Your Best Year Ever

1. Believe in the Possibility of Your Best Year Ever

"If you do it daily," Jon Gordon, author of the bestselling book The Energy Bus, told me, "you'll notice incredible benefits and major life change."

Upgrade your beliefs. Our beliefs shape our reality and influence our actions. To experience your best year ever, start by identifying and challenging limiting beliefs that hold you back. Replace these with liberating truths that empower you to achieve more.

Embrace abundance thinking. Scarcity thinkers operate from fear and limitation, while abundance thinkers see opportunities and possibilities. Cultivate an abundance mindset by:

• Practicing gratitude daily
• Focusing on what you have rather than what you lack
• Viewing challenges as opportunities for growth
• Believing in your ability to learn and improve

By shifting your perspective and upgrading your beliefs, you open yourself to new possibilities and set the foundation for extraordinary achievement in the coming year.

2. Complete the Past to Design Your Future

"An experience is not complete until it is remembered."

Conduct an After-Action Review. To move forward effectively, you must first gain closure on the past. Use the After-Action Review process to:

1. State what you wanted to happen
2. Acknowledge what actually happened
3. Learn from the experience
4. Adjust your behavior

Leverage regret as an opportunity. Instead of viewing regrets as roadblocks, see them as signposts pointing towards areas for growth and improvement. The Opportunity Principle suggests that we feel the strongest regret in areas where we have the greatest potential for positive change.

By completing the past, you free yourself from emotional baggage and gain valuable insights to inform your future goals and actions. This process allows you to enter the new year with clarity and purpose, ready to design and pursue your best year ever.

3. Set SMARTER Goals for Achievement and Habits

"We experience the strongest positive emotional response when we make progress on our most difficult goals," according to psychology professor Timothy A. Pychyl.

Create SMARTER goals. Effective goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Actionable
• Risky
• Time-keyed
• Exciting
• Relevant

Balance achievement and habit goals. Achievement goals focus on one-time accomplishments, while habit goals involve ongoing activities. Aim for a mix of both types to create comprehensive personal growth.

When setting goals, ensure they are challenging enough to stretch you but not so daunting that they paralyze you. Write your goals down and review them regularly to increase your chances of success. By creating a well-rounded set of SMARTER goals, you provide yourself with a clear roadmap for your best year ever.

4. Embrace Discomfort for Personal Growth

"If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins."

Step out of your Comfort Zone. True growth and achievement happen when you push beyond your comfort zone. Embrace the Discomfort Zone, where you feel challenged but not overwhelmed. Avoid the Delusional Zone, where goals are unrealistic and set you up for failure.

Reframe discomfort as progress. When you feel uncomfortable, recognize it as a sign that you're growing and making progress towards your goals. Use these strategies to embrace discomfort:

• Acknowledge the value of getting outside your comfort zone
• Lean into the experience
• Notice your fear without letting it control you
• Don't overthink it; focus on taking the next step

By intentionally seeking out and embracing discomfort, you accelerate your personal growth and increase your chances of achieving extraordinary results in the coming year.

5. Find Your Why: Connect with Your Key Motivations

"People lose their way when they lose their why."

Identify your key motivations. For each goal, ask yourself:

• Why is this goal important to me personally?
• What's at stake, both positively and negatively?

Connect intellectually and emotionally. It's not enough to understand your motivations logically; you must also feel them emotionally. Visualize what achieving your goal will feel like and the impact it will have on your life.

List and prioritize your top motivations for each goal. This process helps you tap into your intrinsic motivation, which is crucial for maintaining momentum when faced with obstacles or setbacks. By staying connected to your why, you'll find the strength to persevere through challenges and achieve your best year ever.

6. Master Your Motivation Through Rewards and Commitment

"Being self-congratulatory isn't about ego or hubris, it is about harnessing your reward circuitry and tapping your dopamine pipeline."

Internalize the reward. Train yourself to anticipate and enjoy the intrinsic rewards of working towards your goals. Over time, the activity itself can become its own motivation.

Be realistic about commitment. Understand that forming new habits takes longer than commonly believed—an average of 66 days, not just 21. Set realistic expectations and prepare for the long haul.

Master your motivation by:

• Identifying and focusing on intrinsic rewards
• Using habit tracking tools like calendar chains or apps
• Gamifying your progress to make it more engaging
• Measuring your gains rather than focusing on the gap

By mastering your motivation, you'll be better equipped to maintain momentum and overcome obstacles on your journey to your best year ever.

7. Leverage the Power of Accountability and Community

"Belief is easier when it occurs within a community."

Choose your circle wisely. Surround yourself with supportive, like-minded individuals who understand and encourage your goals. Share your aspirations selectively with those who can provide:

• Learning opportunities
• Encouragement
• Accountability
• Healthy competition

Join or create supportive groups. Consider:

• Online communities
• Exercise groups
• Mastermind circles
• Coaching or mentoring relationships
• Reading or study groups
• Accountability partnerships

By intentionally building a supportive community, you create an environment that fosters growth, provides encouragement during challenging times, and celebrates your successes. This network becomes a powerful asset in achieving your best year ever.

8. Take Decisive Action with the LEAP Principle

"NEVER LEAVE THE SCENE OF CLARITY WITHOUT TAKING DECISIVE ACTION."

Apply the LEAP Principle:

• Lean into the change with expectancy
• Engage with the concept until you achieve clarity
• Activate and do something—anything
• Pounce and do it now

Overcome analysis paralysis. Don't wait for perfect conditions or complete information. Take action as soon as you have enough clarity for the next step. Remember, clarity comes in degrees, and taking action often provides the insights needed for subsequent steps.

By embracing the LEAP Principle, you combat the Law of Diminishing Intent and maintain momentum towards your goals. This decisive approach turns your vision for your best year ever into reality through consistent, purposeful action.

9. Use Activation Triggers to Streamline Goal Achievement

"When goal pursuit is fueled by personal endorsement and valuing of the goal, commitment and persistence will be high."

Create Activation Triggers. These are simple if/then or when/then statements that cue desired responses to anticipated obstacles or contingencies. To develop effective Activation Triggers:

1. Brainstorm potential triggers
2. Optimize triggers through elimination, automation, or delegation
3. Anticipate obstacles and determine your response
4. Experiment and refine until you find what works

Examples of Activation Triggers:

• If I get a phone call after 5:45 p.m., then I'll let it go to voicemail.
• When I finish dinner, I will immediately put on my running shoes.
• If I feel tempted to skip my morning meditation, then I will do just 2 minutes.

By implementing Activation Triggers, you reduce friction in pursuing your goals and increase your chances of consistent action, even when faced with challenges or low motivation.

10. Conduct Regular Goal Reviews for Continuous Progress

"I find that taking time to count my blessivngs keeps my mind focused on helping others and achieving even more than last year."

Implement a multi-tiered review system:

• Daily Review: Scan your goals and identify relevant next actions
• Weekly Review: Connect with your motivations, conduct a mini After-Action Review, and plan for the upcoming week
• Quarterly Review: Analyze your goals' relevance and make necessary adjustments

Use the 5 R's in your quarterly review:

1. Rejoice in your progress
2. Recommit to ongoing goals
3. Revise goals that need adjustment
4. Remove goals that are no longer relevant
5. Replace removed goals with new aspirations

Regular reviews keep your goals top of mind, allow for course corrections, and provide opportunities to celebrate progress. This consistent reflection and adjustment process ensures that you stay on track for your best year ever, adapting to changes and maintaining momentum throughout the year.

Last updated: July 30, 2024