How does one gear up for 2011 after all of this?
I've put together a series of article at my other site, Personal Success Factors, designed to give you the motivational 'shot in the arm' for 2011. I encourage you to follow the goal setting template I've outlined, so that you can have one of your best years yet in 2011.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Benjamin FranklinPlanning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now."Alan LakeinWould you like to have your Best Year Yet in 2011? I've put together a goal setting template for your own personal growth plan. I'm going to summarize the series of posts I've put together over the last couple of months. If you follow it carefully, you'll be positioning yourself to move beyond a simple wish list of resolutions to solid personal and professional results.This smart goal setting template is based on Your Best Year Yet!: Ten Questions for Making the Next Twelve Months Your Most Successful Ever, by Jenny Ditzler. I've used her material for the last few years, and it's made a big difference in my own life.The template is really based on the following premise: Ask Questions and Get Answers. You are going to ask yourself some key questions, and you are going to give yourself the answers based on your own personal self-reflection.
Question 1: What Did I Accomplish This Year?
“Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more.”Louis L'Amour (American writer, best-selling author, 1908-1988)Take some time to answer this question. Write down at least 20 accomplishments, in all areas of your life. To get more information about the rationale behind this question, visit my post regarding accomplishments: Who Else Is Ready for 2011?
Question 2: What Were My Biggest Disappointments?
“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”Robert Kiyosaki (American motivational Speaker and Author. b.1947)In order to best handle disappointment, you've got to be honest about all the disappointments from the past year. You've written down your top 20 accomplishments. Now it's time to also write down the disappointments. List them all out, in every area of your life. For more helpful information on this step, read my post called Get Rid of Your Baggage Once and For All.
Question 3: What Did I Learn?
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”Colin Powell quotes (Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-93). Past US Secretary of Stat.General Powell is correct. Failure is a key part of success. Those who are most successful have been able to learn most efficiently from their own and from others' failures. Thanks to question 2, you have already written down your disappointments. Now it's time to learn from them. Once you've distilled your reflections on both your accomplishments and your failures, you can formulate some guidelines to help you in 2011. Read more practical advice and strategies about this in my post from this series called The Lazy Man's Way to the Best Year Yet. Then you can write your guidelines for 2011 for next year under the heading below. It's the best way to mine gold from your experience of the last year.
Guidelines For the Next Year
Question 4: How Do I Limit Myself, and How Can I Stop?
The biggest obstacle to creating a wonderful life is self-limiting beliefs. A self-limiting belief is an idea you have that you are limited in some way, in terms of time, talent, intelligence, money, ability, or opportunity.
Brian Tracy, bestselling author and management consultant, motivational writer and speakera) How do I limit myself?b) In what areas of my life am I not achieving what I want?c) What do I say to myself to explain these failures?Question 4 gives you the surgeon's scalpel to cut into your mind and heart, to figure out how you're holding yourself back, where you're unsatisfied with your outcomes, what keeps you stuck, and how to move forward. If you'll do the hard and painful work of self-examination, you'll be able to come out with new beliefs that can set you on the road to a whole new outlook on your life in 2011. Read my post, Get Out of Jail NOW!, in order to get more how-to advice on getting through this process. Once you've come up with your new life-changing belief/s, write it down under the heading of "New Paradigm" for 2011 below.
New Paradigm
Question 5: What Are My Personal Values?
As you live your values, your sense of identity, integrity, control, and inner-directedness will infuse you with both exhilaration and peace. You will define yourself from within, rather than by people's opinions or by comparisons to others. "Wrong" and "right" will have little to do with being found out.Stephen Covey, internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and author.Question 5 takes you through a self-examination process to uncover what is most important to you at a soul and gut level. Without your values, it's like flying a plane without any instrument panel upside down in a cloud while surrounded by mountains. The result can be disastrous. Take time to map out your 5 most important values. You can read my post, What Everybody Ought to Know About True North, to keep yourself heading in the right direction in 2011.
Question 6: What Roles Do I Play?
Your values play a big part in keeping you honest. A second key review that will help you stay balanced in your life is pinpointing the various roles you play in your life. Write them down! You'll want to limit yourself to no more than 7 roles in your life. For more on this subject, read my post, HOW TO Balance Your Success in 2011Question 7: What Role Is My Focus for 2011?
The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.William James, American psychologist and philosopherChoosing a focus for 2011 is key to your success. By reading my article, Smart Goal Setting In 2011, you'll gain practical insights for choosing your special focus for 2011.