How to Live A Better Life In the Next Twelve Months.

It’s no secret, we want to live a life that matters. We want to make our life better and better, year after year. And as the New Year approaches, many of us start to think about the change we want to experience in the next twelve months.

 In order for us to achieve the change we believe will lead us to living a better life, we must be honest with ourselves. We have to acknowledge and accept that the change we want to experience will only occur with a greater commitment on our part to be a better version of ourselves.

 No amount of wishing or hoping will erase the fact that leveling up our lives require us to expand our mindset and perspective about what’s possible, develop effective habits that increase the achievement of goals relevant to the change we seek, and cultivate a level of faith that creates a passionate determination and commitment towards experiencing the change we seek, even in the face of our fears and self-doubt.

 The change we seek has less to do with who we’ve been, what we possess, who we know and what we know and more to do with who we’re committed to becoming to level up our life. Because it is in the process of becoming the person capable of creating the change we seek that we expand our mindset and perspective, and develop the self-leadership habits necessary to do what it takes to achieve what has never been in our lives. It is through the process of becoming we tap into our power to bend reality.

 I know that this may sound like a no-brainer. Yet, every year, millions of Americans set resolutions and find themselves by Valentine’s day returning back to routine habits that support the status-quo. Like many of you, I’ve been just as guilty of staying stuck in behavioral patterns that blocked me from achieving new possibilities in my life. Because I have had great successes and big failures in my life, I am intimate with what works and what doesn’t work for me to create positive change. This awareness coupled with holding myself accountable for results helps me to be mindful of the effectiveness of my actions. It provides me with clarity about my direction and helps me determine when I need to press the reset button and change course. Some goals take longer to create traction and build momentum. It’s important that we have a realistic time frame when it comes to setting and achieving our goals, otherwise, we will bounce from one bright and shiny idea to the next which only delays our progress.

 As you think about the positive change you want to experience in the next twelve months, the following tips will help increase your effectiveness towards becoming the person capable of creating the change you seek.

 1. Begin with the End In Mind. In 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Stephen Covey writes, “To begin with the end in mind means to start with a clear understanding of your desired destination. It means to know where you are so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.” Beginning with the end in mind requires that you be honest with yourself about where you are and where you want to be. The space between these two points requires that you build a bridge of achievements that closes the gap between the two. Building your bridge of achievements requires that you at least be clear about what you need to do in the first 90 days and commit to taking action that enables you to build progress and momentum towards your goal. It’s hard to hit a target when you don’t know what you’re aiming for.

 2. Dare to Believe Bigger. The limits we have about ourselves limit what we believe is possible with God. You have to initiate the shift you want by expanding your mindset and perspective about yourself, and what you believe is possible in your life. You have to take the initiative to identify beliefs and behaviors that cause you to resist making the changes to achieve the happiness and success you want. Your new attitude should be: “God, I’m ready. I’m taking the limits off you by believing that nothing is impossible with you. Just because I haven’t done something doesn’t mean I can’t do it in your power. I declare I’m coming into a shift.” Dare to believe beyond what you can see.

3. Embrace the Process of Becoming. Regardless of what your next level looks like, you will have to embrace the process of becoming the person capable of achieving it. No amount of wishing and hoping will enable you to develop the mindset, habits and network necessary to experience a better life. When you begin to expand your mindset and perspective about what else is possible in your life, you’re more apt to expand the vision you have of who you can become, what you can achieve and what you’re worthy of experiencing. At every level of personal growth and expansion, you will need to develop your capacity to be more and do more. You will need to expand your supporting cast. Believe enough in yourself and your goals to create and execute a personal development plan. And ask for help. Asking for help is a sign that you are serious about the achievement of your dreams and goals. Be grateful for the individuals that support you in small and big ways.

 4. Own Your Power. Contrary to any limiting beliefs you may have about yourself, your past or current challenges, you have been divinely designed to have a positive impact in our world. Trust in the innate power of the unique ability you were endowed with at birth. Remember to remember those moments when you didn’t think you had what it took to get through something, but you did. Your strong moments serve as references to what you are capable of. Hold them close in your heart. You will need to refer to them throughout your lifetime. Make a list, if you have to, of you what you built and, what you learned and what you know. You'll be reminded of how strong and gifted you are.

 5. Listen to Your Intuition. When an idea keeps coming up in your mind and soul and you feel inspired by it, it is an indication that it’s something you need to do to become the person you were born to be. And it means you already have the potential in you to make it happen. Many times these ideas will be something you have never attempted to do. You might feel uneasy at first. Choose to be comfortable with the temporary feelings of discomfort that are bound to happen as you liberate your potential to be more, do more and experience more of what you desire.

 6. Generate More Energy. Performing at your best requires energy. Your energy is created by your thoughts, emotions and actions. A few ways you can boost your energy and optimize your spiritual, mental, emotional and physical energy is to nourish your spirit, accept the truth of your reality, manage how you communicate in your relationships, recognize that everything you think and believe is not true, get the facts, let go of anger, bitterness and unforgiveness, say NO more often to requests, and embrace more of what you want to experience in life with a YES attitude. Perhaps like so many people you believe that time is your most important resource, when in fact your energy is your most important resource. Time is fixed. There is only 24 hours in a day. Your energy fluctuates. You have control over your thoughts, emotions and actions. You can’t stop time from passing by. You can take action to boost your energy!

 7. Own the Day. Get clear about how you want to feel as you pursue and achieve the goals you want to accomplish in the next twelve months. Be bold. Reclaim your agenda. Reclaiming your agenda will require that you say NO more often to requests to ensure that you are achieving the priorities linked to the goals you have set in the future four: self, social, skills and service. What gets scheduled gets done. Start with developing a personal and professional development plan that helps you get clear about the knowledge, skills, habits and relationships you need to develop to increase your effectiveness towards the achievement of your goals. Once your plan is aligned with your vision and intentions, you need to develop the habit of mapping out priority tasks on a yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily basis in your planning calendar. Each day execute your top three priority tasks before any other tasks to ensure that the urgent needs of others are not constantly causing you to place your priorities on the back burner. Be sure to block out time for learning and reflection.

8. Develop Routines that Build New Habits. Extraordinary performance is possible through extraordinary preparation. Do you eat according to the performance required to win each day? Do you program your mind at the start of each day for success? Are you visualizing positive outcomes from every call, meeting, or presentation in advance? Do you have a morning ritual that helps you get in a “game on” energetic vibration? In his book The Power of Habit Charles Duhigg writes, “Habits are choices that we deliberately make at some point and then stop thinking about but continue doing, often every day.” According to research conducted by the College of London it takes approximately 66 days to develop a new habit. Because your habits represent choices that you make, it’s important to consider how your present routines are helping you develop the habits necessary to achieve your next level of success. Assess your habits based on your intention to become the person capable of achieving your goals. Your habits should contribute to the achievement of your goals in key areas of your life now. You will find that some of them have outlived their usefulness. Develop routines that enable you to take baby steps towards the development of new habits essential to the achievement of your present aspirations. Joining a group of like minded individuals striving to achieve similar goals for support and accountability will help accelerate your success. Remember, your daily habits create the quality of your life.

 9. Become a Person of Influence. Serve your way to greatness. There is nothing more precious than your reputation. It is a priceless asset. What words do you think come to mind when people think about you? How does your reputation distinguish you in ways that are beneficial to your personal and professional aspirations? Be a person of excellence. Be passionate towards making people and things better. Determine how you can use what you know and have right now to deliver value in the lives of others. Develop your emotional intelligence skills. Your ability to manage your feelings effectively to improve the quality of your relationships and increase your energy towards the achievement of your goals is a valuable skill. Inspire others to believe in their greatness. Challenge them to grow. Role model the way so that they believe in their ability to create new possibilities in their life. People may forget what you say but they never forget how you made them feel about themselves.

10. Bounce Back Better. In his book, Learned Optimism, Dr. Martin Seligman Ph.D. writes, “Your way of explaining events to yourself determines how helpless you become, or how energized when you encounter the everyday setbacks as well as momentous defeats…your explanatory style reflects the ‘word in your heart’.” The word in our heart reflects our self-talk (i.e. our storytelling mind). When you choose to look at a challenging situation from an empowering perspective, this shift in your perspective increases the likelihood that the story you tell yourself empowers you to believe in your ability to bounce back and thrive versus telling yourself a story that diminishes your faith and trust in yourself which causes you to wallow in self-pity and a state of learned helplessness. When you change the way you look at a thing, the thing you look at changes. Be mindful of how you perceive failure. Failure is only feedback from the universe nudging you to increase your effectiveness to produce the results you seek, or reevaluate the path you’re on and whether it is the ideal path for your strengths and skills to achieve the results you seek. Get clear about the lessons learned from failure and move on. There are millions of ways to achieve success in life. Any failure that you experience is an indication that you are trying which says a lot about you and why you should be proud of your efforts. You got this!

 In Conclusion

I'm excited about the personal and professional opportunities that will present themselves to you in the next twelve months. As humans, we live much of our lives in our comfort zone. This is neither good nor bad. It is what it is. Judith M. Bardwick writes, “The comfort zone is a behavioral state with which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral position.” If we didn’t operate in this anxiety-neutral position, many of us would find ourselves bouncing off the walls as a result of constantly being in a state of heighten anxiety. This wouldn’t make us or the people around us very happy. Trust me.

 And yet, our capacity to learn, grow and expand requires us to step beyond our comfort zone and take on new adventures that lead us down unknown paths for us to realize the untapped potential within us.

 We have to be honest with ourselves about our feelings of fear, self-doubt and insecurity. We are human beings, not machines. Our emotions are directly connected to our sense of well-being. The practice of mindfulness helps us to be fully present with what is which helps us to appreciate the present moment. Mindfulness helps to quiet our mental chatter about what has happened in the past and our projections about the future.

 Getting clear about where you desire to be in key areas of your life in the next twelve months will help you develop a compelling vision of your future. Be sure to have an understanding about WHY the particular goals that you’ve established for yourself are important to you NOW. The stronger your emotional reasoning toward the achievement of your goals, the more likely you are to accomplish them. You will have many great experiences on this journey and you will be faced with inevitable obstacles and setbacks. Keep your strong moments close to your heart as a reminder of what you’re capable of in the face of challenges.

 Embracing the unknown is a part of the process of becoming the person you need to be to achieve the goals you want to accomplish. When you accept this truth as a fact, the angst that you feel about stepping out of your comfort zone will lessen. Embrace the next twelve months as an adventure with a curious mind and playfulness. You will enjoy it so much more than you ever expected and you’ll discover that you’re capable of becoming the person capable of achieving bigger dreams and goals. My friend, this fact will change your life for the better. Have fun.

 To your better life,

 Jackie

About the Author: Jackie Capers-Brown built an award-winning leadership corporate career during her 20 years in the hospitality industry. She is the founder of Slay Your Greatness Academy and The Leadership Table for Women Network. She’s the author of Find Your Brave, Get Unstuck Now. Jackie is a career strategist and leadership branding consultant. She trains and coaches women leaders of color on how to strategically position themselves to advance their vision, voice and value at leadership tables within corporate environments. And she facilitates the 2-day Brave Leadership Challenge for leaders (men and women) who want to increase employee engagement and productivity, enhance their customer experiences and deliver high performance results.