The new year is often a time for beginning new things. We make resolutions and set goals. Sometimes we make other new starts . . . a new assignment, a new project, a new job. It can be exciting, a little scary, and sometimes just downright hard work, to make a fresh start and the new year just naturally offers a place to start anew.
Title Photo by Viridiana Rivera
Beliefs Shape Reality
You are perfectly where you should be at this point in your life. How could it be otherwise? All of your beliefs, thoughts, and actions have conspired to bring you to this state. You are exactly what you are supposed to be. Now, where do you go from here? If you are considering setting some new goals or resolutions, may I suggest you include these? 1) A happiness goal, 2) a health goal, and 3) a relationship goal? Work in these three areas can have a major positive influence in all the domains of your life.
Perhaps you are facing some big changes or perhaps you desire to make some changes in your life. Before jumping headlong into the new year, it can be beneficial and freeing to reflect on the year we are finishing up. It is good to reflect on your accomplishments of the past year and to declare completed projects finished. We sometimes resist completing projects in our minds and letting them go. They may not be perfect yet, but if you’ve done all you are ever going to do, mark them off and let them go. Don’t spend any more energy on them – they’re finished. Say a good good-bye to 2024. Take some time and reflect on the past year. What have you accomplished? What have you learned? Here are some questions to help you reflect. (This is a great journaling exercise by the way.)
Accomplishment and Disappointment
“It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment.” ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero
What are your three greatest accomplishments this year?
How do you feel about them?
What did you learn from each of them?
What was your biggest triumph in 2024?
What was your biggest disappointment this year?
How do you feel about that?
What did you learn from it?
What Did You Learn?
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” ~ Michael Altshuler
What was the smartest decision you made in 2024?
Who are the people who had the most influence in your life this year?
What did you learn from them?
What was the biggest risk you took in 2024?
What did you learn from it?
What was the greatest act of service you performed in 2024?
What was the greatest lesson you learned in 2024?
Say a Good Good-bye
“Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” ~ Carl Bard
Are there any goals you have failed to make progress on this year? Why?
Are they still your goals? If not, why not drop them?
If you were to give this year a name, what would you call it? Why?
What else do you need to do or say to be complete with 2024?
As you review 2024 and plan for 2025, I hope this is your BEST year yet! Keep your answers to these questions and review them from time to time. Your thoughts about the past year can help guide your actions in the coming year to make 2025 your best year yet. That is embracing your Excelerated Life™!
Excelerated Contribution™ — achieving meaningful objectives while giving back more than you take — is one step in creating your Excelerated Life™, a life of well-being, meaning, and purpose.