After celebrating what went right during the last year, the next step in creating an intentional new year is to ask some more really good questions.
“What didn’t go so well this year? What could have been better? What did I learn?”
For a good portion of my life I have just hated mistakes. I think much of that is being a (sort-of recovering now) perfectionist, but I remember, even at a young age, feeling humiliated by getting a math problem incorrect – even if it was a type of problem that was new to me. Like somehow I was already supposed to know what to do before I knew what to do.
I know lots of people like this. You might be one of them, or not.
If you expect perfection of yourself, exploring mistakes can seem like rubbing salt in the wound. But that is so not what it’s all about.
Willingness to honestly assess (without judgement) where you are is a prerequisite for making lasting changes. Shining the light on all the stuff that you would rather just sweep under the carpet is an uncomfortable (but oddly refreshing) practice to undertake when setting a future course for yourself.
The great paradox is that when we stop resisting our mistakes, there is an amazing amount of information available to us in the honest evaluation of what didn’t work. And it’s only possible to really use that new-found knowledge for transformation if we aren’t busy beating ourselves up. And feeling like losers.
So take a deep breath. Relax your shoulders and smile. Take a quiet moment and, act as if you are your best friend (if that isn’t true), and kindly take an honest look at last year. Ask the questions and see what nuggets of wisdom are there.
“What didn’t go so well this year? What could have been better? What did I learn?”
Don’t hate the mistake, look for the lesson in it instead.
Are you ready for your most inspiring year ever? Join me for the telecourse: Ready, Set, Intent!
