Crucial 2020 Reflection Questions + 2021 Framework for Success

Tamie

How was 2020 for you? How did things go in your business and at home during the pandemic? 

My name is Tamie Rising and I am an Executive Coach with Pathfinder Solutions, helping leaders increase performance, value and revenue in their company, and balance work/life priorities to support success.

2020 is over. It was hard, that goes without saying. But my clients found bright spots too. It was a year we’ll never forget. 

Did your plans and dreams take a back seat to the disruption and change? Together, my clients and I made room for living and working in a new routine and at a new level of uncertainty. It challenged us all in different ways.

Boy, we didn’t see 2020 coming, but we learned to be agile and how to pivot in the chaos to continue moving forward in spite of incredible uncertainty.

Now where do we go from here? 

As we step into a new year we first want to reflect on 2020 and reclaim a sense of purpose and direction. To feel more generative and set energy in motion for things to happen. Things that matter. Without force, but with intention and meaning. Maybe you want to make something happen now more than ever?

Each New Year my clients and I set aside valuable time to ponder a powerful set of questions: to celebrate our wins, reflect on what we’ve learned, let go of the past and lay the foundation for a future we desire. I want to share them with you here. 

2020 Reflection Questions

  1. What desires or goals did I have for 2020 that were achieved? (reflect on health, relationships, work, money, calendar, home, play, etc.) What and who contributed to my success?
  2. What desires or goals did I have for 2020 that were not achieved? (reflect on health, relationships, work, money, calendar, home, play, etc.) What got in the way of this? (Yes, the pandemic was a big factor. Consider what else, if anything.)
  3. What 10 things am I extremely grateful for that were/are in my life in 2020? (Our minds can bend toward a negativity bias and focus on what went wrong or the progress we didn’t make. Gratitude changes our perspective. It sheds light on what is good and reminds us of how much we do have and did accomplish. It’s easy to forget or dismiss our accomplishments, and gratitude helps us keep going, especially in times of adversity.)
  4. What were the 3 most challenging times/events of 2020? What did I learn and how have I grown from these times/events? (Yep, 2020 was a doozy!)
  5. What were my 5 most satisfying events/experiences in 2020? Why were they satisfying for me? (It doesn’t matter how big or small these events/experiences. What’s important to capture here is why they were satisfying.)
  6. How am I going to celebrate all I’ve accomplished and grown from in the midst of 2020 (Celebrating your accomplishments can boost your confidence, help avoid burnout and fuel your continued success.)

Now, taking what you’ve learned from 2020, think about opportunities, what you desire and what matters going forward.

2021 Visioning Questions

  1. What will I do differently in 2021? (At work, at home, in my relationships, for my health? Nothing changes until we embrace change. We involuntarily took on a lot of change last year. What will you voluntarily change this year?)
  2. What are the top 3-5 things I would love in my life in 2021? (At work, at home, in my relationships, for my health?) What do I want to create? What is meaningful to me? What is it specifically? (Maybe it’s something bigger than you? Maybe it’s something in the context of your own life? Either way, give some space to consider this for yourself.)

It’s worth the time you’ll spend on the questions above. Insights you wouldn’t receive otherwise come when pondering crucial questions. 🙂

Okay, so now what?

The next step is taking your responses from the 8 questions above and building them into a Framework for Success.

The Framework for Success includes the five P’s:

  1. Create a picture of what you want. Paint a picture that is specific enough, yet open enough for even greater possibility to emerge (beyond the current picture). 
  2. Determine the purpose for what you desire. This step is building why you desire what you do strong enough to see it through in the face of any adversity 2021 brings. Otherwise, there is a tendency to buckle when things get hard again, because they will in some way.
  3. Outline a plan of specific action you will take, one that works for you (not what might work for someone else) and in alignment with the bandwidth you have to give. (Productivity hack – the #1 thing that stands in the way of taking action is indecision. To make a confident decision you must know your opportunity cost – the impact of making the decision. What is gained and what is lost. Otherwise you can get bogged down in making no decision and therefore not taking the right action at all.
  4. A practice (or refined practice) that supports what you want to achieve and have happen. One which creates focus, calm, clarity and continued movement forward.
  5. A mindset of possibility of what could be your result this time next year. It’s common for me to hear “that’s not possible during times like these”, or “that’s fine for some people, but not for me or my business”. A mindset of doubt creates roadblocks to success, so it’s necessary to build your belief big enough to see your vision through to reality.

Would you like me to walk you through the crucial questions and framework for success? Let’s schedule some time to chat. Click here and reserve 30-minutes on my calendar for a no cost, high value conversation. 

I look forward to talking with you.

Yours on the adventure of 2021,

Tamie

P.S. The services offered at Pathfinder are designed to support you in getting the results you want, without sacrificing your values and personal time.