As we come to the end of the year it’s the ideal time to reflect back on the year that’s passed and focus our attentions to the year ahead. 2021 (and 2020 for that matter) have been challenging to say the least, so perhaps now is the ideal time to take stock and pro-actively plan for the coming year.
Focusing on the future
Feeding forward is so much more productive than feeding back. Use this simple grid to help you learn from the past and focus on a positive future. We can't change what has happened but we can learn from it. Focus on solutions and not problems.
FEED FORWARD
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INSPIRES |
WORKS |
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BIGGER & BETTER |
MISSING |
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We can’t change the past but we can change the future. Sportsmen and woman are trained on the concept of feedforward. Rather than visualising a failed past they are taught to focus on the visualisation of success; scoring a goal, being first over the line, serving an ace.
Feedforward enables us to dispel the negativity associated with the self-fulfilling prophecy. Rather than focus on feedback that reinforces negative behaviour, feedforward enables us to focus on the possibility of change.
Using this simple grid will help you focus more clearly and positively on what you'd like to achieve for the coming year.
The power of visualisation
When you envision your end goal, your brain's neural pathways light up as if you were actually doing that thing. When we visualise, we help our brain prepare itself for the work that needs to be done, making it easier to set action-based priorities.
Letting go of perfectionism
Becoming realistic buys us freedom. Often, we set ourselves unrealistic goals from the pressure and expectation that not only we place on ourselves, but feel that others have of us. Living within our capabilities and means is a much kinder, less stressful existence.
Routines are the life blood of good time planning
Routines help us to feel in control and less overwhelmed as they limit the number of choices we need to make every day. This creates the mental space that we need to concentrate on more important things.
"I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become." Jung
