Happy New Year!

At this time of the new year when all our focus is on going forwards and the year ahead, it’s also a good time to take a pause and look back at what just happened. This may seem strange, particularly as coaching tends to deal with the future rather than the past. However, at a time when many of us are busy setting goals for ourselves, it’s handy to review what went well in the year that’s just done and what could have been better.

It’s no bad thing to acknowledge what went well, celebrate our success, call it what you will. We tend to take for granted what’s worked and focus on that which we’re unhappy with, playing down what we’ve done well. So, take a moment, look back through your diary to remind yourself of what happened this last year and notice all the things that turned out well for you. Acknowledge what you did to make all this happen and think about how you can build upon this in the goals you’re setting yourself for 2011.

Next think about what you would like to be different this time next year – no judgements, please!

From these two lists identify what’s most important to you and start to identify the first steps that are going to get you there. Depending on the complexity or difficulty of what you’ve chosen to achieve these may be many or few, either way, there will be steps along the way and without identifying them, how can you expect to take them and in turn expect to reach your goal? If it’s helpful, build in milestone dates so that you can check that you’re on track and congratulate yourself as you go.

Whatever you choose for yourself – or if like me, you don’t really hold with new year resolutions – I wish you a happy and rewarding 2011.