How do I prepare for the new year so I can step in with purpose?

As we head into a new year, the air is filled with anticipation and the promise of fresh beginnings. It's a time for reflection, renewal, and the setting of intentions that will shape the days and months ahead. 

Our Members at The Collective have discussed with us the best ways to approach the new year with a mindset of self-discovery and purpose. Here’s a guide we’ve drawn upon to help our members prepare for the upcoming year with a clear and focused mindset. 

Reflect on the past year 

Before we embark on what’s next to come, take stock of the year just passed. What were your favourite moments? Your biggest missteps? What lessons did you learn? What are you most proud of? We encourage you to celebrate your successes and acknowledge areas of growth that you can work on in the new year. Think of this task as an insight into the roadmap for the new year! 

Clarify your values and priorities 

The holidays are a great time to allocate time to completing the Clarity Workbook. Consider the aspects of your life that bring joy, fulfilment and a sense of purpose. We encourage you to use this time to properly take a step back and truly think about what it is YOU want to do, and how YOU want to spend your time. By aligning your goals with your values, you ensure that your pursuits contribute to your wellbeing. Your job for the new year then, is to follow this compass in your decision-making. 

Build an Annual Plan 

Goals give life direction, and the new year is the perfect time to set them. Be intentional about your aspirations, ensuring they are both realistic and inspiring. Our favourite way to do this at The Collective is through effectively used SMART goals (see our blog post [here] about the importance of setting SMART goals!). We encourage you to set SMARt goals across all aspects of your life – mind, body, business, family and friends, and finance. Ensuring they are well-defined, you can then break them down into manageable steps. 

One of our favourite things to do is break them down into “bike-sized chunks” of sorts. Our members talk about the importance of actively writing them down on pen and paper – grab out a big legal pad or your favourite new journal and get to work! We like to start off listing the top 10 things in the first three months of the year that we can do to ensure we are on track to achieve our goals. Once you’ve done this, you can then translate these 3 month progress goals into your diary and planner, leaving room to plan weekly in advance on a Sunday night for the upcoming week with the ways you will help yourself that week. This task allows you to see the lifecycle of your goal journey – from an annual overview, to a three month vision, to then weekly checklist items is an incredibly efficient way to ensure you remain accountable and constantly in touch with where your progress is at. 

As you step into the new year, armed with reflection, intention, and a clear vision, remember that the journey is as important as the destination. Embrace each day with curiosity and enthusiasm, and may the coming year be a canvas upon which you paint a masterpiece of purpose, growth, and fulfilment. Cheers to a year filled with clarity and the realisation of your most meaningful aspirations!