Don’t set any goals before you’ve done this!

I’m talking about your goals now because if you leave it until December, you’ll probably either not get around to it or not give it the attention it deserves.

Its really important to prepare properly for setting goals because if you don’t know where you are heading, you could end up just about anywhere, which is only great if you are lucky and end up somewhere you like. Much better to make sure.

It links to one of the 10 mindsets for career success: always know the outcome you want before you start anything – however big or small that anything is.

Before you start setting that direction and defining those outcomes, you’ll find it really valuable to take some time out to reflect on what’s gone well for you over the last month, year and decade. Here’s what to do.

Decade:

Look back over the last 10 years and recognise the journey you’ve come on in that time. The things you’ve done, what you’ve achieved, and who you are now compared to back then. Are you more confident, are you doing something you never even dreamed back then would be possible? 

This is an exercise that can be fun to do with a group of colleagues or friends, or with your family.

Year:

Now focus on the last year.

• How have you been brilliant in the last 12 months?
• What have you achieved?
• How have you grown?

What has not gone well and what have you not enjoyed that you don’t want to repeat next year?

What are you grateful for (make a long list) and what has gone well which you do want to repeat?

How has what you’ve done (at work our outside) made a positive difference to others? In other words, what is the impact you had, on your organisation, community, family, friends, clients or anyone else.

Month:

As well as making sure you include this in your answers to what’s happened in the last year, ask yourself this really powerful question:

What have I avoided doing in the last month?

This will really help you to make sure that as you start looking forward to next year, you get the stuff done that will really make the difference to you achieving your goals