2022: a New Year. We’ve started again… Christmas and New Year’s Eve are behind us. And in these strange times – with the Covid restrictions – we’re all shaping new goals, new plans. Depending on the industry you’re in, a new year also brings many opportunities. What can you do to make 2022 a top year? An Olympic (Winter Games) year? How do you go for your GOLD? The Wheel of Life gives you a practical basis for that. With the Wheel of Life, I give you 5 steps. 5 Steps that have proven themselves and that truly prepare you for the new year. 5 Steps that I regularly go through with clients at the end or beginning of a year. It’s not just about work, but about multiple facets of your life.
1. Take a Break.
Running and making plans? Running and setting goals? That doesn’t work.
What does work is making time to reflect on the completion of 2021 and preparing for the new year. It’s important to find a quiet place, preferably one that inspires you. Put on some music, if that helps you get into flow. And get to work. It always helps me to have a nice new notebook ready. I write down all my plans in it. It’s mid-January now, so perhaps you’ve already done this.
2. Look Back and Wrap Up.
Before you make your ambitious plans for 2022, it’s important to look back first.
And ask yourself a number of good questions. You can ask yourself these questions in general or
very specifically for each context. So, work, personal life, sports, etc. Such as:
– what were my highlights this year?
– what am I proud of?
– what am I grateful for?
– what have I learned? What have I learned from?
– in what areas have I grown?
– what have I contributed (to others? to society? etc.)
3. Where Are You Now? The Wheel of Life.
Before we make plans, it’s good to see where you stand now. I often use the following “Wheel of Life.” You’re basically taking a picture of where you are now. I do this regularly with clients around New Year’s. You have 8 sectors: career/work, finances, health/fitness, friends & family, your relationship, personal growth, hobbies/recreation, living environment. Where are you in each area? You can print out this overview, put a ‘zero’ in the center, and make a layout from 0 to 10 towards the edge. Give each ‘slice of the pie’ a score and shade the area.
4. Where Do You Want to Go?
Now, write down for each area what your ideal score could or should be. That’s very personal. For one person, a 6.5 might already be a big step, for another, an 8 is a nice goal. Now you’ve given the current situation a score and you’ve mapped out the scores you want to achieve.
5. Work on an Area
As the next step, work on one area. It’s handy to start with one area and make it concrete. —- What can or should you do to grow to that highest score?
– What do you need for that?
– Who can help you with that? Think about making an appointment with a friend, colleague, or a coach. Someone who can help you take the next steps.
– And identify for yourself what the first step could be that you can take within a week towards your ideal goal. This makes it small, simple, and concrete.
If you want to read more about setting goals, read the article Implement Your New Year in 4 Steps.
Of course, you’ll learn more about leadership and scaling your business in my two books.
