4 Steps to Starting a New Year / New Chapter / New Period

Do you get as excited as I do to start with a clean slate?  And, this can apply to anything! Like, I LOVE the crisp, clean pages of a new journal.  A blank whiteboard? Hell yeah…let me at it!

But, what about when it comes to time?  Does the thought of a new year, new chapter, new quarter get you all abuzz with excitement, or fill you with overwhelm and anxiety?  I’m guessing you could answer with “all of the above.” 

I’m so with you there! I love entering a new year, which for me, is September.  It’s my birthday month and with three children, September just always feels more like the new year.  Summer is over, school begins, bring on the new year.  Much like a blank whiteboard, a new year gets me excited, ready to roll up my sleeves, clap my hands together, and say, “Okay let’s do this!”

But, before you can do “this,” you have to know what “this” is.  That’s where I found myself in 2015…ready to roll those sleeves up but feeling frustrated that I wasn’t getting where I wanted. Each year, I’d sit down, open my journal and start mapping out my vision.  And, being a list girl, it looked something like this:

  •      Do X for my family.

  •      Go to more networking events.

  •      Increase revenue.

  •      Buy {insert material things here}.

It was all so short-sighted…filled with tasks, things to do for others, material things to buy, etc. The problem was, it lacked dreaming and connection to ME! Not that I don’t love checking an item off a to do list, but that’s essentially all my old version of vision mapping was affording me.  Boxes checked, yet still feeling stuck.  This needed to change!

So, I found a better way, and today, not only do I use it for myself as a business owner, it’s the same process we use with our clients.  We call it the Vision Evolution and it has helped provide forward movement and actionable steps to the over 200 businesses we’ve served over the last ten years.

It helps business owners get clarity on their dreams for their life and business, ensures those dreams are connected to who they are and not what others expect of them, and reduces the overwhelm of the “how” by creating small, actionable steps toward their big dreams.

Here’s just a sampling of the Vision Evolution to get you started in 4 simple steps:

1.     Clear the slate of the past. Recap all the highs, lows, wins, lessons learned, and decide what you want to take with you. Then stop, clear the slate and start fresh.  Leave the past year behind you and dream big, setting realistic and purposeful goals.

2.     Voice your dreams into life. Share them with a confidant who can talk through the dream, goals and outcomes with you.

3.     Break them into bite size, organized timelines. This will eliminate overwhelm and provide structure.  Create a first this then that chart of priority, so you are set up to give proper attention to the next item without fog or distraction that the full list can create.

4.     Take Action.  Action is key, and inaction is still action – one gets results, the other keeps you stagnant.

Want to dive deeper, get clearer? Sign up for our Vision Evolution masterclass, a digital course you can do on your own time!

Simply sign up here and get ready to dream, organize and take action!

Jodie Gallant