Time to Look Ahead

As talk of the festive season and 2018 starts to become more common in your work and personal life, it’s a good idea to take stock of the progress you’ve made toward your various goals this year.

For many people, this can be a time for celebration and happy reflection. For others, this review period can be less pleasant. If you didn’t achieve all the goals that you set at the beginning of the year, you may feel like you have failed. No matter how many goals you have achieved, or what progress you may have made, now is the perfect time to recalibrate your thinking and address the year that was.

We generally think about goals in terms of completion. If something is left unfinished or unfulfilled, our self-esteem can take a hit, we can become disheartened and our motivation drops. If this thinking sounds familiar to you, it may be time to reframe how you view your own version of success.

If you’re stuck in the traditional end of year thinking pattern, try readjusting with the following:

• Think About your Big ‘Wins’ of the Year

The best thing about adjusting your thinking from goals alone to include ‘wins’ is that the scope of achievement can be expanded to take in so many more moments of personal advancement that may have happened throughout your year. For example:

• Did you develop your abilities as a leader?
• Did you develop new abilities and skills?
• Did you create or deepen new and exciting relationships?
• Did you make progress in your own self-development?

• Question Whether your Desires and Focus has Shifted

Life is dynamic and ever-changing. It is natural that within the time from January to now your primary focus and driving motivators may have changed. Acknowledge these potential changes and make time to determine your new focus and where the motivation behind it may lie.

• Start thinking positively about 2018

After you have evaluated where your focus may be heading into the new year, sit down and review your long-term goals. Write down again the goals you are currently working on and add new ones for 2018.

Remember, to be the most effective goals need to be SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and tangible.

Look Ahead, Congratulate Yourself

Periodic review is essential to the process of growth and goal achievement. However, the key is to acknowledge, appreciate, and celebrate what you did accomplish, and then to refocus on the goals that you still want to achieve. While this normally happens at the end of the year, it is always helpful to remember that time periods of achievement are different for everybody. Think positively about what you have achieved and look ahead to all you can possibly undertake in the New Year.