I recently learned of a Roman God named Janus – the God of New Beginnings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. Whether or not you believe in setting New Year’s resolutions, taking time to look back and forward is a practice worth undertaking year-round. Grab a pen and paper or a notebook and take a few minutes to exercise your inner Janus.
Life can only be understood backwards;
but it must be lived forwards.
Soren Kierkegaard
Hindsight is 20/20: Tools for Reflection
After Action Review
We learn through reflection and taking time out to consider what worked, what didn’t work, why, how could it be better next time? Reflection pulls us out of automatic mode and encourages conscious engagement moving forward. The After Action Review is a tried and true method for quick review and prep for moving forward positively.
Gratitude Capture
What are you grateful for? Nothing too small… List 10 or more things. No right or wrong answers. Each year I do this between my birthday (Dec 25) and the New Year. Gratefully, I had much to be grateful about this past year!
Another option, consider the roles you played in the past year. Friend, partner, parent…list out the roles you played and reflect on one reason you are happy to have had the opportunity to play that role in 2017.
Energy Flows Where Attention Goes: Set Intentions
What do you want for your life this year? Knowing there are only 24 hours in a day, consider how you like to spend those 1,440 minutes.
Again, reflect on your roles and consider what success looks like in each area. Write down each role and an action statement or three that reflects how you’ll bring that success to life. For example, one of my roles for 2018 is to parent my 12 and 13-year-old boys and one of my actions is giving them focused attention daily. Might seem simple, but for someone who moves a thousand miles an hour, focusing my attention on individual loves of mine is something I want to practice more in 2018.
Make it Happen
I am student of behavior and could go very deep into what it takes to create and stick with habits. That said, I’ll keep it brief, because the New Year has already begun and I like you I am ready to roll.
Change happens when we stay focused on what we are wanting. Keep your intentions front and center – hang them on your mirror, in your closet, somewhere where you’ll look at them daily. I had a little fun with colored markers and created a word collage of the wellbeing actions I’ll be focusing on in 2018. I will be posting somewhere where I’ll see it each morning before I head off for the day.
If Change Was Easy
Feel like you’ve been here before? Worried you’ve got a long list of “to-do’s” that won’t get done? Try one of these techniques…
- If you feel like you might not feel like doing the things you want to do… check out Mel Robbin’s 5 Second Rule.
- Use a system like the one that James Clear has outlined – Set a reminder, build a routine and use rewards.
- Finally, cut yourself some slack, remember you are not perfect and plan in advance to avoid relapse.
We grow through what we go through. Taking time to reflect on the experiences we’ve had and align our intentions moving forward is a time-tested way to get where we want to go. Where would the ship end up if the captain didn’t keep an eye on the horizon and check the compass periodically?
2018 has tremendous potential! Share this post if you found it helpful and share your thoughts in the comments below if you have other tricks you use to stay on track and Be Awesome!
the Growth Collective 