Jeanette Brown
“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you truly love. It will not lead you astray.”
Rumi
Well, it’s that time of year again.
A time to reflect on the past year and what a year it’s been! Looking back over the last year and in fact over the last 2 years can be quite overwhelming. We all hoped 2021 was going to be different but there was more of the same, if not worse.
We are all hoping 2022 is not going to be 2020 too!
This is such an opportune time to reflect on your life so far. Rather than do the normal New Year’s resolution, why not do a stocktake of your life to date?
Here are some thought provoking questions that could help you reflect on your life now.
- What have I learnt about myself over the last 2 years?
- What have been the most challenging times? What has got me through them?
- What have been the best times? What have I achieved?
- How can I live a life aligned to my core values, and not the life others expect of me?
- What are my strengths and how can I leverage them in my life for good?
- What are those patterns of behaviour that keep on sabotaging me?
- What have been the happiest times in my life?
- What haven’t I done that I would have loved to do?
- How can I best make a difference?
It is also a time to reflect on what you are passionate about and what gives you energy. This is an opportunity to do some reflective writing in a personal journal, write freely and with imagination about your vision.
Another strategy is to write yourself a letter incorporating your inspirational personal vision for the future, for your successful and fulfilling life. It can be 1 year, 2 years or even 5 years. It really is up to you.
There is a lot of talk about goal setting and whether it is effective or not. Clearly, an important part of coaching and self-development is in the setting and achieving of individual goals which align to your passions and personal vision. This is indeed a precursor to living a more fulfilling and meaningful life, in this increasingly interconnected and chaotic world we live in.
However, what is significant in doing this, is the knowledge that it is not just about the achievement of those goals themselves. It is also about the self-mastery you gain and the person you become as a result.
The real value of setting goals is not in the goals themselves but in the person you become as a result of working on your goals. It is learning about yourself as a person, about growing and stretching yourself, about stepping out of your comfort zone and about manifesting more of your potential.
We may end up not achieving the specific goals we have and our goals may change. This is life. What is important though is the energy goal setting and taking action brings.
I have used the powerful self-coaching process in my Life Journal course for many years and I can tell you it works! It has helped me and may other people make positive and deep-lasting changes in my life and makes me feel good about myself.
Following the self-coaching model in my Life Journal course and having a vision for the future will help you develop a greater understanding of yourself, your core values, strengths and passions and, above all, your purpose in life. This is where true success lies.
You will go through a structured process starting with deep reflection on your current life. Throughout your journey, you will be encouraged do some journal writing.
Having a daily journal can be cathartic and a great tool for growth and development of wisdom. Journal writing is like having a one-on-one conversation with yourself.
By going on the Life Journal journey, you will transform all aspects of your life and achieve your own vision of success.
You will have your own personal mental training studio – a place you’ll always be able to access to find a source of calm, strengthen your inner-self, and reassess your goals so you can continue to achieve your external dreams, no matter what obstacles life hands you.
7 powerful steps to achieve your goals in life
In my Life Journal course, you will:
1. Discover who you really are.
There are a number of activities including a life satisfaction audit. You will uncover your core values, key strengths, and what sparks you with purpose and meaning in life.
2. Create your own personal vision statement.
There are activities that will help you do this such as writing a detailed letter to yourself in the future covering all facets of your life. Another powerful activity is writing your eulogy, what is it you want to be remembered for.
3. Learn how to set SMARTER goals.
Focus on where you want to improve your life. Normally you would not set more than three goals. These goals form a blueprint for your successful life, personally and professionally. I always recommend at least one of these goals have a focus on your inner wellbeing.
4. Develop a personal action plan.
This is a detailed plan which makes you accountable to your actions and gives you the momentum to take effective action.
5. Monitor the progress of your goals.
This is essential to achieving success and involves both holding yourself accountable for your actions and learning to reflect on what you have learnt about yourself in the process. Make sure you celebrate any small successes and wins on the way!
6. Create deep and lasting changes in your life.
This can be done by cultivating positive habits and embedding them in your life and breaking bad habits such as obsessive thought patterns or addiction.
7. Learn a powerful cyclical process to coach yourself.
At the same time you will learn evidence-based tools and techniques from highly renowned experts in their fields about the power of positive habits.
By following these powerful steps in my Life Journal course, you will make deep and impactful changes to your life. You will learn more about yourself in the process and your life will be richer and more fulfilled.
It will give you a greater understanding of yourself, what it is that will make your life fulfilling and it will give you the momentum to make those changes.
Best wishes for a fulfilling and transformative year ahead!
