In late December and early January, many of us reflect on what happened in our lives over the past year and start thinking about what we’d like to see happen in the new one. I know I have.
This retrospection can cause feelings of disappointment if we haven’t accomplished some of the key goals we had hoped to do over the previous year, and discouragement if we don’t know how to make these things happen in the new year.
I read something recently which really got me thinking about how to put the dissapointments of the past into perspective while moving forward into the future to achieve our goals in a more clear and focused way.
It’s from The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, an excellent book that I’ve been reading each week with my teenage sons:
“One of the quickest and most direct routes to getting yourself up and onto the success curve is to get out of the past. Review the past, but only for the purpose of making a better plan. Review it, understand and take responsibility for the errors you’ve made, and use it as a tool to do differently in the future. And don’t spend a great deal of time doing even that! – the future is a far better tool than the past. The future is your most powerful tool and your best friend. Devote some serious, focused time and effort into designing a crystal-clear picture of where you’re going.“
I was struck by a few thoughts:
- Reviewing the past is important because it helps us gain a better understanding of who we are and what does/doesn’t work for us as we seek to achieve our goals.
- Clarify and focused time and effort are keys to success. We need to paint a clear picture of where we want to go, why we want to go there, and what are some of the best ways to do it. And then we need to focus time and energy to make them happen.
Earlier this month, I began using Jim Rohn’s One Year Success Plan to bring greater clarity and focus to some of my goals for 2012 and to design a crystal-clear picture of where I want to go and how I’m going to get there.
I highly recommend it, and I’ll share some tips from what I’m learning in future posts here at Life Compass Blog.
Do you have a crystal-clear picture of where you want to go, and how you’ll achieve your goals in 2012?
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