With the end of 2021 and the dawn of 2022, it is important to reflect on your achievements. What has gone well? Is there anything you could have done or want to do differently or better? What do you want to focus on for the coming year? Looking back over the past 12 months, what are you most proud of?
Though we live the same life with just a set of new resolutions, we believe that a new year is a chance to restart. We reflect on the year that has gone by, your progress, and missed opportunities. When the champagne toasts and fireworks are over in the first couple of weeks of the new year, many of us tend to think more seriously about life. We evaluate our previous year and where we’re at in life, and most of us plan to make changes to make our lives better.
With this reflection, you can put your mind to the year ahead and how you will make those changes. Discipline is likely to help you achieve your goals in the short term, but you can’t rely on willpower alone. One of my favourite sayings is ‘design beats discipline’; setting up your environment and routine to make sure you deliver is so much easier than being disciplined. It is crucial to design a system, including structure and tools, that will work for you and help you achieve your desired outcome. Reflect on how you work and what you’ve found distracts or derails you. Design your routines in a way that short circuit your ‘thinking’ and automatic actions and put yourself in a situation where you just do. Less thinky, more doey.
It’s also important to reflect on who’s been a great support to you. Make sure to say thank you to your cheer squad. Similarly, if you see someone who you can support, do it. It’s not the traditional time to do so, but a new year’s gift is a great way to do both of these things. For someone who’s supported you, a thoughtful new year’s gift says, ‘thank you, I appreciate your support’, and for someone who you can support a new years gift says ‘I’m here to support you’. Gratitude allows us to celebrate and magnify the goodness of life. Showing your support for other people can help them go through a crisis. A little deed goes a long way and can cause a positive ripple effect. It doesn’t have to be something big or expensive; a card with a heartfelt message, a thank you card, or a coffee date is a great place to start. Another gift might be something that may help to encourage someone to achieve their own goals, like Marvellous Women Cards.
The new year is both an ending and a beginning, and it is up to us to decide how we will move forward and help others to do the same.