3 things to help you end this year with a bang!
Welcome back to another article! The last time I posted here, I discussed comfort zones, following your passion, all the while staying true to your core values and responsibilities. Today, I want to step back to focus and reflect on the year that has passed.
For most of us, 2020 was not an easy year. However, bearing in mind the challenges that 2020 has brought us, I want to encourage you to read this article with a halo of gratitude above you. True enough, what we thought would happen at the beginning of the year, didn’t take place and everything was different. However, you have been resilient and so have I, and we have pulled through.
So treat this article like an exercise if you can. An exercise of gratitude. It’s a reflective article, so if you can, grab a cup of coffee, tea, or wine, and let’s get started on three things to help you to bring this year to a close and prepare for 2021.
1) REFLECTION & GRATITUDE
Take a minute to reflect on what has happened this year for you. These could be any goals or tasks you were determined to do in 2020. Did you start a new job? Did you lose a job? What has happened, the way in which you envisioned it, and what hasn’t? In order to do this, I want you to start with a deep breath. And I want you to remind yourself to take a deep breath if there is a moment when you feel overwhelmed.
To reflect, I want you to first backtrack to what you identify as your core values. If you don’t have these values in place already, that’s not an issue – we can start now. Think about what matters to you and what occupies most of your day’s thoughts. To make this easier, I’m going to do this exercise along with you. I consider my core values as Family, Fitness, and a Service to others. However, bear in mind that your reflection might look different to mine and that’s okay because we may have different values and we need to reflect on this year against what matters to us and no one else.
Keeping these values in mind, ask yourself, what have you done well this year, what has worked for you, and what hasn’t worked for you? I encourage you to ask yourself these questions and list out a few reasons to allow gratitude into your life – especially keeping in mind that you have been resilient and made it so far despite it being a very challenging year.
If it helps, I will share how I have approached this using one of my core values. Some of you may already be aware of how much fitness is important to me. However, with the closing of gyms during the lockdown, I had to make some changes and begin working out at home. I noticed quite a few differences in my home workouts. For one, I am working out every day at home for shorter time periods as opposed to working out 3-4 times a week at the gym.
At home, I am working out for an average of about 20-25 minutes at a time as opposed to my 50-60 minute gym slots. I also no longer had as much prep-time as I did when I would go to the gym and get back home and this meant that I saved up more time to make space for other things in my life including my family, career, and other hobbies. Interestingly enough, working out at home also resulted in a relatively faster recovery period after I had knee surgery in September this year.
2) ONE THING LEFT FOR 2020
Now that we have reflected on the year that is almost coming to an end, I would like to ask you, what is that ONE thing that you have been putting off doing as we approach the end of the year?
Either by design or procrastination? This could be a financial review of your income and expenses, a project you want to get underway, eat healthier, start working out, making time for the closest people in your life, or any such pressing matter that has been on your mind for so long until now.
Once you’ve identified it and made note of it, I URGE you to start working towards getting it started. If it’s a habit you want to start to put into place, start on it now and build it over time. As I write this, I am also aware that I have procrastinated on finalising my business finances with my accountant. I will start now (well after this article is completed) on getting this done. The muscle memory will take some time to build so it’s a good time to start now! I spoke about this in more detail in my previous post, in case you wanted to check it out.
3) PREP FOR 2021
If you are still reading on congratulations! What goals do you have for 2021. I would also like to encourage you to set the right foundation for this by doing an annual ‘2020’ audit of yourself. In my next post, I will speak about this in more detail.Creating a detailed plan now would likely make it easier for you to execute it. I have been working recently with my coaching clients on creating a 90 days plan for the 1st quarter of 2021.
2020 has been a year that tested all of us. It’s been one with challenges, difficulties and some of the news from around the world haven’t helped us get through it. However, we have managed to come this far, being resilient and remain successful. I would like to reiterate once again that I am here with Energise & Grow to offer my coaching services and to cheer you on through what remains of 2020 and help you get started for 2021.
Please check out the link below to arrange to have a chat with me. To borrow the memorable slogan…. it’s good to talk! 🙂
