How to plan for success
Several of my clients have asked about the best way to plan for the upcoming year. As a Google search can attest, there are myriad approaches. But if you want to set yourself up for success, I recommend waiting to pull out your planner. Instead, begin by taking stock of the past twelve months—and then by getting curious about what’s possible for you in the future.
First, ask yourself:
What am I particularly proud of?
What worked this year?
How can I capitalize on or do more of what went well?
Notice that none of these questions are about what went wrong. Why? Because you already know what you don’t want to repeat, and now’s not the time to feed your brain evidence that you aren’t good enough or that whatever you want isn’t possible. (Plus, studies from Stanford and other institutions show that positivity helps the brain work more effectively.)
Now ask:
What are one or two things I most want in the coming year?
These can be accomplishments, habits, changes to specific areas of your life, or mindset shifts. Don’t aim for a whole bunch of goals; research shows that you’re far more likely to be successful if you tackle one thing at a time. What’s more, success spreads—the changes you establish in one area of your life influence and often transfer to other areas, making it even easier to accomplish the next goal after you’re done with the first. And of course, keeping it simple helps you stay out of overwhelm and actually take action.
What do I need to believe in order to make that happen?
Focus on your thoughts before you devise action items. When you jump right to when and how, your brain tries to protect you from failure with a litany of reasons why you can’t (You’ve never done it before; No one else is doing that). It’s better to decide how you need to think (I’m the perfect person to do this; It may be hard but I’ve done hard things before and this will be no different) first so you can approach your next steps with confidence.
What’s one thing I can do in January to achieve my goal?
You may be familiar with the Pareto principle, which states that 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of your efforts. What’s a habit, action, or practice you can do now (or soon) that might actually be part of that 20 percent? It’s totally fine to make an educated guess. You’ll learn as you go—while avoiding that frantic feeling we often get when we try a bunch of things at once.
What am I willing to do to make it happen?
Let’s face it: setbacks and roadblocks are inevitable—but it’s hard to prepare for unknown crises. That’s why I recommend asking a few simple questions to solidify your feelings of grit and resilience. For example, how long are you willing to wait for what you want? How many times are you willing to fail? What are you willing to give up if need be? This approach pleases the rational part of your brain while reminding you just how capable you really are.
What’s one goal you have for 2022? Respond to this email if you’d like to share—I’d love to hear what’s next for you.
Here’s to next year being your best yet.