Take time out for yourself during this holiday season to reflect on this past year and think about your life in 2019. In order to set yourself up for success, you must first reflect on the past year so that you walk into the New Year with the right insights. Here are four questions to help you reflect on this past year: 1) if you had to describe your past year in three words, what would it be? 2) When did you feel inspired, alive or excited this year and why? 3) What lessons have you learned this year? 4) What are your biggest accomplishments for the year?

Now that you have thought about this past year and before you blast through the first quarter of 2019, think about what you want to accomplish in the New Year? During this think time, you need to know precisely why you want to accomplish the dream or goal that you wrote down. The reason that this step is so important is that human nature for most people defers until tomorrow, so if you don’t own it, you won’t do it.

If at this point you are thinking that this sounds good, but I don’t have the time to do this with everything that is on my plate, you’re probably thinking like the majority of people. Unfortunately, that is why 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February.

Let’s start with the foundations of setting S-M-A-R-T goals. This acronym stands for Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Timely. This might sound like a lot of work, but did you know that you’re 40% more likely to commit to your goals if you put them on paper? Writing down your goals may seem to be an absolute waste of time with today’s technology, but doing so makes your brain have to translate a complex wish into an actionable plan, and it works.

So go ahead, write down your goals and set them for different areas of your life, not just your career. Make them juicy, vivid, and burning. When you’re all done, then ask yourself: If I were only able to achieve 3 goals this entire year, what would they be?

Finally, once you have your goals written, take immediate action- even if it is a baby step. Once you take that first step, it becomes easier to continue and gain momentum toward your goal. Change happens as a result of lots of little steps, so don’t feel the need to start with a huge, intimidating step. Once you start taking action, be sure to celebrate wins and review your goals each month to help track your progress. Remember, to create a new habit, it takes roughly 30 continuous days working on your new habit before it becomes automated.

Challenge yourself to make this coming year even better the past year; life is too short not to maximize your life!

Steven L. Schou, CFP®,AWMA®

Vice President Business Development & Wealth Advisor