This is the final installment of both the Year in Review and the Year Ahead. These previous articles do a good job of leading to today’s theme of setting plans that feel right and genuine to you in 2025. In case you missed them here are the links:
Kickstart 2025 by Reflecting on 2024 – Step 1
How to do a Year in Review – Step 2
The Year Ahead 2025 – Step 4
Energizing or De-Energizing?
As you review the past year in your "Year in Review," ask yourself, "What did I learn about my goals and aspirations?" Approach this question with curiosity and patience because it offers valuable insights that will shape the year ahead.
To cut through any self-deception of making goals that aren’t for you then, ask yourself: “Is it Energizing or De-Energizing?” This question taps into a deeper sense of self-awareness, bypassing the overactive brain that tends to intellectualize decisions. Instead, it connects you to a visceral, feeling-based response in your body. This clarity helps you quickly determine which goals resonate with you and which do not.
Intellect or Emotions?
Once the “Energizing or De-Energizing” question reveals your “truth,” you can isolate the goals you genuinely want for yourself. To further cement these goals, link each of them to one or two affirmative emotions. Ask yourself, “How will I feel while working toward or achieving this goal?”
Beware of the natural tendency to intellectualize emotions where you name them in your head. Don’t stop at holding the emotion as an idea in your mind; take the time to feel it in your body. This step deepens your emotional connection to the goal and increases the likelihood of following through.
Tell Yourself a Story – The Visualization Screenplay
With your goals clarified and emotionally anchored, it’s time to visualize what achieving them looks like. I recommend using the screenplay approach, which requires you to detail everything. Here are suggested steps for creating a vivid and impactful visualization:
What exactly is happening?
What am I doing?
What am I saying?
What am I feeling?
What exactly are people saying, and how are they saying it?
What are others doing?
What are others saying?
What are others feeling?
How am I feeling?
By following these steps, you create a clear mental image of success. This visualization anchors your goals further and builds a roadmap in your mind, making the path to achievement feel tangible and real.
Test the Method with Periodic Check-Ins
I invite you to test this method out by using it as a framework with periodic check-ins to track progress and learnings along the way. I found that using this approach naturally inclined me to track my goals and regularly reflect on them. However, if you don’t feel confident, set quarterly reminders for the entire year on days when you can be quiet and reflective.
A Note from Me
I’m feeling energized leading into 2025. How about you? I have three openings in the first half of 2025. If you are considering coaching, please reach out for an easy, comfortable, no-risk conversation. I help people spend a lot less time figuring life out.
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