Creating 2020
We are approaching the dawn of the new year, 2020. In the visual world, 20/20 is a term used to express normal visual acuity or clarity. I’d like to teach you a process of creating visual clarity for your annual goals.
We are taught to create goals for the new year. For most of us, we stand in today and look forward to what we want to create. Too often we don’t stick with the goals we create each new year.
In this blog I’d like to offer you a different approach that I’m sure each of you has used in the past, but either you didn’t realize you were doing it or you didn’t understand its power.
If you were like me, when I was in my mid-20s I had goals for my future. I even remember languaging them out loud to a stranger. I wanted to get married, have kids, buy a nice house in the suburbs and make good money. About 10 years later, I had accomplished all of those goals. However, I wasn’t focused on or concentrating on them daily, monthly or even yearly, yet I created them. How did that happen?
If you read my Dec 2019 newsletter, I spoke about a process for completing the year, by reflecting on all that you did and didn’t accomplish in that year. I did mine and shared it with you. And if you aren't on my list, be sure to subscribe below to receive a monthly recap of what's on my heart and mind. Once you've followed this process, I can promise it will be easier for you to create your 2020 goals.
Here’s my process for creating annual goals.
Sit down and close your eyes. Imagine it’s December 20th, 2020. You are reflecting on your 2020, visualizing all that you accomplished and that which you didn’t. Now open your eyes and start writing your accomplishments for 2020, those that you just visualized. As you do this, I’d encourage you to look in the following six domains of your life to identify areas of your life that you may want to accomplish something.
Six Domains of Your Life:
Relationships: With your partner, family, friends, colleagues
Well Being, Health and Vitality: Mentally, Emotionally, Physically, Spiritually
Service: Making a difference in your communities
Prosperity: Simplicity, Sufficiency, Abundance
Livelihood: Vocation, Calling, Career
Connection to a Higher Power, Mother Earth: Being connected to something bigger than yourself.
Be creative. Be courageous. Life is an invention. Create whatever you want. Have one foot in possibility and one foot in reality. Don’t set a goal to have a $10M business by the end of the year if you have no business today... unless of course, you have the means and the ability to purchase such a business.
Like the spokes of a bicycle wheel, life will be smoother if you have goals in each or most of the domains. If your goals are only in one or two domains, be ready for a bumpy ride.
Once you’ve identified your accomplishments as of December 20th, 2020, read the list out loud to yourself. How does it sound? Are you excited to have made those accomplishments? Now, translate that list into goals for the year.
Using your reflections of what you hope for 2020, write down your goals for 2020.
Next, chart out a by-when date during the year you will have achieved your accomplishment/goal.
Determine what are the key milestones or steps you need to take to make your goal a reality.
Now identify what actions are necessary to achieve your milestones.
Next comes the most important step. Pull out your calendar and block time in your calendar week-by-week, month-by-month to plan the actions necessary for you to achieve your goals. Most of us don’t do this. This is the most important step because actions take place in time. If we don’t schedule the time the actions likely won’t happen, and neither will our goals be realized. The only thing that produces a result is action, so we need to plan the action.
You may and should have longer-term goals. That’s great. Use the process above to determine what key milestones and actions need to be accomplished in 2020 for you to be on a path to unquestionably reach your long-term goal.
That’s it. Simple, powerful and effective. It is simple, but it is not easy. The challenging part is honoring our word to ourselves, which is much more difficult than honoring our word to others. This is why people say you should share your goals with your family, friends, and colleagues as appropriate, and I encourage you to do the same. Ask them to help hold you accountable for your goals. Ask them to ask you from time to time, to share how you are progressing with your goals.
Get to work, and make 2020 your best year yet.