The new year has arrived and having had time for rest and reflection, it’s a good time now to set ourselves up to thrive in 2025 and beyond, with a fresh look at our life and business plans.
There’s a saying, the failure to plan is a plan to fail. There is truth in this…
Our human brain is wired to achieve goals we set, and particularly those we write down. This activates a part of the brainstem known as the reticular activating system or RAS. Setting a goal works, in part, because we program the RAS part our brain to pay attention to the things that will help us achieve our dreams – a bit like when you buy a yellow car, you suddenly see lots of yellow cars on the road. Your RAS is working to filter stimuli whether you have set it intentionally or not. It only makes sense then to program your RAS to pay attention to the things you care about.
Here is a process that is relatively simple and doesn’t need to take a great deal of time which is covered by a series of questions covering five areas –
Review
Values
Roles
Goals
Actions
So get out a journal and let’s make a start.
You may like to do a life plan and business plan separately using these tools, or it might for you to do your business plan as part of your overall life plan. Whatever works in your context.
1. Review
Journal answers to the following questions. Spend no more than 5-10 minutes on each.
In respect to the last year –
What did I accomplish?
What am I most proud of?
What were my biggest disappointments?
What did I learn?
In what ways did I limit myself and how can I stop doing that?
2. Values
With changes in time and circumstances, personal growth and personal challenges, from time to time it is good to check in on what our key values are, as they drive our true wants and desires and are reflected in our behaviour.
Attached is a list of values – circle the top 10 that stand out as meaningful for you initially.
3. Roles
Review the roles you play in your life with the following questions.
3.1 What roles do I play in my life?
A few of my roles are – Mother, daughter, sister, dog-owner, friend, business owner, investor, employer, sportswomen and property owner
Next, rank each of the roles you play on a scale of 1 to 5 based on how satisfied you are with each of these roles or areas of your life to date. Graphically, you can draw a wagon wheel and put each role of a spindle of the wheel, and adding a scale of 1 to 5 and draw in a line around the spindles to each score to see how balanced your wheel is.
Wagon Wheel Example -
3.2 Consider the following questions:
Is there a role that is my major focus for the next year?
How am I going to balance my wagon wheel? Is it important that my wagon wheel is balanced, or are there reasons it might not be for now?
Are my roles in line with my values?
Is there a role I need to add or let go of?
4.0 Goals
Having reviewed the recent past, identified our values and considered the roles we play in life and where we might need to balance our wheel, now it’s time to identify your key wants and set some goals.
In your journal, list your wants and dreams based on the following eight areas for your personal goals. Start a new page for each area.
Personal Areas
Health and body
Education, personal or spiritual growth
Relationships
Finance/Money/possessions
Service
Vocation and career
Recreation and personal time
Other
If you are focusing on your business plan, use the following areas for this exercise and add any specific areas applicable to your business.
Business Areas
Products & Services
Customers
Markets
Finances
People/Team
Technology
Production Capacity/Operations
Customer Experience
Other
Rank wants in each area on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being the wants that are most important to you. Consider how they align with your values and your roles – are they consistent, if not why not? Check what is driving your wants – is it an “I have to” or a “should” - or is it a free choice.
5.0 Action Plan
Now let’s make the magic happen…
List 10 of your top ranked wants across all areas
5.1 Result - For each of your wants – write down the RESULT of this happening, make it SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
Examples
Personal example - I want to get fit so that I can run 10 kms - My result - I have run the Waipa 10 km fun run/race in 55 minutes by October 2025.
Business example - I want to have a fresh/new website for my business - My result – I have a fresh new website for my business by 31October 2025 which is sharp, informative, and providing sales enquiries.
5.2 Intention - Set your results as intentions. Using the positive language from step one above from writing your results, now keep your results handy and use them if you have a meditation, mindfulness or journal practice. Alternatively, just keep them handy and review them over your morning coffee on a regular basis. If you are a creative or visual person, use this opportunity to include these results in creating a vision board, you might use pictures from magazines to illustrate your results.
5.3 Visualise yourself achieving your goals – take the time right now to imagine you achieving your result – what does it look, smell, feel like.
Continue to do this as part of a daily practice. If you don’t have a practice, link it to something you do in your day – driving to work, going for a run, walking the dog. Here, we come full circle back to the reticulator activating system in our neural network (the RAS) - what we can visualise, the brain is already creating this outcome for you.
Examples
Personal Goal - I visualise myself crossing the finish line after 10kms of the Waipa Fun run, I have run hard, The grass is green under my feet on the reserve as I cross the finish line, the sky is blue and there is a gentle breeze. I can hear whoops of congratulations around me as others finish. I’m feeling tired but strong and proud of my achievement as a volunteer slips my finishers medal around my neck. My family are waiting for me with high fives and I see pride on their faces as I hear them say “Well done Mum”.
Business Goal – I visualise meeting with my new customer on 31 October which has come through an enquiry from the new website. The customer is smiling and complimentary about the business, they know what services want and we have agreed a price. They shake my hand as we agree to work together. I feel a warmth in my chest at a job well done.
5.4 Action – for each of your top 10 wants and results - what action steps do you need to take to make this happen – list them. Get specific.
Examples
Personal - I will run three times per week and build up mileage at 10% per week with 1 session of weight training and 1 stretching/yoga session per week.
Business - I will get quotes for the website from Kaz Design and one other website designer by the end of 28 February 2025, have copy written and new photos by 31 May 2025 for a launch by 31 August 2025. My budget for the website is $3500.
5.5 Support – What support do you need? Ask a friend or family member, coach or professional to support you in achieving your goals, create accountability.
Examples
Personal - I will be accountable to Amanda my PT and ask Abbie, my daughter to run with me from time to time.
Business - I will tell my team enlist their support in writing copy, design ideas and keeping me accountable to meeting these deadlines. I will let my accountant know of my plans and budget.
If you’ve completed the process with me, you have around ten results planned for the year which align with your roles, values, goals and greatest desires to set you up to thrive in 2025. Please share them with others, and I’d love to hear how you go and celebrate your success with you.
Acknowledgements
Your Best Year Yet – Jinny Ditzler
More to Life – Power of Purpose and RIVAS process
