A Fresh Start

I’m not into New Year’s Celebrations as the biggest night of the year.  And I’m not into New Year’s Resolutions.  I am into reflecting on the past year, looking at my wins, challenges, good times and bad.  I am also into setting my intentions and goals for the upcoming year.  And the trick is to write your intentions in a way that they trigger action.  Because life is short.  And you never know when it is going to end (sorry, but it’s true).  ”On our deathbeds, our biggest regrets are all about the dreams we didn’t do, the love we didn’t give and the places we didn’t see” (Robin Sharma). 

So for the first few weeks of 2009 I’ve been reflecting on what I want to look back on at the end of this year.  (I normally do this before New Year’s but I was surfing in Costa Rica and lost track of the days leading up to New Year’s)!  My big question is, “How can I make 2009 my best year yet”?  If we we take the time to decide how we want to reflect on our year once it’s over, we will develop stronger action-oriented goals.  Just like high performing individuals take the time to decide what do they want to reflect on at the end of their lives and then live that way, with those priorities and goals going forward.

One of my mentors and coaches, Robin Sharma talks about The Big Five.  The Big Five are the 5 most difficult animals to hunt in Africa (lion, leopard, rhino, cape buffalo and elephant).  He refers to The Big Five as the 5 most important (albeit difficult) things you need to do to make 2009 your best year yet!

What do you need to do in your personal life to ensure that 2009 is your best year?  Perhaps it is get in better shape to be the role model of health and well being? Perhaps it is repair some relationships and re-prioritize your family life?  What do you need to do socially, economically and spiritually to make this the single best year of your life to date?

What about your practice?  Are you able to clear your head from the downturn economy and fear-based media and thrive, rather than just survive this year in practice?  What will it take to get your head in the game and start serving more people, who need you now more than ever?  Maybe you are ready to take your practice from a symptom-oriented approach to a true wellness approach.  Do you need to improve your communications with your clients?  Take your Visit 1 and Visit 2 to the next level?  How about your Re-Assessments and Daily Interactions?  Would you like to learn how to “teach under the radar” instead of lecturing people who just don’t ever seem to ‘get it’?  Do you need better retention? More new people?  More internal referrals? Do you need to plug the holes in your bucket? Do you need some support or coaching to do it?

Write down your Big Five and look at them everyday. Take the actions necessary to accomplish your Big Five on a daily basis by creating your Daily Five action steps.  For example, if your Big Five includes (like mine does) “to be in the best shape of my life” by the end of 2009, then included in my Daily Five must be “exercise” to move me toward the end-of-year big goal.  We all have giant To-Do lists for the many projects in our lives.  Without prioritizing the Top 5 things that need to be accomplished before bed and that will have the most impact to move you towards your Big Five, it is easy to get overwhelmed and and procrastinate.  Action is the key to getting what you want.

Together, let’s make make 2009 your best year yet!

Tags: Aspirations, Dreams, Goals, New Year, Resolutions