If you’re anything like me, you probably started this year (or maybe most years) with some aspirational goals. These were the things you hoped to accomplish over the course of the 12-month year.
(Let’s be honest…isn’t that the whole concept behind “New Year’s Resolutions?!”)
Perhaps your 2022 dreams and aspirations focused primarily on your personal life. You may have set goals relating to your health (physical, mental, spiritual). They could have focused on particular relationships in your life or hobbies you’d hoped to develop.
Or maybe your goals were more professional in nature. Did you set a vision for your business growth or professional development?
If you’re the “super motivated” type…you may have even set a combination of personal and professional goals.
Hopefully, you took the time to really map these goals out. You were thoughtful and strategic as you made your plans and developed your strategy for achievement.
So let me ask…
Did you meet your goals?
That’s the focus for this week’s “End of Year Reflection” exercise series. (In case you missed it – each week this month, I’m offering some guided reflections to help us all review our past year before we begin the next. Check out the first exercise in this series here.)
This week, I invite you to reflect on your goals for the year. Throughout your reflection time, you’ll be asked to consider the goals you achieved, those you didn’t, and the tools, circumstances, and relationships that helped or hindered your pursuit.
Important Note: The purpose of this exercise is NOT to punish or scrutinize ourselves for the goals we didn’t quite achieve. Don’t go there, my friend. The intention behind this reflection is simply to gain some clarity on where you stand in relation to your goals. To: Learn. Observe. Grow. Evolve.
Alright, let’s get started! As you take some time to reflect this week, here are a few questions to consider:
Looking Back:
- What personal goals did you set for yourself this year?
- What professional goals did you set for yourself this year?
- Consider each goal individually…did you achieve them? Why or why not?
- If you did accomplish a goal, who/what helped you get there?
- Think About:
- People
- Resources
- Habits
- Think About:
- If you didn’t accomplish a goal, what stood in your way?
- At what point did things “fall off track?”
- Did you keep trying or have you chosen to let this goal go?
Reflecting on past goals can be an emotional experience for some. As you begin this exercise, allow me to leave you with this thought:
Consider an oak tree…tall, mighty, strong.
This beautiful and majestic tree wasn’t grown overnight. It took far more than 6 or 12 months for the oak tree to grow branches that scrape the sky. In fact, it took years…decades even.
Before this tree towered high above our heads, it began as a tiny acorn, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. But inside this acorn was everything that tree needed to become a mighty oak.
Remember this my friend…
Whether you reached your goals this year or not, don’t forget about your acorn energy. You already possess within yourself everything you need.
If you feel inclined to share, I’d love to hear a bit of your reflections! Drop a comment below!
Article was contributed by: Maria Lees, Team Writer with Sarah Boxx
