As I write this, I am sitting on a plane on my way to Hawaii. When I land, I’ll be visiting our top producers – an exclusive team called the Circle of Excellence.
In just a week or so, a new year begins. 2022 is quickly approaching, with the final days of a long 2021 coming to an end. It’s been long two years since the Circle of Excellence has been able to meet face-to-face due to the pandemic, and I can’t lie, it’s been sorely missed.
Thinking toward the time ahead reminds me that it’s the time of year when many people are talking about new goals for 2022. If you are like most people, you probably have a list of goals for the new year, and the weeks leading up to New Year’s Day are a bit of a “pump-up time” for new habits and resolutions.
The Unexpected Value of Reflection
While I strongly believe in goals, it’s also important to reflect on the past year first before starting the goal-setting process.
Christine Beckwith, who runs 2020 Vision for Success, taught me something I will never forget: “You need to slow down to speed up.”
Think of a professional race car driver. They can’t take hairpin turns with the pedal to the metal.
Instead, they need to know when and how much to slow down to take turns, and when to speed up to win. If they don’t, it’s a one-way ticket to a very real crash and burn.
Christine’s wisdom hit me while I’m writing this. I, too, need to slow down to speed up. I need to take a step back and assess the year.
The wins, no matter how small they may be, are worth reflecting on.
- Did I have more fun?
- What have I been grateful for?
- Did I achieve what was most important?
I often hear people saying they’re going to “increase their numbers for 2022.” Or that they will “hit incredible goals and crush it!”
While this is awesome to hear, the question remains: Did they meet their prior goals? Did they reflect back to see what could have been improved? What aspects of their business and life could have been eliminated?
Reflecting Today for Tomorrow’s Success
I am taking this time at the end of the year to reflect on myself and my team.
With those reflections in mind, I will then begin my goal-setting process, including personal goals such as visiting my vacation home more often, working on my golf handicap, and making memorable moments with my wife and kids.
As a leader, I would strongly encourage you to take this reflection time to heart. I would suggest that while goal setting is crucial to growth, self and overall reflection are vital to this process.
Remind yourself to slow down for the goal process so that when it’s time to act, you are ready to go pedal to the metal.
In my next article, I’ll write about why New Year’s resolutions almost inevitably fail very quickly. So, I leave you with this question: “When was the last time you took a moment to reflect back?”
Until next time, cheers!
