Is Your Rear View Mirror Kind to You?

January 2020

At the start of each New Year, successful leaders set time aside to establish goals for the year ahead. But before you jump onto the planning bandwagon for 2020, first take some time to reflect. You really should take an honest look in your rear view mirror. What have you accomplished? What have you learned? How have you grown as a leader … not just in the past year, but over the past decade. 

If you’ve kept up with me over the last ten years, you already know one question I commonly ask potential as well as long term clients, staff, mentees, friends, and even family members, as we evaluate their career and life planning options, is “What does success mean to you?”  

It’s difficult to establish an effective plan for success if you haven’t defined your ideal vision of what success really looks and feels like for you.

Next, while it may be energizing and inspirational to set lofty stretch goals for the year ahead, before you jump headlong into setting new objectives for yourself, look in the rear view mirror and evaluate how you did in terms of achieving what you had hoped to achieve in the past year. Critically assess and appreciate your current strengths, your current weaknesses, and what you need to do going forward to shore up any shortcomings in aptitude and attitude.

Face it, if you don’t appreciate your accomplishments, or lack thereof, what’s the point of setting new, potentially unachievable or less-than-satisfying objectives for yourself? Moreover, if you don’t love what you are doing, how on earth can you live your life with a WOW factor attitude?

Look back.

Do you recall the goals you set for yourself last year? Did you meet or exceed them? Why or why not?

Did life send you some zingers that sent you off in an entirely new and unexpected direction … or down a rat hole? Did you learn anything as a result? Are you a better person for it?

Now let’s take an even longer view behind us.

Sit back and close your eyes. In your mind, put yourself back in that place in time wherever you were a decade ago. What were you doing in January 2010? What was your job or station in life back then?

What have been the most significant changes in your life over the past decade?

Do you recall the hopes and dreams you had for yourself a decade ago? Did your dreams become reality? Why or why not?

What significant accomplishments have you achieved over the past ten years, things that in January 2010 you could have never even imagined?

What fears did you have a decade ago? Did any of your worst fears become reality? What have you learned as a result?   

How did you lead?

Think now about the kind of leader you were a decade ago. Were you leading any people or projects back then? What kind of projects or organizations have you led or influenced since then? Were you pleased with your results? What surprised you?

How have your personal and professional relationships evolved since January 2010? How would your family and team members describe your metamorphosis over the years? Would they say you have been a heartfelt leader?

Now ask yourself (and be honest), did you lead in a heartfelt manner? Did you dare to really care about those around you?

How have you helped those you led to achieve their dreams? Would most of them say they were happy; honored; enriched mentally, financially, and/or spiritually to have been part of your leadership journey?

How have you been blessed by those people who chose to follow you?

What is the most important thing you learned as a leader over the past decade?

What could you have done better? How can you now use this knowledge to become a more heartfelt leader and a better role model, starting today?

How did you follow?

Now think about the kind of follower you were a decade ago.

How did you enable those leading from the front to achieve or even exceed their objectives? What could you have done better as their team member?

How were you blessed by those you chose to follow?  

What is the important thing you learned as a follower in the past decade?

How can you use this knowledge to become a better servant leader, to enable those above and around you to achieve their dreams, starting today?

How did you love and support?

Did you have a life partner at any point during the past decade? Why or Why not?

Considering the single most important person in your life today, how have they blessed your life? Have you told them?

How have you blessed their life?  What could you have done better as their partner, all this time?

What is the most important thing you have learned about being someone’s life partner?

How can you use this knowledge to become a better partner, to serve as the wind beneath your special someone’s wings, starting today?

Now look ahead.

As you put the past ten years of your life into perspective, what is the single biggest “aha” you now realize?

What will you do differently in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, as you step each day into the brand spanking new, blank slate future that awaits you?

Realize nothing is holding you back from being the very best you possible … except you.

It’s time to let your WOW shine. 

Sending all my heartfelt best wishes for a joyous and successful 2020.

I’ll be here for you if you need me.