How to make 2021 Your Greatest Year So Far?

     

 

 

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” —Eleanor Roosevelt

  

The year 2020 has been nothing short of an apocalyptic year. It is the year which will be etched in our memory for the times to come.

 

Besides all the negative consequences this year brought us, there were many positives also:

 

-    It brought out humane side of the society. People cutting across all boundaries helped each other to tide over this challenge.

-    There were many people who became rich during the time of pandemic.

-We learnt a new way of working from home.

-    We have started transecting more online rather than from brick and mortar stores.

-    We could spend quality time with our family and strengthened our family bonds.

 

With good new of Covid 19 vaccine coming in, the world is more upbeat about 2021.

 

With only two weeks remaining to bid good-bye to 2020, it is the right time to set our focus on 2021.

 

We had no or little control over the things happened in 2020, however we can surely make year 2021 “The Greatest Year So Far”.

 

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” —William Shakespeare

  

The Process-How to Make 2021  Greatest Year So Far?

 

First let us do a small exercise! Please close your eyes and visualise:

 

 How would your greatest year look like?

What goals or achievements you accomplish will really make 2021 your greatest year?

How would you feel if 2021 be the greatest year of your life so far?

 

After completing this exercise, you would have clarity what goals you need to accomplish in the next year so that it would be your, The Greatest Year So Far!

 

Goal Setting

 

 

Here I am not talking about new year resolution, which most of us make every year only to abandon it within the first couple of weeks of making them.

 

Pick up a notebook and write a heading on top of it “My Greatest Year So Far”.

 

Start writing down the goals you want to achieve in 2021. Write down all the goals which would make most impact on your life, if achieved in the next 12 months. Once you have written down all the goals rank them 1, 2,3 depending upon the priority.

 

Take the first 10 goals, re-rank them. Now pick first 6 goals and make them as your goals for the year.  

 

These goals should be holistic encompassing all facets of your life i.e. professional, financial, social, Personal, philanthropy etc.

 

While making and pursuing your goals, keep following things in mind:

 Be Unreasonable

 

We have been sold the idea of setting reasonable goals. I feel, so long as you are reasonable you will not grow.

 

Take any high achiever in any walk of life, if they were reasonable with their goals they would not have achieved greatness in their lives.

 

Similarly, choose goals which will have the most impact on your life, however unreasonable it may seem to you at the moment.

 

Don’t sell yourself short. Small goals do not have the energy to motivate you. It is when you set yourself audacious goals, it moves your body, mind, heart and spirit.

 

Go and set Audacious, Unreasonable goals for yourself. That is how you can make the new year your Greatest Year So Far.

 

They Have to Be Transformational

 

A goal which does not change you as human being has a very little value.

 

Please keep in mind that it is not about achieving goals, rather it is about what or who you become in the pursuit of these goals.

 

So, set those goals which will have the most impact on you and people around you.

 

Set yourself transformational goals, so that you transform yourself.

 

Take Action Everyday
 

Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.-

Peter Drucker

 

Your goals have no value if you don’t take consistent deliberate action on it. Otherwise, it will be more of a wishful thinking than a goal.

 

One of the reasons why most of the new year resolutions fail because people are not willing to put in the required hard work. They do not take deliberate action every day on their resolution.

 

Break down your big goals into smaller goals and fit them into your daily routine.  Everyday take actions which will take you closer to your goals. It may not be a massive action, even a small action every day will take you closer to realisation of your goal.

 

 Be Specific

 

All your goals should be time bound. Against each of your goals set a timeline by which you will complete it.

 

If there is no timeline to complete the goals you will keep procrastinating on it. Also, you need to define the criteria which will tell you whether you have achieved your goals or not.

 

You can’t set yourself vague goals, like- I will reduce my weight. You have to be specific about your goals, like- I will reduce 15 Kg weight by 1^st Oct 2021.

 

Weekly Review

 

Periodic review of our goals provides us visibility on how we are progressing on our plans. Also, it keeps reminding us about our goals.

 

Many a times we make goals and forget about them over a period of time. Review your goals every week on Sunday. Set aside ½-1 hr every Sunday and review your progress. Note down your thoughts and reviews in the same note- book where you had written your goals.

 

Besides reviewing the status, go through your goals once again every week so that it gets stored in your subconscious mind.

  

Practice Visualisation

 

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

― Albert Einstein

 

 It is said that things are created twice, once in our imagination and second time in reality.

 

Many world class athletes, scientists and successful people have used visualisation for achieving extraordinary results.

 

Practice visualising yourself achieving your goals every day. It will have profound impact on your ability to accomplish your goals.

 

 

Have Fun

 

While we make goals for ourselves, we often focus on what will we get or have- money, name, fame, gadgets etc.

 

Besides keeping 6 impactful goals, I would recommend that you keep a couple of fun goals.

 

Go back to your childhood and explore what things you wanted to do- learning back flip or cartwheel, sky diving, bungee jumping etc.

 

You may like to achieve a couple of these long-forgotten childhood dreams the next year. These dreams will make your life livelier and take you back to your childhood.

 

I wish and pray that the year 2021 may be “ The Greatest Year of Your Life So Far”