No, I'm not talking about "the holidays"; good will toward men, Black Friday mayhem, and all that jazz. I'm talking about the time of the year when folks in the planner and self-help communities are all abuzz with goal setting for the new year.
Let me be the first to admit, I am a plan-aholic. Definitely don’t want to make light of addictions in general but do want to share a rather light-hearted post about planning and how to fit it in to the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
First off, when's a good time to start?
Planner pre-sales typically show up in October, right around the same time Christmas decorations start sneaking onto shelves. The orders then ship first part of November so you end up with a fresh new planner looking you in the face a week or so before Thanksgiving (at least here in the US) officially kicks off the madness that has become the Christmas holidays. As much as I hate the onslaught of sales pitches and 'deals' that happen this time of year, this one actually works in your favor as far as goal setting is concerned.
Starting in November gives you the necessary time it takes to review and reflect on your past year as openly and honestly as you can. Taking a deep dive, getting to the heart of the past years wins, lessons, heart aches, and highs can take a toll. You need the time to process it all so you can set goals that really matter.
If you’ve interacted with me on social media at all, you know how I get down with my goal setting. I use the Desire Map process by Danielle LaPorte. It’s “inside-out” approach where you identify how you want to feel first, THEN look at what tasks, activities, and such will generate those feelings, suits my 'leap first, worry about the landing later' approach to life. I tend to do things backwards anyway, the more unconventional approach, the better. Desire Mapping brought clarity and authenticity to my goals. It helped me see where I was doing things for outside approval, figure out what activities and such brought me real joy or peace. Over all it brought me back to myself at a time when I was disconnected from my truth. I go through the exercises twice a year to keep my desires at the forefront of my life. I schedule time each week, sometimes daily, to work through a page or two of the Desire Map workbook. Then I schedule time to just veg - this process can be emotional for me so I definitely want some down time.
While I highly recommend the Desire Map, there are tons of gurus, guides, programs and such to walk you through the previous so many months. Having some sort of tool for this part of the process is extremely helpful. They provide a focusing agent like specific questions, in a certain order, which walk you from a jumble of thoughts through to detailed, clearly defined visions for your future.
Okay, going to end it here for now. Next up, practice makes perfect - how to use December to practice for the New Year.
Sending love and light,
Dana
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