What you want in your life and where you want to go is basically the question to ask yourself. But before that you’re going to figure out where you are right now. On this ride of journey, what we call life, you’ve to figure out at what stage and stop you’re right now. You’re going to pull over right now metaphorically speaking so that you can figure out where you’re. And as we talk about these questions, you’re going to figure out where you want to go.
Everybody misses this step when it comes to setting goals or making resolutions or trying to create a pivot in your business or what you’re going to do in school or your career. You just keep flying down the highway of life. This will lead you to making decisions and resolutions about what you should do. But what you really want to know is what you want to do. Have you really stopped and taken time to realize what you really want? In order to make a set of directions, you must know what you’re at right now and where you want to go. It’s impossible for google maps to give you directions unless you put in where you’re and where you want to go.
6 simple questions to ask yourself at the end of the year that will help you plan a great year ahead. These simple questions will force you to reflect on the past 12 months and they also give you instant clarity about what you want in the coming year.
The first three questions will help you reflect on your past 12 months and the last three questions will help you know what you want to achieve in the next 12 months.
1. What are the highlights from the past year of your life?
So, you’re going to think back over the past 12 months and start collecting highlights from the past year. Don’t do this from your memory because you’ll not believe how much you’ve forgotten. Pull out your camera roll and calendar and go through the past 12 months week by week. Why are you watching this highlight is because you need to remind yourself that your life is way bigger than you think at this moment and way too often at the end of the year or in those moments when you’re trying to change, you’re in a temporary emotional state. And you’ve forgotten the full context of who you’re, what you have done.
2. What are the hardest aspects of these past 12 months of your life?
First of all, photos in the calendar are your best friend. Don’t get into big themes of what was hard instead get really specific and be reminded. Have your phones out and break this question in five different categories;
· Health and wellness
· Career, money and school
· Relationships, love and friendships
· Fun and happiness
· Purpose, spirituality and meeting
These questions will help you get richer data on what you’ve struggled with this year. You can find your struggles and they may get overlapped with your highlights. You may have achieved something in this year but you’ve also struggled to achieve that. When you make goals to improve based on what’s been hard, research studies have shown that those goals have then tied to something very personal called intrinsic motivation, which is the internal fuel that comes from deeply personal change.
3. What did you learn for yourself this year?
Again, you’ll be going through your photo calendar and answering this question with respect to these 5 categories, that will help you learn deeply. What have you learned in the area of health and wellness? Have you taken your health seriously? Have you learned something about the disease you’re having? What have you learned in the area of your career? Have you developed some new skills? Have you worked on developing more ideas for your business? What have you learned in the area of relationships? Have you worked on your mental health? Have you given time to your loved ones? And the list goes on. Make a list of something you’ve learned in all the areas of your life and what have you learned for yourself. This will help you gain confidence that “yes, I’ve done that” and also will help you figure out what you should learn next year.
4. What are the things you’re going to stop next year?
Now, we’re going to look at our goals and resolutions. We always look towards what we’re going to achieve the next year or what we’re going to start. But we don’t look at what we should stop doing next year. All of us have some habits that are not paying us and are bad habits. We should take a look at them and must cut them off from our lives. Saying “YES” to everyone is a must habit we all should stop doing anymore. We all should learn how to say “NO” to someone or something that we don’t want to do. Answer this question using all the 5 categories and they will give you more clarity.
5. What are the things you should continue doing next year?
Now what are the things that you are going to continue doing next year? They can be your good habits, right mindset and being grateful. For instance, I’ll keep using “LET THEM THEORY”. I’ll keep letting people show their emotional reactions and I’ll not blame myself for their attitude. I’ll let people be human. Let them do what they want and let them go and grow. I’ll keep romanticizing life and I’ll keep enjoying the little moments with my friends and family. I’ll keep being grateful for what I’ve. I’ll keep making my mental health a preference over anything. I’ll keep taking care of my body and mind. Now, you should answer this question keeping in mind all the 5 categories that will help you know what are the right habits and moments that you’ll be carrying with you the next year.
6. What are the things you’re going to start next year?
That’s a very interesting question. Again, answer this question keeping in mind the categories and you’ll be surprised that what are the things that you still have to learn and start doing the next year. I also want you all to remember that starting also includes starting something that you used to do before. You can start that again. Maybe you need to start listening to music again. Maybe you need to start making friends again. Maybe you need to prioritize your health again. Identify what you need to start doing. And make a little effort to start that right now.
Now that you know all these 6 questions that you need to ask yourself. I want all of you to take time and figure out where you are right now beyond your emotional state and where you want to go. This will help you track the path that you need to follow. This is a great exercise to do with your friends and family. And it will also help you because most of the time we take ourselves off granted and they remind us of what we’re capable of. It will make you more connected.
Right down all these answers to unearth your wisdom and to truly chart a course for yourself for the next year.
