Another year is here! Hooray and OMG! This is the time of year when we set our intentions for the coming year and identify the goals we want to achieve. It is also a time for personal reflection on all the good things that happened in the past year and a reminder of what we did not do.
So, to get the year off to a strong start, consider this 3-step process to get started quickly:
Step 1: Visualization
Vision is about using the power of your imagination to visualize the successful achievement of your goals. Start by daydreaming about all your wishes for this year. In your mind’s eye there are no limits. Be sure to consider all areas of your life: career, family, friends, significant others, health, finances, environment, spirituality, personal growth, fun, and recreation. Imagine you are at the end of 2020 looking back at the year – how does it look from this perspective? Describe that ideal vision. There are many tools to help you in this step. Here are some suggestions. Create a vision board by cutting out pictures from magazines or printing pictures from sites like Instagram that best describe your ideal situation. Create a collage of pictures, images, and words to add to your vision board. If vision boards aren’t your thing. You can also keep a journal about your ideal life or ideal year. To get a clearer view of your future, meditate or daydream to get clear images or a feel for what you envision for your future.
Step 2: planning
Planning is the process of thinking about the activities that you must complete to achieve your desired goal. It is the process of making an outline or plan to achieve the goal using the resources that you have available or that you can make available and including any restrictions such as time or money. There are many ways to do this step. I created a goals worksheet that I use with my clients that helps minimize the overwhelming by breaking it down into smaller steps. Another simple process is to make a list of all the activities that you think need to be completed to reach the goal. Then, prioritize the list by item of importance and in the order of completion required. Please note that some activities are dependent on the completion of others. Then identify the timelines for each activity. You can consolidate all activities and schedules into a spreadsheet or Word document to provide some structure to your plan. Finally, move each item from the activity to your calendar and set aside time to complete.
Step 3: Take Action
The vision step represents about 20% of the roadmap development, and the planning step represents 60% of the process and where most of the work is thought. The final 20% represents the actual action taken. When you have a clear vision and a well thought out plan, taking action becomes much easier. One step at a time will get you to your goal.
