Written by: Adelina Stefan, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
For many of us, the end of the year is a time to recharge, spend time with your family, and reflect on what worked and what didn’t during this year. It’s also a time to celebrate what we have achieved in a year full of uncertainty despite the potential.
When reflecting on your actions and goals, two key questions to ask yourself are:
1. Did you accomplish what you planned or not? If yes, take a moment to celebrate, be grateful and define your new year’s resolutions.
2. If not, what held you back? It can be poor planning, commitment, lack of support, illness, unforeseen events, or anything else that may have stopped you from being fully focused on what really mattered to you.
This will help you understand the root of not achieving your goal and whether it is still worth focusing it. In other words, if you could change something, what would that be to make it happen? What are the things you are proud of, and what areas in your life still need improvement? Maybe you spent too much time on getting some courses certifications that now you have realized it was not worth it, or maybe, you have worked so hard that you spent too little time with your family.
As the answers will be unique for each of us and differ depending on each situation, reflecting on the past year’s goals and achievements will help you decide what you would like to include in the backlog of activities for 2021.
For me, I think it was a productive year, being able to spend more time with my family, focus on my business and complete a few other certifications that helped me develop both on a personal and professional level.
As an Agile Coach, having used Personal Agility System to help people gain more fulfillment and balance in their lives, I believe that a first step in setting priorities and resolutions is defining “what really matters?”. However, it’s not an easy question to answer for many of us. However, if you don’t have a clear destination in your journey or don’t know the values that drive you to those goals, why would you still do something?
Setting goals can help you improve, change, become a better self, and make you feel that you are going in the right direction. However, it needs commitment, time, and perseverance.
These are 5 golden tips that will help you achieve the New Year’s resolutions:
1. Align your smart goals with your inner values. What are you passionate about? what do you like to spend your time and energy on? By reflecting on your values and what makes you effective, you will become more confident in what makes you unique or at least unusual, in your own competencies, and hence, on what you need more.
2. Prepare well. Many of us are often absorbed by the end outcome and tend to rush into actions without being fully prepared for that change or transition. Invest enough time to familiarize yourself with what you need to get there and what resources you possess. Last, if you cannot manage it on your own, don’t hesitate to ask for support or someone who can help you move forward.
3. Start with small steps. For instance, if your goal is to become proficient in a specific language, set smaller milestones, such as completing an intensive course by March or preparing for your language test by September. Then, define the activities for that period. List at least one action for the next week and schedule time to accomplish it.
4. Reflect on your progress. Track regularly your progress to check if it works or if you need to make adjustments before being too late or spending too much time on something that doesn’t add value to you. Remember that you can always change something if it’s not going into your target direction.
5. Celebrate small wins. Even if you are driven by the result, it is important to take a moment to celebrate your small accomplishments that are part of your bigger goal. It can be that you found a new way of doing things easier, eliminated a bottleneck, or someone offered to help you get unstuck.
What are your goals or intentions you set as we enter a new unpredictable year?
Regardless of what resolutions you commit to, the goal is to improve your life and do more things that matter and bring fulfillment in your life!
I wish you a New Year with happiness, health, and new achievements and inspirations in your life, and stay agile!
If you have big distant goals, but you feel that you are not getting closer, or if you are not happy with your current personal or professional situation and where you are going, schedule your free clarity call with me and see we can work together towards your goals.
Adelina Stefan, Executive Contributor, Brainz Magazine
Adelina Stefan is a Professional Certified Coach & Intercultural Facilitator specialized in Career Development, with a deep expertise in international HR recruitment and selection and Training and Development. Having worked for 10+ years across cultures, Adelina seeks to catalyze individuals’ potential, helping them create and implement their unique career blueprint and, at the same time, achieve a healthy work-life balance. She specializes in working with ex-pats and mid-to senior-level executives dealing with challenging work environments that can affect their performance and well-being. She supports organizations in building a corporate coaching culture by highlighting individuals’ maximum potential and engagement to become dedicated and highly successful employees. Her practice includes Career, Life, Executive, and Agile Coaching for individuals and developing and implementing corporate Human Resources practices for improving intercultural relations.
