The Year-End Review: 5 Questions to Measure Your Progress
The end of 2017 is near, which means 2018 is right around the corner. Before we get swept away by the sea of holiday parties, gift exchanges, and New Years festivities, it might be worthwhile to create the space for an end-of-year review of your personal and professional life. A popular personal development speaker, Brendon Burchard, once stated that if we don’t have it scheduled, it’s not important. So, how important is it for you to grow? Will you make it one of your priorities to create a meaningful life? If so, then taking the time to self-reflect is critical. Think of it this way. If you’re stranded without a GPS and only have a map to guide you, you need both Points A and B to know how to navigate your path. In other words, it’s not only important for you to know who you want to become; it’s also critical for you to know who you are now. The Year-End Review: 5 Questions to Measure Your Progress If you’re like most of us and can’t get enough of the content here on Goalcast, you’re most likely a very driven person, looking to find a path to a significant life. It’s important for you to create a legacy that you’re proud of, and in the short time that you’re here, you want to matter. You want to make a difference. The truth is, the number one regret people have when they’re on their deathbeds is: I wish I had lived a life truer to myself. READ: How to Follow Your Heart and Live Your Personal Legend In your quest to make a difference, you may have forgotten who you really are, separate from others’ expectations and their realities. You may have even set coordinates for your Point B that don’t do you justice. With 2017 almost at a close, I challenge you to assess where you are today. Who have you become so far? Are you on the right path? After an honest assessment, try to reflect on where you want to go, and who you want to become. The science of positive psychology found that human flourishing happens via five pathways. Ask yourself where you are on each pathway, and what you can do in 2018 to really maximize your life. How do you rate yourself, on a scale of 1-10, on positivity? Assess the strength of your growth mindset. Reframe the way you look at your world in a way that is helpful to you. Increase the ways you can be grateful for life. How engaged are you with life at the moment, on a scale of 1-10? How often do you find yourself in flow and absolutely in the zone? Find ways to increase self-regulation in your actions and how you feel. Assess the quality of your current relationships. Jim Rohn stated that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. How happy are you with the type of people you surround yourself with, on a scale of 1-10? Do you have people in your circle that support you, lift you up, and challenge you? Increase your support network, and consider ways in which you can increase your social influence. No cheating. Tell me in the next 30 seconds what your life creed is. Do you have meaning in your life? How often, on a scale of 1-10, are you living with intention? Increase your purpose and transcend the physical limitations of the human experience. We’re wired to grow. We’re creative, spiritual beings. Stretch yourself, get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Rate yourself on how satisfied you are with your accomplishments. After an honest look at where you stand, set intentions and create specific plans for how you’ll pursue them in 2018. Research has found that focusing on enhancing these five areas will help you to live a flourishing life. How will you show up in 2018?
How to Find Your Version of Success, and Start Living It
Living a successful life looks different for everyone. While one person may want success in terms of financial abundance, another may want achievements to his/her name. There is one thing that distinguishes people that have created success from those that haven't. It's the why. Those who achieve their definition of success always have a why, or a life purpose that carries them through many trials. Despite fear, rejections, and failures, those who have a breakthrough never lose sight of their why. Through much of our lives, we live the way others expect us to live our lives. We may have grown up hearing adults and peers around us telling us how great we would be as a teacher, or how kick-ass we would be practicing as a defense lawyer. Slowly, our experiences and efforts become directed towards fulfilling this prophecy because it made others around us happy -- and in turn, made us happy. But by doing so, we forget what truly lights us up, what makes our hearts sing. We chase this idea of a good life and throw away the great and extraordinary life we could have had. How to Find Your Version of Success, and Start Living It There's no greater gift you can give or receive than to honor your calling. It's why you were born. And how you become truly alive. - Oprah Winfrey (more quotes) If the why to what we choose to do (even in minute decisions) is to make others happy because it makes us feel significant, then that why won't be enough to take us to extraordinary heights. It won't wake us up with excitement every morning. This is why each person's definition of success will be so different. How do you want to live, so that when you're 95 years old and reflecting on the life you've had, you will feel proud of all you've experienced and accomplished? What would it feel like to be completely regret-free? To know you made a difference? There are a few critical steps we must commit to taking if we want to live an outstanding life that we can be proud of. Sit down and breathe Without the deliberate action of taking time to reflect, our lives will constantly be roaming and aimless. Even if you believe you have specific, smart goals, it would be pointless if those goals aren't aligned to who you really are at your heart. The first step to living your successful life is to sit and listen to your breath. Listen to the moments in between each breath, and give gratitude. Whether you start with two minutes or ten minutes of daily, quiet reflection and gratitude, make a commitment to start. Reflect on the times you knew you could fly Ask your soul to play back for you when you were truly lit up with joy. Find moments in your past and present where you loved the life you breathed. This deliberate practice could be done through repeated writing exercises, while exploring the beautiful bounty of life on nature walks, or through mind-mapping (my favorite). Mind-mapping requires a big sheet of paper; in the middle of the page, write "my life joy" or some variation. Circle it. Then, let your subconscious take over -- write whatever else comes to you, connecting it with spokes. One particular thought could have many different spokes come out of it, or it could have only one other idea. Remove all judgment, and just scribble as fast and as far as your subconscious mind takes you. Once you're done with this exercise, you'll have a clearer picture of what makes your heart sing. Make small, conscious choices Once you know what brings you sheer joy, contemplate how you can use this gift to contribute to the world. Then, you can set goals -- small or big -- to make conscious choices to help you live a deliberate life. Each action step should be something that pushes you out of your comfort zone but also is not such a stretch that it'll require a tear. For example, if you love to sing, make small commitments to align your actions with the joy. You can start by singing in the shower, singing at small family gatherings, singing at charitable events, etc. Don't fall into the trap of believing that small steps are reflective of small intentions. Small steps lead to massive changes. Build your version of success Whatever your version of a successful life, taking deliberate actions is key. The difference between the successful and not-so-successful, however, is the why behind their success. If your why comes from the heart, it'll take you through more than you think you can handle. It'll also be the fuel and momentum that takes you from dreaming of a life you could've had, to living the life you choose to live.