel the satisfaction of achieving each goal and notice what it was that helped you get there. The ‘high’ of achieving a win will keep you motivated for future success.
10. Embrace the small stuff
The greatest enjoyments in life are often hidden in the small events that happen every day. Unfortunately in today’s fast paced life, we are often too busy to even notice them. If you need ideas, check out 1,000 Awesome Things. Revel in life’s little pleasures and start your own book of Awesomes – you’ll be surprised how quickly you fill it.
How next year shapes up is well within your control. Great and not so great things will happen but that’s not as important as how you respond to them. So, go on, make the most of it, ‘let rip’ and love every moment for what the new year gives you.
Carpe diem
