7 Questions to Consider for a Successful New Year

Be Intentional in Goal-Setting to Achieve Maximum Possibilities

It's the beginning of a new year, which is always a time of great hope and new possibilities.

In closing out 2014, I found these reflection questions helpful in my quest to achieve maximum possibilities in this new calendar year.

• What were my major accomplishments this year?

• What goals did I not achieve and why? Are these goals still relevant? Do I want to carry any of these forward? How will I approach them differently?

• What was a major theme or words that characterized my year?

• What were some of my biggest learning takeaways this year?

• What am I most grateful for?

• What do I want to continue doing in 2015?

• What do I want to stop doing?

By looking forward to 2015, how can I work to make it one of my best years, ever?

As we all know, success and goal achievement don’t just happen. I find that I must be intentional about what I want and then put plans into place to achieve what I’m aiming for.

Here are some questions to consider.

• What are my top two to three priorities for 2015? Are they challenging enough?

• What are some specific tactics I will need to achieve these priorities?

• What resources or learning tools will I need to achieve these goals from my current position?

• How will I know I've been successful?

• What process and outcome goals should I set?

• What theme(s) or one- or two-word phrases do I want to focus on? Or, do I want to set resolutions?

• How can I ensure that I will be successful?

I offer these self-reflective questions to help start your year off right. For each of us, this will be a very personal exercise.

I recommend you have goals that are both personal and professional. On the personal level, I include goals in all four dimensions: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

To help me more aggressively learn, make course corrections and achieve my goals, I've incorporated principles from the book, The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months, in my weekly and annual planning.

I highly recommend it. It's guaranteed to help you make 2015 your most productive year, ever!

Have a safe, healthy, happy and prosperous new year!