It’s time to do a year in review. Where are you now compared to a year ago? I’d like you to write something down from every month of the year and focus on what was new, different, better, worse? Figure it out. It really only took me about 10 minutes to do it this morning. It was a really interesting exercise. It was cool to see on paper how different each month was so different from the next in my life. How fast I grew once I started this business and how much I learned from month to month. This time last year I didn’t even have a business or even an idea for a business. In January of 2019 I had a regular corporate job and four months later I had a business up and running.
I understand it won’t be so easy to track your progress if you didn’t have drastic changes as I have but take a closer look. Can you think of one major accomplishment from this past year? Is something that you did at work or maybe a job change with more money? Did you ask for or get a raise at your job? Did you get a promotion or finish some sort of project that got praise? Write that down!
Go month by month and you will be surprised how easily big moments come back to you. It can be about work, family, health, personal goals. It all counts and it should all be included. Assess if you think you are in a better place or a worse spot? Because if you aren’t as happy as you think you should be or if you’ve made progress in this thing we call life. Are you learning new things? Are you doing things you’ve never done before or spending more time doing some of your favorite things? Because people who make time for the things they enjoy actually enjoy their life more. Crazy, I know!
After going through your months is there something else that you had really wanted to make time for that you didn’t get to at all? That should be the first thing you plant to do in the new year. No matter what it is or how long it will take to do that thing, make a plan to do it or get it done. Life is about doing what we enjoy and finding happiness in that. So, make that a top priority. I mean it. At the end of your life you won’t be thinking about the promotions you got at work or how awesome your project turned out (although those are great things, too) but how much time you spent with family, loved ones and doing the things you loved. Make it a priority.
But when looking at your month to month break down what were the highlights and what were the lowlights? What things were really exciting for you? What things didn’t work out the well you wanted them to? The reason I ask you to do a breakdown for each month is to find out what is working in your life and what isn’t. Because like the picture above states, what you aren’t changing you are choosing. So, if you aren’t happy with where your life is then you need to figure out why. This is how you start to figure that out. You don’t necessarily have to start a plan right now but you must figure out what is working and what is not working.
Some of these things are hard to do. Even painful but there is much better stuff on the other side. You are worth the work. You are worth the pain you need to go through in order to get to the happiness you deserve. You are worth a few minutes to analyze the good and bad in your life. You are worth any work that it takes to make it your best life. As with most things in your life you have to put in a little work and effort to get the best out of something. Is there anything more worth having than a life you love?
It is Taco Tuesday and New Years Eve! Whatever you are doing tonight I hope you have a fantastic time and please be safe. No drinking and driving! Promise me. Now, go make it your day of 2019! Happy New Year!
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