The Best Year of Your Life

 “Any new beginning is forged from the shards of the past, not from the abandonment of the past.” ~ Craig D. Lounsbrough

Goodbye 2021 as of midnight tonight. I’m glad you came, I’m glad you’re leaving.

As I reflect on what the past year has been, one person who has influenced my year significantly has been Hal Elrod. I was introduced to Hal’s book – The Miracle Morning, in June 2021 and the Miracle Morning routine has been a significant game changer to how my life has shaped up in the last half of 2021.

As we close out the year, Hal is running a 4-part series on his podcast – Achieve Your Goals with Hal Elrod – that is focused on closing out 2021/setting yourself up for a successful 2022. And you know I definitely recommend you find that podcast on your favorite podcast app – Google, Apple, Podbean, Spotify, etc.

One question made me tick – what made this year the best or the worst for you? What was your criteria for rating or grading or assessing your year?

For most people, there are 2 popular criteria: the results you achieved at the end of the year, or what happened to you during the year. Both of those criteria could leave you with a not so good rating because there are things beyond your control in the mix in both instances.

There is a third criteria that I’d want to consider – how did you decide to show up every day of your year and how do you perceive your scale of commitment?

Taking the example of a goal to lose weight? Were you clear on how much you wanted to lose and why? Did you have faith in your ability to achieve it? How tenacious were you when external factors sought to derail your pre-determined process of achievement? Say you committed to a 20 minute run daily and it rained heavily in the morning, did you reschedule your run or find an indoor workout and keep your morning commitment? And at the end of the year, if the scale has not moved, will this goal change? Have you learnt anything about nutrition that you may add to your efforts? Are you proud of your commitment to the process of showing up without emotional attachment to the outcome?

This criterion can be used for any goal – and I am currently re-evaluating my reading goal which I did not achieve in 2021. Partly due to the fact that I did not show up with the kind of commitment I should have, I had no clear action plan and my purpose for the goal was shaky.

Detours and adversities in life are guaranteed. Shit happens all the time and most days we have no idea which direction it will fly in from. So, the externals should never determine the outcome of your life.

In 2022, let the determinant of the quality of your year be who you become in the process of showing up every day. Set goals, create action plans and find an accountability partner to keep you on course. Then go out daily committed to achievement and give it your all. Earn new adjectives such as committed, tenacious, consistent, focused, etc. No matter the outcome, you will be proud of yourself come December 31st, because of the person you will have become.

Happy New Year.

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning.” ~ T.S.Eliot

PS It’s been a 53-episode journey so far and I’ve enjoyed a full range of emotions with every one of them. I’d love to hear from you in the comments. Are you there?

 

Comments

  1. UnknownJanuary 1, 2022 at 2:06 AM

    Reading each and every one of them, happy new year.
    To more.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 4, 2022 at 3:38 PM

    Happy New Year!

    Yes, I am.

    Reading and learning something new from every episode.

    ReplyDelete

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