Three Steps Toward Success in 2013

As we count the days to year-end there are three things you can do to prepare yourself for success in 2013 and they might even help you clear the way for more holiday enjoyment.

1. Finish everything you can on your unfinished list

I tend to put more on my “do list” than is realistic, so I often end up with a number of things that aren’t complete, or that haven’t been started when I get to the end of the year.

The first step is making a list of all the things that you started but didn’t finish, or things you meant to get to, but didn’t even start.

Sometimes what’s unfinished or not started is undone for a very good reason:

  • Once you started you realized you didn’t really want to do it
  • Given all that you have done and need to do you just haven’t got the resources you need
  • You have changed and your priorities and desires have changed too, leading to other tasks or goals becoming priorities
  • You realized this wasn’t a goal or project that would contribute to your happiness or to deepening your engagement, experience, or learning
  • You no longer want to do it

Cross the “good reason” items off your list and then take a look at what’s left. These should all be items that you still want to finish or start.

If there are any you haven’t started yet transfer them to your draft 2013 list for consideration later, when you do your 2013 list.

Are there any items on the unfinished list that you could finish by investing less than two hours of your time? If so, consider making an appointment with yourself to make sure you do. Every item that you finish will release more energy for your use as you go forward and add to your sense of accomplishment and confidence.

 2. Clear out and clean up to make way for the new.

Aargh! How does all this paper and all this stuff accumulate when you aren’t looking? Now’s a good time to take just thirty minutes a day to clear out and clean up.

Areas that will repay your work:

  • Work space: desk drawers, files, business cards.
  • Closets: hall, clothes, bathroom
  • Kitchen: spices, condiments, fridge & freezer, food cupboards (clear all items that are past their due/use date)

If you can clear and clean and make way for the new your whole space will feel energized and loved.

3. Let go of what you no longer need.

It’s been a full year. Lots of learning; lots of change and many things that may have been needed or relevant at the beginning of the year are now simply taking up space. Some of these items may be physical, but the items that will really bring you more spaciousness are the habitual responses, habits of mind and ideas that are no longer serving you. A short checklist to review for items to let go of:

  • Old ideas of you and what you can do
  • Habitual responses to change or the new
  • Your standard response to a call for a contribution from you
  • Your standard response to a compliment
  • Your list of what you can’t do
  • Your answer to the question “what I need to let go of to achieve my dreams”

 Some ways to make the letting go feel real:

  • Write the item on a piece of paper and put it through the shredder
  • Draw the item and then burn the drawing
  • Hold a fizzy tablet (Alka Seltzer, bath bomb, etc.) and while meditating on the items and imagining them going into the tablet. When you are ready, drop the tablet into water and watch it till it fully dissolves; then pour the water down the drain.
  • Take a shower and imagine you are washing it away.
  • Walk in the ocean and give it to the waves

Finishing, cleaning and clearing, and letting go: preparation for success and for setting goals for 2013.

Join the conversation? What do you do to make space for new life?

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