We are all ready for 2020 to be over. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our first instinct is to write off this past year. It was full of loss, grief, challenges, and struggles. It was also full of new ideas, new connections, new ways of working, new ways of schooling, new ways of being and thinking.

We are all forever changed by 2020. What are you going to carry into 2021? If you’ve already jumped on the New Years band wagon of setting goals or God forbid made a New Years resolution, I urge you to take a step back.

First of all, resolutions don’t work. Don’t waste your time.

Start here and I’ll get you to the next step in my next article.

Deal?

Deal!

Great!

We all need goals. You can set them at any time. There is nothing magical about a new year. Every day is a new start.

The number one mistake we make when setting goals is we jump into the future. We make goals for the future without having looked at this past year. You have to take a moment to take a look back before you can look ahead.

You have to get grounded in the present moment. What are the mistakes you made? What are the lessons you learned? What were the things that were amazing?

If you don’t take a moment to assess where you’ve been, there is no way you’re going to set the right goals for the next year. Where are you right now? Start where you are.

Find a quiet spot to reflect and journal on these 8 questions.

TIP 1: Look back on photos from the past year. We have a cognitive bias to remember the bad stuff and forget the good. Look on your social media or camera roll and get a complete picture of your 2020.

TIP 2: Grab your calendar or planner. Thumb through it to remind yourself of commitments you kept, projects you worked on, people you connected with.

Here we go:

1. What were the highlights of this year?
2. What did you learn about yourself that surprised you?
3. What was the hardest aspect of this year?
4. What lesson(s) did you learn that you’re going to take into next year?
5. What’s one thing that you’ll commit to NOT going back to?
6. What’s one thing you started doing this year that you want to keep doing?
7. In what ways are you stronger now than you were at the beginning of 2020? What wisdom are you bringing into next year?
8. What are you most proud of that happened this year?
   BONUS QUESTION:
9. What did you lose that turned out to be a blessing?

Once you have this clarity of where you are right now, you’ll know what you want your goals to be for next year.

Clarity is the first step to building confidence. Grab your free guide: The Habit of Self-Doubt; Crush it and Build Real Confidence