New Year, New You. New You, New How? Here's How!

2021 could not have arrived soon enough and I think we all shared a huge sigh of relief when it did! At the same time though, I had these somewhat mixed feelings of uncertainty on the one hand and excitement for what it may hold for me and my business. 

2020 is gone like it never existed and now only stats and figures remain of what will be the most life-altering year of our lifetime. 

We now find ourselves facing off against 2021, not really knowing what to expect, but we will not be the victims here. We need to start holding ourselves accountable and start asking ourselves the right questions in our life. Difficult questions, questions that will sometimes make us uncomfortable but this is the thing, the quality of questions we ask ourselves will determine the quality of our lives both personal and professional. 

It is therefore so important to ask the right questions and in this blog, I am going to help you with a few of those that will inevitably result in you having a better quality personal and professional life. 

Let’s start with what can we do to increase our odds of winning the game in 2021? 

What action can we take to help us conquer this year? We will be able to look back at the end of it all and say... “We made it. We crushed 2021; we came out of this year stronger and better!”

Now, I know that mindset plays a huge part in every business and that the success of a business can be directly related to the degree of mental strength and the mindset of its leaders. Neglecting this mostly underrated factor in your business WILL cause your business to stagnate or even decline over time. 

Don’t worry, here is the good news. You can do something about this and in this blog, I want to share with you a very powerful mindset exercise, where you will have to answer a few of those tough, quality questions. I can assure you that if you do this right, with an open mind and an honest heart, it will equip you with what you and your business need to get to the end of 2021 at the top of your game. 

Okay, so here we go. You will need a pen and a piece of paper and also make sure you are in a relaxed state of mind without any distractions. Remember you need to physically write down your answers on a piece of paper- this is important.

We first need to let go of all the baggage of 2020 and let it go. Most of us carry our failures and let-downs around with us like a bunch of heavy rocks in a backpack. As the years go by the bag gets heavier and heavier, which means doing, creating, and being gets harder and harder with each passing year. So unless you would love to repeat the last 12 months (with no growth), let's get straight into Part 1. Part 1 is called Stop, Drop and Go. STOP what you are doing and pause. DROP what's not working and GO with what is working. We need to make space to take on 2021.

PART 1

Question 1. What happened in the last 12 months (personally and professionally)?

Question 2. What are the lessons of each thing you experienced that you can take with you into 2021?

Question 3. Who were you in January 2020? Do some introspection and be honest with yourself.

Question 4. Who are you now? You can not be the same person after 12 months.

Question 5a. What are you still holding onto from 2020 that is taking up space and not serving you (mentally, emotionally, and physically)?

Question 5b. What will there be room for when you let go of the issues in 5a?

Now that you have spent time on this and acknowledged what held you back this last year, we can properly close off 2020 and focus on 2021. Now burn your answers or throw it away and let's move over to part 2.

We now need to create the rules of the game you need to play over the next 12 months to get you to your breakthrough. Remember; we are all playing the game, but now you can create one that you are actually passionate about playing. Most importantly, we will create a game that you are going to win! So let’s do this.

PART 2

Question 1a. What specific outcomes would tell you that you've had a breakthrough?

Question 1b. What would experiencing that breakthrough give you?

Question 1c. What would need to happen in order for you to know you are on track to experience this breakthrough? 

Question 2 is all about creating the rules for the game you need to play this year to reach your breakthrough. This is important and will be your guideline through 2021.

Question 2a. How many weeks do you want to take off in 2021?

Question 2b. How many days do you want to work per week?

Question 2c. How many hours do you want to work per day?

Question 2d. What things do you absolutely not want to do next year? What are you saying no to in 2021?

Question 3. Who will you as a person need to become in order to win this game, to reach your breakthrough?

Question 4. Go to the end of 2021 and visualize that you have already reached your breakthrough and are now doing this exercise again... What did you learn?

Question 5. Go to the end of 2021 and visualize that you have already reached your breakthrough and are now doing this exercise again... What did you let go of?

With the next questions, you need to dig deep and be honest. We are now getting to the equipment and skills you will need to actually obtain that breakthrough.

Question 6a. What is one quarterly habit required for reaching your breakthrough?

Question 6b. What is one weekly habit required for reaching your breakthrough? 

Question 6c. What is one daily habit required for reaching your breakthrough?

Lastly, Question 7 has 2 parts and focuses on how you will win this game in 2021?

7a. What is the guiding question you can create and ask yourself every day that will have you reach your breakthrough?

7b. What is the first word or phrase that comes to you that symbolizes what you are going to be creating over the next 12 months?

That's it! Keep these questions and your answers nearby and frequently go over them. This will be your ultimate compass for success in 2021

It is however important to understand that your answers to these questions are not nearly as relevant or valuable to you as the questions themselves. So, if you found yourself in your head overthinking.. stop it! Taking the time to simply be in the questions a gift for you and your business. Your answers may change, your game might change and that is okay. What is most important is that you continue to have the courage to ask yourself these quality questions.

Remember the quality of your life is determined by the quality of questions you ask yourself.

Cheers and congrats on taking this first step to success in 2021.