Your First Step to an Extraordinary 2016

Are you like me? It’s that time of the year I get somewhere quiet or go on a long walk to pause and reflect. I look closer and observe some of the smallest things around me, things that I probably rushed by in the past year.

I look at God’s creation. I think that… I’m truly blessed. I’m very grateful.

“All of us are watchers – of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway – but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing.” – Peter M. Leschak

Are you seeing? Or are you merely looking? People who find a place to intentionally pause and reflect are the few who see.

Experience is NOT the best teacher

We have all heard that “experience is the best teacher”. However, experience is NOT the best teacher…Evaluated experience is!

When you pause and reflect, it has the potential to change your life. It means more than just slowing down to “smell the roses”. It means taking time to stop and really figure them out.

This is the time of the year I ask myself…“Where have I been?” and “Where am I now?” I look at this time of reflection as the first step to making next year extraordinary!

And when I look back this past year, I’m amazed how far I have come. In those small, baby-step moments, it seemed to go “as slow as molasses”.

But I learned so much by being more patient and taking one-step at a time. Making one huge leap forward, (like I really wanted to do), would have robbed me of the true value of what I learned.

Observation: It is interesting that each small step I took revealed more learning and insight which I needed to know to move forward and ultimately succeed in my endeavor.

Every person can prepare for an extraordinary year by taking the time to pause and reflect on the major areas of life.

Take time to pause and reflect on the past year on:

• What did you accomplish?

• Where did you go?

• How did you feel?

• Who did you encounter?

• What did you learn?

How would you rate your year in the main areas in life?  I’m talking about major areas of life, like: relationships, work/career, your spiritual life, etc.

I have identified seven main areas of my life that I rate on a yearly basis.  And, I’ve made it really easy for you to use the same list as a starting point for your own “year end review”.

My newly updated personal Goal Setting Workbook has a convenient self-evaluation form with all seven areas laid out in a simple, clickable review page.  Seven clicks (one for each area), and you’re done!

If you want help with your personal goal setting, or would just like to see the process that I use, simply  <click here>, and I will send you my popular Goal Setting Workbook FREE!

Even if you have an earlier version of the workbook, feel free to click the above link (or you can click the image below) and get the newly updated workbook to use now.

Insight: Understanding your present circumstances doesn’t determine where you can go… it merely defines where you start.

Could you share about how you paused and reflected over your past year? Did the Goal Setting Workbook help you evaluate where you’ve been and where you are now? What did you learn? Please leave a comment by clicking here. Feel free to share the Workbook with your family, with friends, and with co-workers.