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The year 2020 has folded off and surely, everyone’s tied up the shoelaces ready to sprint into 2021.
In the course of preparing for the new year, I’ve been consuming contents by top success experts such as Brian Tracy, Gary Keller, Hal Elrod, etc. I’ve garnered some tactics to help set me up for a great 2021 ahead.
I share 5 of them in this article and I hope you find them helpful
1. Review accomplishments/progress from 2020
“Before you look forward, be sure to look back.”
A good place to start with this is to go over your achievements and progresses in 2020. It reminds you that you’ve got a lot of things to be grateful for even when you think or feel otherwise. Apart from that, you’ll also see what good habits and routines helped you to achieve resounding success so you can enter 2021 continuing with those and even ramp them up so you make 2021 even better. On the other hand, this activity will also reveal areas that need to be improved upon to raise chances of success in 2021.
2. Create your vision for the new year
“If your goals don’t scare you, then you’re not thinking big enough…”
For 2021 to be ‘better’ than 2020, you’ll want to define what that means for you and that’s why having a vision for the new year is essential. So, right now – what changes would you like to see in the major areas of life:
- Spiritual
- Personal
- Career
- Business
- Relationships/social
- Finances
- Health & fitness
It helps to be honest about where you currently stand in those areas and then where you want to be in the future. Then you define what habits/routines you need to formulate to make that happen. We always act in alignment with the identity and image we’ve created of ourselves.
So, this is where you create that picture of the person in an awesome body, or that person who spends more quality time with loved ones, or that person who earns $500, 000 per year, or that person who drives a Tesla model S. Whatever the images you desire, here’s where you create them first – mentally. And you may want to create a vision board of those images to remind and refocus your attention.
One thing to be mindful of here is to ensure that your vision/goals are big enough that they scare you but not stress you. Someone once said that the problem with most of us is not that we aim too high and miss but that we aim too low and hit. You never know what you can accomplish so it’s better to make the goals too big rather that play it safe and set them too low because the purpose of a goal is not to hit it but who you become along the journey.
And if a given goal stresses you, it may means the goals needs to be broken down into smaller, more manageable bits but for sure the original is still possible (I learnt this one from Lisa Nichols).
3. Take inventory of your strengths
“Take a personal inventory. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? – Now, focus on your strengths and take the positive path!”
2021 is going to be the year of impact. And I’ve realized that to make that happen we have to know what skills, gifts, talents we have to offer to the world. The idea is to focus on developing our strengths while of course being aware of our weaknesses. Scriptures says that it’s our gifts that make room for us and present us before great people. And that’s a more reason to focus on sharpening those gifts so we can serve the world at our best .
So if you already haven’t done this, I invite you to take a note of your special abilities, gifts, talents and skills , and see how you can serve mankind with them. We become great not by what we receive from the world but by serving the world and sharing our acts of greatness.
4. Commit yourself
“There’s always a way – if you‘re committed.” ~~ Tony Robbins
In his book, “Millionaire Success Habits“, Dean Graziosi pointed out 3 factors that are common amongst highly successful people. One of them being commitment . Commitment, simply put, is making up your mind to achieve a goal even when you don’t have all the answers (just believing you’ll figure it out along the way). But many times this isn’t how things happen. We decide to go after a goal then stew down in the planning phase until we ‘feel’ ready to commit. In many cases that feeling doesn’t come up and so does the commitment and there goes the goal… out of the window! (I can definitely relate to that).
In 2021, it’s time to begin committing to goals even when we don’t have all the answers even with the plans in place. You’re down for this? As a wise man once said, you only have to know two things when pursuing your goals – (1) what you want to achieve (2) that you’ll get there.
5. Get help/accountability
“Accountability is the breakfast of champions.” ~~ Gary Keller
We’re more likely to keep going after our goals when we share them with others who’ll check in with us regularly. We obviously don’t like to let someone else down after giving them our words that we’d go something. This doesn’t mean, we’re delegating the responsibility to them though. Accountability is ownership (I gleaned this from the book – “12 Week Year“ – a great read). That said, the accountability buddies are just there to check in with us but those goals are ours and we’ll benefit the most when we make them happen .
So, with your goals all penned down, who would you choose as your accountability buddies (or mastermind group members) ?
For more tips on how to execute more on your actions and make 2021 your best year yet, be sure to check link to “12 Week Year“ , “Your Best Year Ever“ .
What about you? What actions are taking to make 2021 better than 2020?
To astounding success in 2021!
Happy New Year in advance!!