3 Ways to Invest in the New Year: Unplug, Reflect, and Prepare

Now is a good time to prepare for the new year – before the rush starts again and you lose sight of your upcoming plans, dreams, and resolutions. The old year with its successes and failures is still fresh in your mind, which makes this the best time to make critical decisions and plan for the year ahead.

The only way we can live our most purposeful life is to reflect on the past and prepare for the future. Put your whole life under scrutiny: Your business or work, your finances, your relationships, and your family. While this may seem like a daunting task, the good news is that you need only three steps to invest in the new year:

Reflect on the Past Year

We often think of a new year as a fresh start with a blank slate. While this is true, only by reflecting on the successes and failures of the past year can you gain insight into what you should do to make the next one successful.

Review the current year and consciously reflect on all the major incidents of 2016, the lessons you’ve learned, what you achieved, which parts of your life you enjoyed, and the people who had a positive or negative impact on your life.

Take one or more days with no interruptions and use the time for reflection and contemplation only. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What did I do this year that contributed to my successes?
• What did I do that lead to my failures?
• What would I do differently if I could do it all over again?
• Where did I not measure up to my potential?
• What achievement am I proud of?
• What mistakes do I not want to repeat?

We all have flaws, and we all make mistakes. Don’t crucify yourself for the blunders you’ve made. This exercise is not to criticize yourself, but rather to take the weight off your shoulders before the start of the new year, so you don’t repeat the same mistakes, but rather prepare for your best year ever.

Make Commitments for the New Year

Envision where you want your future to be, both in your work and personal life. Take time to dream – we don’t get enough time to get lost in our thoughts while we hurry through our busy schedules.

Get a clear vision of what you want to accomplish in 2017 and why. Don’t try to have too many goals, though; you will just end up missing most of the goals and end up feeling like a failure. Choose a few big goals and identify the steps you need to take to get there. Break it down into little digestible bits. It’s easier to stay on track with many small wins to celebrate throughout the year.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• What makes me happy? Really, what makes my heart sing?
• What adventures do I want to have?
• Who will be my inspiration this year?
• What must I do to grow every aspect of my life?
• Which areas do I need to improve on?
• What new skills do I want or need to learn?
• How can I make a significant contribution to the people around me?
• Who is truly important to me that I need to spend time with in the coming year?

Take your time as you go through these questions and really dig deep to get a clear understanding of who you are and where you want to take your life. It’s often easier to go through the questions with a friend or a business or life partner.

Unplug and Recuperate from the Past Year

Take a retreat from the world and from technology for a few days or even weeks – that’s the only way you can start the new year refreshed and ready to take on any challenge that will be thrown your way.

Try to go without technology for a few days. Put your phone and laptop away so you’re not tempted to check your messages, your emails, or the internet. We are slaves to technology: We don’t know how to ignore a beeping message that is coming in, and we don’t know how to say no to an “urgent” request from a client.

Spend quality time with your family and friends and just have a relaxing and fun experience. If you can, get away from your normal environment. Otherwise, try to discover a few new places and try out new local adventures.

Invest in the New Year

When we’re overstressed and overtired, we’re often prone to dwell on the negative instead of the positive, so you may want to unplug first and recuperate before you take on the other two steps. Just make sure you set a specific time aside in your calendar to reflect on the old year and prepare for the new year. That way you won’t go through the holidays without taking charge of those critical steps.

Invest in yourself this holiday to start the new year fresh, renewed, and prepared!