“Fresh Snow in OG” (photo credit: Grace Church)
Week #173 – Welcome to 2018!!! (What tracks do you want to make this year?)
Happy New Year, Tribe — and Happy First Friday of 2018!!!
As I mentioned last week, I hope you made some time over the holidays to look back at 2017 and CELEBRATE the things that went right.
And, I hope you have a plan in place to keep track of the good stuff that will come your way in the year ahead. Because we are on our way!
But if not, don’t despair! I just returned to LA after a ten-day trip back home to New Jersey — and to a calendar that seems stuck on December 24th!
My apartment is still decorated, there are unsent Christmas cards, and a list of yearly review/planning questions still not answered!
But January is a blank slate…like that fresh blanket of snow on the beach in my photo. And I intend to take time this week to catch up on my end-of-the-year wrap-up and 2018 prep.
If you’re a little behind — or the holidays left you in the dust (or slush as it is for so many of you right now) — join me this week as I lay the first tracks into 2018!
Here’s a recap of some of my favorite tools:
- YOUR “ONE WORD” — Three or four years ago I ran across a little red book called The ONE WORD That Will Change Your Life. The gist is this: while contemplating the year ahead — and working through a few questions (in the PDF on the website: www.getoneword.com) — you come up with ONE WORD that encapsulates what you want the year to mean to you. Then, you make a plan to keep it front and center to live out daily. What ONE WORD would you like to make your focus for 2018?
- David Allen (author of Getting Things Done) offers a series of “Year-End Review” questions on his website that prompt you to “complete and remember” the year behind — and “create” the year ahead. (The link is from a previous year so just modify the years to 2017/2018.) You can move through this list quickly with first thoughts — or spend lots of time really unpacking things. What would you like to create for yourself in 2018?
- Another favorite is the “Clean Sweep Assessment” — a more mathematical measurement of personal satisfaction in four key areas of our lives: physical environment, personal well-being, money, and relationships. How do you tally up?
- And, of course, there is always traditional goal-setting — take a dream and use the “SMART” acronym to break it down into: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound action steps. Just remember to put a little WHY behind your WHAT — and consider an even SMART-ER approach by adding EMOTION and RESULT to the mix by asking WHY? (“So that I can FEEL…” and “So that I can achieve/accomplish/acquire/arrive at/accept…etc.”)
- And for all you compulsive types trying to build a daily habit — check out Jerry Seinfeld’s excuse-busting “Don’t Break the Chain” method! It’s not just for writers!
Your Happyness Challenge for the week ahead: What tracks to do you want to make in 2018? If you haven’t done so already, take some time this week to reflect on the year past — and to think about the year ahead. What are your goals, dreams, aspirations, and visions? Where do you want to be next year this time? What is your WHY?
If you have a favorite reflection or goal-setting tool that you use, please share it with me in the comments or via email. And if there is some way that I can help you set a goal that will Spread Happyness to you or someone you love in 2018, please let me know that too!
“The future lies before you, like a field of fallen snow: be careful how you tread it, for every step will show.” (Author Unknown)
Spread Happyness — share your dreams, goals, aspirations, or favorite tools in the comments!
1/5/18 by Grace Church
© Grace Church
grace@spreadhappyness.com