Finish 2021 With a Flourish
What a year, right? Turbulent. A prolonged pandemic affecting each of us in different ways. Cyberattacks causing major disruption. A great ship caught in the Suez Canal blocking the flow of goods globally. Conflict. Nature fighting to reclaim its rightful place in a stormy world.
You have a quarter of the year left to finish 2021 off on the most positive note possible. Change is all around. In the Northern hemisphere, you will notice the trees losing their leaves, and the days becoming shorter. In the Southern hemisphere, the blossoms are out, and the birds are making the most of the daylight.
This is your opportunity to reflect on, and rebuild, your resources to ease you, renewed, into the New Year, restored with as much positivity and intent as you can muster. Decide now how you want your head-space to feel in the year ahead. Could you replace anxiety, stress, and exhaustion with contentment, gratitude, and joy? What would life look like if you did?
We get out of the day what we put into it. For you to get the most out of every day, it’s important to keep a diary that will keep you up to date with your tasks. Take a few moments to Journal. Write stuff down. Schedule. By keeping a planner, you can plan the month ahead. As you journal and reflect you will notice you are making plans and memories every month and can see all there is to be grateful for as you move through the year. If you made a note of your goals earlier in the year, this is the perfect time to look at them again and check whether you have succeeded, how you have progressed and whether the progress is on track with your hopes and dreams. You have plenty of time to reassess your accomplishments and to set new goals for the last quarter to get your wheels back on the rails.
Think of this last quarter as your opportunity to ‘analyze’ the year so far. Some stuff got done. There is still stuff to do. Somewhere you might have got derailed a bit. Preparing to complete the old year allows you to get ready to enter the new year at a sprint rather than a standstill. Make notes in your diary of what you can accomplish making the best use of this quarter. This is the time to accomplish on the goals you set earlier that are still waiting in the wings. It also gives you time to fine-tune your goals for next year. The last quarter is the training ground for your aspirations before they go live.
If you’re new at setting goals, try the 5 – 4- 3- 2- 1 approach:
Diarize 5 things you need to do, 4 things you want to do, 3 things you could stop doing, 2 people to connect with who will hold you accountable, and 1 new dream you would love to achieve.
5 – 4- 3- 2- 1 Go!
Believe it or not, now is the time to plan for Christmas. Approach the year end with satisfaction of time well spent and a ‘job well done’! That ‘pet’ week between Christmas and New Year is your ‘personal empowerment time’ – your final reset for the year ahead. Between now and then, look after your body, your relationships and your home. These are the houses in which you live. Eat well, sleep well, nourish your mind with good thoughts, wash your hands, and prime your internal clock.
Whatever is on the cards for the final quarter of your year, make sure that you bring your best to it, and it will bring its best to you.
