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Getting clear on the new year

Writer's picture: Peter TeuscherPeter Teuscher


A new calendar year is about to begin and this is the time when I like to reflect and get clear on my expectations for the year ahead. If we don’t take the time to reflect and refocus then our years may pass us by without the growth, change and progress we aspire to. For this reason, I like to use this time of year to consider the positives and negatives of the past year to help me choose what to focus on in the year ahead.  I recommend you to do the same.


This year I am doing an exercise with myself considering all the things I am grateful for during the past 12 months and where I would like to improve myself or my life.  Starting with gratitude will put you into a positive mindset and will help you be more optimistic about your future aspirations.  Next, I use a “wheel of life” chart to evaluate the various areas of my life.  You can make one of these yourself by drawing a circle on a blank piece of paper and then drawing lines through the circle like cutting a pie into pieces. Give a name or heading to the most important areas of your life and write them along the edges of the circle. Then in each of the pies evaluate from 1 to 10 how good that part of your life is right now.  When you review the chart ask yourself if you focus on improving one of these areas how would it affect the other areas of your life.  This will give you a good idea of how to prioritise where to focus your efforts on change and improvement in the new year.


Once you are clear on what you want to focus on it is important to determine the first step or steps in creating change.  Ask yourself how you will be able to measure your improvement. (Hint hold on to your wheel of life chart to see how things have changed in 3 to 6 months) It is also helpful to ask yourself what behaviour you need to change or what skill you need to learn to achieve a new goal. Don’t bother with resolutions. Make a commitment to yourself to practice this new behaviour daily for the first 30 days of the new year so that it can become a habit. Or commit to small daily steps to acquiring your desired new skill over the same period.  Remember small incremental steps toward your goal is the most sustainable and successful path to success.


One other thing that I do every year is to create a vision board with images that both represent what I want and generate the feelings in me of having made them a reality.  Regardless of your process or ritual to bring in the new year, let it be one that inspires you and creates forward momentum in the direction you want to be going. Remember, the only person you are in competition with is who you were yesterday. Growth and positive change will always contribute to your happiness. With that, I want to wish everyone a happy and healthy new year.

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