Yup, its that time of year again!

2018 is rolling to a close and amidst all the parties, family, friends, shopping, snow and special TV programs, this time of year offers up the perfect opportunity to take stock of the past 12 months, clear away “schtuff” that’s simply hanging around and look forward into 2019.

Starting today with another installment tomorrow and then Monday, we’ll be looking at exactly how you can make 2019 your best year yet (at home or at the office). PS – Feel free to send these posts to your family and friends too.

And if you follow these few simple steps, you’ll get maximum benefit from the exercises I’ll be sharing with you:-

1.  Take time to actually do the exercises! You won’t need to spend any more than 15 minutes on each exercise, though more is perfectly fine if you want.

2.  Write down your answers, thoughts, ideas, inspirations.  Whatever comes to mind.  Don’t just consider it – write it down.

3.  Be honest with yourself.  No one needs to see or hear your replies or thoughts if you don’t want to share them.  But YOU will hear them so be honest, with extra kindness and caring if need be.

4.  Look for the learning.  These are not exercises to provoke self-doubt or guilt but simply tools of learning.

5.  Create actions from the learning.  Share your new awareness with your spouse or partner, hire a coach or ask a trusted friend to help you implement some goals or action steps.

PART I – TAKING STOCK

In a quiet moment today, when you are alone and have a few minutes to yourself, write down your answers to these questions.  Use a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 representing “definitely not” and 10 being “definitely yes” along with any additional comments you want to make:-

1.  Have I lived in a way that is consistent with my values this year?

2.  Have I taken great care of my mind, body and spirit this year?

3.  Have I achieved what I set out to achieve this year?

4.  Have I been deliberate in my actions?

5.  Have I taken control to move, shape, and design my environment myself?

Remember, answer with honesty and without guilt.  “Success” or “failure” is not the issue here.  We are mining for the gold of learning through honesty.

Now, let’s change tack a bit.  Over the years, I’ve found that we human creatures are often pretty poor at recognizing our achievements and celebrating them.  So here are a few questions to help surface up some of that good stuff!

1.  What worked really well in 2018?

2.  What actions did I take that served others?

3.  What am I most proud of?

4.  When I look back throughout 2018, what makes me smile?

5.  Who entered my life in 2018 that brings me joy?

6.  What did I do that I didn’t think I could do?

In tomorrow’s post, I’ll share a tool you can use to get clarity on those things that you are putting up with, and we’ll take steps to get rid of them once and for all!

In the meantime, enjoy the last few days of 2018 as you get ready to ring in a brand new year, full of opportunity, learning and potential!