If you’re like many business professionals, you may spend a good share of your time at the beginning of the year planning ahead and creating goals for your business and personal life. Although you may plug away at achieving your goals throughout the year, once you complete your goal, you move on to the next challenge without giving what you achieved a second thought. You may be so focused on maintaining forward momentum and finding the next challenge that you never take the time to review and reflect on what you’ve worked so hard to achieve.
Before you set your goals for 2016, take the time to review your progress, reflect on your performance and reward yourself for your achievements.
Review
Reviewing progress toward your goals is important because it helps maintain perspective. Chances are you’ve been chipping away at your to-do list all year long and haven’t even stopped to look at how much you accomplished. By reviewing the goals you have met, the ones that are in progress and the ones you fell short on, you’ll be able to better understand personal patterns and areas that could use a little improvement.
When reviewing, ask yourself these questions:
- In what months did you have the highest production or sales volume?
- What months were the most challenging?
- Did you experience any setbacks? If so, how did they impact your progress toward your goals?
Reflect
The highest achievers reflect on their overall performance. While they reflect on their wins, they also reflect on their challenges and try to find a way to learn from any setbacks they experienced along the way. Reflection will help you find meaning in challenges and set more ambitious goals in the future.
Some questions to think about when reflecting on your year:
- How did I respond to setbacks and challenges?
- Did I feel frustrated or unmotivated? If so, how did I deal with it?
- If I had to do it all again, what would I do the same? What would I do differently?
Reward
What better way to celebrate an achievement than with a reward? Rewards keep you motivated to stay on track, especially when it’s easier to quit or veer off-course. Subconsciously, rewards inspire you to achieve more and serve as the glue between accomplishment and confidence. Just be sure to celebrate in proportion to the accomplishment—the bigger the achievement, the bigger the celebration!
A few ideas…
- Take a trip to your favorite vacation spot or a place you’ve always wanted to visit.
- Enjoy a meal at your favorite restaurant.
- Take some time off to enjoy your favorite hobby.
Achieving your goals is no small feat. Take some time before you plan your 2016 to review, reflect and reward yourself for a successful 2015. You’re sure to boost your confidence, motivation and drive to succeed in the New Year.
Need help getting started on your 2016 goals? Download our 10 Day Goals Worksheet and get motivated at one of our upcoming seminars.
