Start the New Year Purposefully

A new year is upon us.  In fact, before we know it, this new year of 2016 will come to an end too.  Let’s do things differently this new year.  Challenge yourself to see if you can start the year differently not with the dreaded New Year Resolution but with purposeful and deliberate vision of what and how you would like to see the year unfold for you.  A vision of what you would like to see the end of 2016 as a reward.  A reward that is both tangible and intangible.

I would add that some goals should be avoided such as:

• Losing Weight
• Making more money
• Buying a new car
• Exercise more
• Etc

The reason for this is that the goals above are “superficial”.  It does not extend to your values or beliefs and therefore cannot be sustained.  Goals that are purposeful and that bring out a new need or desire are those that will be achieved.  Goals that are deep in it’s purpose are motivational for you to persevere and succeed.  Therefore think about goals that are broader and meaningful for you.  For example:

• Healthy lifestyle in order for you to have great quality of life and to fully enjoy your time with family and friends.  In order for you to live a healthy lifestyle, you need to be mindful of what you eat as well as exercise.  This will lead you to action plans which will include what form of exercise you will take up, how much time you will dedicate to it and so on.  You can also include eating healthier, stop smoking and so on, as part of that healthier lifestyle.
• Financial Management or Responsibilities could be a goal and it should have aspect not just around the promotion that you want, earning more money but also around what you could do to bless others with what you have.  You don’t need to give away all your wealth, just start with what you interest or passion drives you.

Now that we have the general idea, let’s put them into a structure:

1. Set out clearly your mission or purpose for the year.
2. Have clear goals with Step by step action plan and make it fun
3. Monitor and Adjust to suit the situation
4. Review and Reward
5. Cheer on
6. Don’t steal from yourself
7. Cherish the moment

Over the course of the next few weeks, I will be covering each area in greater detail.  Start by starting.  Think about the following:

• What are you passionate about?
• What don’t you enjoy doing that you would like to stop?
• What do you want to learn?
• Where do you want to contribute more?
• What is the unique impact that you can make?
• What changes to do you want to make?

Challenge yourself to then imagine the bigger picture.  Is there one?  If there is one, then break it down to see what you can achieve this year.  It is always fun and exciting to think about new things to do and experience at the start of the year.  Now think about how you are going to sustain that and keep yourself motivated.  Think about the rewards that you will put in place when you achieve a certain milestone.  It is even more exciting to visualise when you do achieve the milestone and how that would feel.  Picture that and the emotions that come with it.  Write it down.  After you have finished one, move to the next until you are satisfied.  Now stop and let it sit for a couple of days and return to it.  Read it and see if it still brings out the level of excitement that you had when you started.  If not, modify it.  Keep improving until it is something that you can commit to.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, just good enough to get your started.  Know full well that things will change and changes will be made as you go along so don’t be too hung up with getting it perfect.

Now just start!