End of Year Ritual: 3 Simple Steps for Sustained Success in the New Year

It's hard to believe that another year is about to come to an end.  Where does the time go?

In past years, I've practiced a variety of end of year rituals that include creating a vision board, choosing a word of the year, and setting traditional resolutions, just to name a few.

While each practice provided some value, none of them seemed to provide the consistency of habits I needed to stay on track with my goals throughout the year.  

If you are leading a busy life, you know how easy it is to have your best-laid plans derailed by unexpected life events and increasing personal and professional responsibilities.

This year, I decided to take a new approach and created a simple 3-step process to set myself up for sustained success.

• Step 1:  Take stock of the current year.  Pause and reflect on the joys and challenges experienced during your year in review.  What were the highlights of the year?  What milestones were met?  What accomplishments are you most proud of?  So often we focus on where we're falling short or we continue to raise the bar and only note that we haven't yet reached it, failing to see how far we've come in this moment.  So stop to celebrate what you've achieved this year and identify what lessons you've learned from your challenges that you can take into the new year.

 

• Step 2:  Identify potential stumbling blocks.  In reviewing the current year, you are likely to find patterns emerge that may be responsible for thwarting your best efforts when it comes to accomplishing your goals.  On my review, I noticed several themes for these patterns including lack of consistent action and follow-through in important areas of my life like exercising regularly and eating healthy meals.  Upon further reflection, I realized that I was holding beliefs that were sabotaging my success.  A common belief was that I don't have enough time to exercise, cook healthy meals, etc.  Another was believing that my best years of fitness/a fit body were behind me.  Recognizing these beliefs now allows me to decide if they are true for me, and if not, I now have the opportunity to change them.    What patterns and beliefs may be holding you back?  Make a list and then ask yourself if they're true and if they are serving you to get where you want to be.

 

• Step 3:  Reverse engineer your success.  The second habit in Franklin Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is "Begin with the end in mind."  When you know where you want to go, it's a lot easier to figure out how to get there from where you are.  What's your vision for the coming year?  Imagine yourself celebrating the fact that you are where you want to be in your life one year from now.  What does your life look like?  What does it feel like?  What do you need to let go of that may hold you back?  What do you need to support you in getting to where you want to be?  Once you're clear on the answers to these questions, you can begin to outline a strategy to move you from where you are to where you want to be.  Create 1-3 goals that will stretch you a bit outside of your comfort zone, but still feel doable.  Break each goal down into quarterly goals.  Then take each quarterly goal and create a monthly goal.  This will then inform your weekly and daily goals.

Remember to set up a simple system (not overly complicated or time-consuming) to review your progress at least weekly.  This will help you to see your progress, identify where you may be off-track and adjust your plan accordingly.  Find support and accountability to ensure your success.  Tell a friend or family member, find a trusted advisor, coach or mentor to help you make forward progress and overcome unexpected obstacles.

My outcome from this process is to be consistent, follow through, and keep it simple as it relates to my health and fitness goals.  These 7 words will serve as a daily mantra to keep me on track this year.  

If you use the end of ritual outlined above, let me know how it goes for you by sharing in the comments below.  

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