How to Reinvent Yourself Before 2022

Much like 2020, this year has been tough on a lot of people...

But if you’re anything like me, instead of agonizing or complaining, you'd rather spend time gathering the lessons and preparing for a kick-ass 2022.

What follows here is a simple 4-step process that will help you extract all the gems from this year and prime your mind for a truly epic next year. The whole process takes around 10 to 15 minutes — and by the end of it, you will be ready to enter the next year with?clarity?and?confidence.

However, this only works if you actually take the time to answer the questions that follow. To help you do that, I created a FREE worksheet you can download or print out. Otherwise, you can use your journal, a piece of paper, google doc or anything else that works for you.

So let's jump into it, shall we?

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#1 Highlight the Positives of 2021

To kick things off, it's good to appreciate all the?good things from 2021. Despite any challenges that you encountered, make a list of all the positive experiences you had, however big or small. Ask yourself:

• What were the highlights of 2021 for me?

To help you recall these moments, you can flip through your journal or the photo gallery on your phone — anything that helps you remember all that happened for you throughout 2021.

You can also divide the highlights into 2 categories:

1. Accomplishments — your successes, achievements, and fulfilled goals
2. Positive experiences — cool experiences, events, and memories you've made

As you do this, you may notice that you start shifting into a more positive state of being. Highlighting your past successes and good memories immediately makes you more optimistic and enthusiastic about the future.

...so take some time to appreciate all the good things that happened this year.

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#2 Gather the Lessons from 2021

The second thing you want to do is learn as much as possible from this year.

You can start by thinking of anything that could be seen as a “failure” for you this year. I use quote marks because once you extract the?lessons?embedded in those experiences, it's no longer a failure. It's simply an opportunity for learning and growth. So:

• What hasn't gone exactly as you expected in 2022?

Try to just acknowledge these facts without judging yourself too harshly. They may or may not be your fault — but that doesn't matter. You are here to enter the next year stronger than before.

Once you have them written down, for each "failure" — ask yourself:

• What did I learn from this experience?
• How did this make me stronger?
• What will I do differently in 2022?

You can also think more broadly about any other insights or life lessons that you gained this year. What other takeaways did 2021 bring to you? What have you learned about yourself, other people, the world, or anything else?

There's no limit to your learning, so try to extract as much learning from this year as you can before moving on. This will give you a proper closure on 2021, and let you begin the next year with a clean slate!

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#3 Set Your Goals for 2022

Now that you have acknowledged the good and bad of 2021, it's time to look ahead and set some goals and intentions:

• What would make 2022 a success for you?

It's really important that you try to set authentic goals — ones that are aligned with your true values and desires. Don't think about what you "should" be doing or achieving. Your goals shouldn't feel like a burden. The idea of achieving them should genuinely excite and inspire you.

Another mistake is setting too many different goals. It's a sure way to get overwhelmed and fail to follow through on them. That's why it's important to have ONE goal above all others. So ask yourself:

• If you could only achieve ONE significant thing in 2022, what would it be?

Try to find a sweet spot between "too easy" and "impossible". It should be something that can happen within 12 months, but at the same time challenges and excites you. Something that pushes you to bring out your A-game.

If you don't have a clear answer right away, start by identifying a part of your life that needs an upgrade. Where in life do you feel stuck? Is it your career? Or maybe it's your health? Relationships? Money? Pick an area you most want to improve and find your n.1 goal from there.

Pro Tip: Try to be as specific as possible with your goals. Instead of writing "find a better job", specify what role, company, or culture you would like to work in. What would be your day-to-day tasks? And what about salary? Get specific — and your likelihood of achieving it skyrockets.

Once you know your n. 1 goal, you can repeat the same process for other areas of your life, such as mental health, family & relationships, social life, free time, etc...

However, I like to look at these other goals as "intentions". Your focus should be on reaching your n.1 goal. You can still work on these other areas as well, but you can only have one true priority. Otherwise, you have no priorities, which makes progress difficult.

If you want to learn more about why it's important to have one goal or priority above all others, I highly recommend reading The One Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan.

“There can only be one most important thing. Many things may be important, but only one can be the most important.”

— Gary Keller (The One Thing)

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#4 Create a Strategy for 2022

Finally, you need a strategy for achieving your n.1 goal in 2022. Because a goal without a plan is like a ship without a map — you'd have to be lucky to reach your destination, and relying on luck is just not a great strategy.

So instead, try to create a map for your goal by breaking it down into smaller milestones. Reverse-engineer your goal back to the present moment, like this:

• What do you need to achieve in 3 months to move towards your n.1 goal?
• What do you need to achieve in 1 month to move towards your 3-month goal?
• What do you need to achieve in 1 week to move towards your 1-month goal?
• What do you need to achieve today to move towards your weekly goal?

By setting quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily milestones, you put yourself on the path towards your n.1 goal. After the first 3 months, it's good to review your progress, course-correct, and repeat the process.

Additionally, there are usually some key habits or activities that you will have to do repeatedly in order to stay on track

• What habits do you need to build in order to reach your n.1 goal?

Once you identify these habits, you can create a simple habit-tracker (on paper, or use an app like Habitify or Strides)... and get to work!

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How to Actually Follow Through

Well done!

Now you should be ready to enter the new year with clarity and confidence.

However, this is just the beginning. Every year has its trials and challenges— and 2022 will be no different. So how do you actually follow through on your goals and persist in the face of adversity?

Here are 5 tips to increase your likelihood of success:

1. Optimize your environment — clean up your home or office and set up cues that will remind you to stay committed to your goals, such as having a visual habit-tracker on your fridge, or preparing your gym bag a day in advance, and so on...
2. Make it official —although I'm not a big fan of sharing your goals publicly, for some people it's an effective strategy to create commitment. If you don't want to share them with everyone, you can just do it with your family or a like-minded group of friends.
3. Find an accountability partner — team up with someone who has similar goals and make a deal to check up on each other regularly to stay on track. If you can't find someone you know, search for an online community or use a platform like Supporti.
4. Hire a coach — coaching is one of the best ways to create accountability and commitment. It can also help you gain a fresh perspective and get support on your exact sticking points.
5. Regularly review your performance — at the end of each week, month, and quarter, spend 10 - 15 minutes reviewing your performance and adjusting your plans.

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Need More Help?

If you'd like me to keep you accountable and help you reach your n.1 goal even faster, you can set up a FREE 30-minute call to connect and see if and how we can work together.

You're also welcome to join my new LinkedIn group called Holistic Human Academy, where I'll be sharing other practical tips as well as more advanced strategies for personal growth in all areas of life.

Otherwise, thank you for reading — and have a kick-ass 2022!