Often, when people look back on the year they are tempted to think about all the things that went wrong. The projects that didn’t happen, the clients they didn’t get, the products that didn’t succeed, the partnerships they didn’t secure, the money they didn’t raise or the weight they didn’t lose. While this method is tempting, I’d like to suggest a new approach: tally your “wins.”
Think of at least three wins that make you feel good about yourself and what you accomplished this year and why each win is important (this is also highly effective to do with your team at work). Wins are about moving to your next level, feeling fulfilled and showing yourself you can do it. Wins are not necessarily about finishing in first place, making the most money or being better than someone else. Wins give you confidence, hope and energy.
A win shifts the lens you use to view the world from impossible to possible.
Sometimes wins are small, such as hiring a new employee, or bigger, such as launching a new product or opening a new location. And what may be small to one person may be big for another. We each have different needs and values. For example, one client successfully increased capacity for her operations division. Another expanded his responsibility to Europe which allows him to travel more (a side goal).
On my list of wins is producing my first audio book for Living in Your Top 1%. The audio project is one more data point that I can move outside my comfort zone and figure out how to do something with limited prior knowledge. Understanding the “why” is important because the next time you have an urge to tell yourself, “I can’t do that” or “I don’t know how,” that excuse becomes moot—your win proves otherwise.
If you are convinced that nothing went well this year (and I respectfully challenge you), then pause and ask yourself what you learned from an experience or what you can do differently next time. Perhaps you didn’t have a good experience with a business partner; at least you learned what qualities you need for a successful partnership in the future. Pay attention to these lessons.
You will soon realize that if you have wins in one area of your life, you can have wins in other areas too. You’ll also notice that the areas where you experience wins are the areas you prioritize. Think about the process you used to enjoy a win (i.e., did you research options, overcome obstacles, ask for something, have a mentor, etc.) and then condition yourself to use these same rituals in other areas of your life.
As we move into the New Year, use your wins to lead you into an upward spiral to remind yourself of what’s possible.
What “win” do you feel most excited about this year and why? We’d love to hear your inspiring stories in the comment section below.
