Just like the final song in a Broadway show, I can feel 2018 coming to a close. Today it’s the bustle to get the last gifts, close the last piece of business, and grab those last tax deductions. I find myself reflecting on the year and lessons I’ve learned. Instead of a countdown– I’m just boiling it down to one.
The biggest thing I learned in 2018 was: Believe Big.
I LOVE planning. Planning goals, events, vacations, projects – you name it. What I learned this year though, is that plans are fueled by belief. Belief in the goals and more importantly that you can achieve them!
This lesson really crystallized for me while working with my business coach for 2019 planning. (Of course coaches have coaches!). That’s when he said ‘Ashley we can make the best business plan you’ve ever seen, but it won’t mean anything unless you believe. You have to believe big!’. That’s when it hit me. Everything started unfolding like the endless card fans when you win desktop solitaire. So often we only focus on the plan; developing it, making it, editing it. What’s missing in that recipe is belief. What do you need to believe for this plan to work? And once you identify that – believe it and believe BIG.
Once this discovery started taking shape, I realized most of my success and the success of my clients typically happens when those two items come together. I can think of countless examples, but the most recent example was my journey to graduate school. I believed I was going to get into a program before I even began studying for the GRE. My husband even gifted be my backpack last Christmas so I could visualize going to school. The belief fueled me through every study question, every word on the essays, and each moment of doubt. The result? I got in to all three programs.
I’m seeing a lot of ‘new year, new me’ or ‘resolutions suck’ content going around. I think I fall somewhere in the middle of all that. I like taking stock of where I’m at with the convenient milestone of a new year. And I also know while it’s a new year, it’s the same me who mostly wants to keep improving myself. So, call it what you will, but my 2019 focus will be to Believe Big in everything I do. It simply must be part of the equation because goals without belief are as good as a gift card you keep forgetting to bring to the store. In that spirit I’ve boiled down this recipe for you to ‘make’ next year.
Blue Shoes Recipe for New Year’s Resolutions/Goals/Focus:
1. Identify your goal. 2. Make a plan for reaching that goal. 3. Add in what beliefs you need to make that goal come true. 4. Actively work it for approximately 365 days. 5. Celebrate your progress, not perfection.
Believe first and believe big!
Happy Holidays Blue Crew – thank you for making 2018 a milestone year for us.
