Reflect on the previous year before setting goals for the new year

Every year, a combination of emotions presents itself at the start of the year. These may include motivation, stress, sadness, and hope, the sort of feelings that are obviously rooted in leaving another year behind and embarking on a fresh one. Having a fresh start sounds so appealing for us all, especially now, since we are all highly overwhelmed by the restrictions of the pandemic. That is partially what a "New Year’s resolution" serves for, boosting our dopamine levels by creating pleasant anticipations for the upcoming year. I bet most of you have tried to begin a New Year’s resolution, even while knowing that the success rate is controversial. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, those who set New Year's resolutions are ten times more likely to change their behavior than those who don't set these yearly goals. I honestly love setting new goals as a ritual for the upcoming year (which I mentioned in one of my previous blog posts.
 
Over time, I learned that reviewing and evaluating my recent past before planning for the future strategically steers my plans in a more realistic and accurate direction. I would call this pre-step "Reflecting on the Previous Year" and definitely add this extra step before pondering upon your New Year goals. This pre-step focuses on contemplating our achievements and the struggles of the previous year before setting the brand-new plans for the upcoming one. Why is this introspective step critical to our success? 
 
Here is a list of items that will help us with a demonstration.

1. Be realistic about our capabilities. Analyze the gaps between our life circumstances and our aspirations to avoid false hopefulness
 
I have met with brilliant people in the past and received some project offers, but I must admit working full time, coaching professionals and being a musician requires a delicate balance in time management and limits my time for extra projects. Therefore, though I love creative work, I decided to be more realistic about the number of projects that I will commit to in 2022.
 
2. Identify the areas that we struggled with, so we can find solutions or seek help regarding the areas that we would like to improve 

  My Three Major Struggles Of The Past Year

• I drifted away from my workout and healthy eating discipline for the first couple of months of the year.
• I drifted back to watching TV as a habit
• I lost my consistent music practice discipline and slowly gained it back

 
I hired a health coach to help me stick with my healthy lifestyle goals towards the end of 2021. It has helped me a lot, especially to reinitiate my workout and healthy eating goals, thus I will keep having a support person who can keep me accountable in that area until I can fly solo again.
 
3. Celebrate small/big victories and be kind to ourselves 
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   An Excerpt Of My Wins Of 2021

• Organized and facilitated a wellness conference for the first time. I learned how my years of meditation practice could help my coaching clients. As a result, I recorded my first two meditations
• Accepted to Tasha Ten Group
• Transitioned to Pharma which took time to adjust (this can be listed in the struggles section as well)
• Visited my family after a tough pandemic year
• Recorded my first drum-bass cover video
• Passed the Board Exam for Coaching
• Helped many beautiful people to achieve their goals with many hours of coaching
• Published articles, blog posts/newsletters
• Connected with many inspiring people and built motivational relationships

 
This exercise can take as short/long as you want. Mine took around 10-15 minutes, and now IT IS YOUR TURN!