Last year was filled with highs and lows, tears and laughter, and A LOT of lessons learned for me and my family. Looking back on it all, I can truly say the good outweighed the bad. Hopefully in reflection, you can say the same. As you plan out the year with your family, here are a few strategies on how to have an E.P.I.C. New Year.
E-Evaluate
If you want to have an EPIC year, the first thing you need to do is evaluate last year. Go to a quiet place and ask yourself the following things:
- Where have I been?
- What have I accomplished?
- Who has helped, hindered, and added value to my life and vice versa?
- How have I contributed to my situation and the circumstance of others?
- Why did I or didn’t I achieve my goals for last year?
- What brought me a sense of joy, peace, love, and gratitude last year?
Understand, this short evaluation is not to bring gloom and doom to your life. This assessment is simply to help you see where you have been so you know where you are going.
P-Plan
Sir Winston Churchill said, “Failure to plan is planning to fail.” I could not agree with him more. Which is why the next thing you need in order to have an epic new year is to have a proper plan. Formulating a proper plan takes time. You can do this by making a list or by creating a vision board. There is a biblical text that I love which says, “Write the vision and make it plain.” If you are a visual person like I am, then you will love going through this process. My vision board has pictures, quotes, goals and things that make me happy like my family and Wonder Woman. Even Oprah Winfrey does vision boards. A fun way to do a vision board is to have a party. Invite your friends over and do it together.
I-Implement
I have tried to impress upon you the importance of casting a vision and having a well-prepared plan for the new year. However, what good is a plan if you don’t implement it? Guy Kawasaki said, “Ideas are easy, implementation is hard.” Do you know why implementation is hard? Implementation takes time, tenacity, grit, blood, sweat, tears and unfortunately, pain and sacrifice. Implementing your plans and going after your hopes and dreams will often cost you something. My question is, how bad you want to have an epic new year? So many people have plans that stay in journals or on pieces of paper that collect dust. Please don’t let that be you.
C-Celebrate
Finally, if you want to have an EPIC year, you have to know how to celebrate. Celebrate your wins and successes. Celebrate the big and small milestone that gets you closer to your goals. Celebrate the accomplishments of your plan or vision board. And while you’re celebrating the good, celebrate your failures.
I once had a client who was devastated by a failure. I listened to her as she cried and sobbed about the happenings in her life. Once she was done, I had to help her put everything that was making her miserable in the proper perspective. Before our session was over I said, “Failure is just an opportunity for you to learn your lesson and try again.” Failing and having the willpower and tenacity to get back up and keep going is something to celebrate. How can you celebrate and appreciate your wins if you never fail? Celebrate everything: the good, the bad and the ugly.
I don’t know about you, but I am expecting this to be an EPIC year. I will evaluate, plan, implement and celebrate all year long. I hope you will too.
Charlotte Avery, The Family Strategist™, is an author, speaker and coach who takes women from overwhelmed to overjoyed in marriage, motherhood and the marketplace. Charlotte is the wife of one, mom of seven and the owner of no pets.
