The time has come to take a closer look at 2022 and its lessons.
I show you how I debrief my year and how I determine what my intention should be for the upcoming year.
Focussing on everything that happened this past year and asking myself: what are the things I should take with me? And more importantly: what (or who) should I leave behind?
So today, I’m debriefing 2022 and I’m inviting you to do this with me and set our intentions for the new year together.
My year in a nutshell
I started 2022 heartbroken, feeling very sad and in bad shape.
However, I’m finishing my year feeling extremely happy and at the top of my game. Of course, that is not by accident.
This past year, I’ve worked really hard and I know you’ve been working really hard too.
Yet, at the end of each year I can’t help but see things that I wish would have gone differently.
And at the beginning of the year, I can’t stop myself from wanting even bigger and better things than the year before. And I’m guessing, you’re the same as me.
These past weeks, I’ve been really embracing the creator’s side of me. I’m enjoying that greatly because for a while during the past year, I felt like I wasn’t creating enough and doing enough new things. Like everyone else, I regret not doing certain things. In my opinion, it can be incredibly useful to look back at the past year and inspect certain things. Don’t worry I’ll take you through my entire debriefing process shortly.
The upside of looking back
My guess is you listen to my podcast because you like to get motivated and you like to get hands-on, no bullshit tools to make progress. That is why I’m sharing with you my number one tool I use to create progress and get motivated in my business and personal life. And that is: debriefing and looking forward.
Debriefing consists of three steps, three questions really. And those questions are the following:
- What went well?
- What could have gone better?
- What’s missing for future success?
The second question is purposely formulated that way because I consciously choose not to pay attention to things that didn’t go well. Make these lessons something positive instead of dwelling on negative emotions. Train your brain to focus on the positive as well.
Maybe you’re closing out the year with a sense of disappointment or there are things you should be doing but haven’t been. To be honest with you, there are a lot of things I haven’t accomplished that I set out to in 2022.
For example: I was going to go viral on TikTok, I was going to get in the best shape of my life. These are things that I’m working on every day, but I haven’t quite achieved them yet.
But what are some things I did achieve? I have opened myself up to love, I’ve hired wonderful new team members, I’ve grown a lot as a person and I have taught a lot of entrepreneurs to be better versions of themselves while achieving financial freedom.
Grab a piece of paper and join me in doing this exercise. At the left side you split up sections in good, better and missing and at the top you write down areas in life you feel good about or ones you don’t.
Let’s get started!
Sleep is my linchpin of everything
The first area in my life I’m taking a look at is my health.
- What went well? For me personally, I’m proud of myself that I worked out more frequently with and without my personal trainer.
- What could’ve gone better? Sleeping. Quite simple, but still a struggle for me.
- When it comes to sleep: what am I missing for future success? Customized earbuds that will block out noises and as a result will help me sleep better.
Another thing that could have gone better is my nighttime routine. I need to learn to wind down at the end of the day so I’ll be able to go to sleep easier.
What else could’ve gone better? I have to admit, I worked out more but I wasn’t giving it my all. For example: I wasn’t waking up on time and I wasn’t eating breakfast beforehand.
In short: most of my struggles really revolve around sleeping or come from a lack of sleep. If I’m having my 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night: I’m less emotional, I cry less, I’m a better boss, I have better ideas, more willpower.
Why not reaching my goals made me happy
Another area in life I struggle with (believe it or not) is business.
Let’s start with what went well:
- I became a better leader,
- I’m proud of the fact that, as a team, we never gave up and looked for the lessons in hard situations,
- I hired good people
Something that could have gone better was me having a plan. I want to work more proactively. Even for me, it’s something challenging to practice what I preach. In 2023, I will need to learn to work on my business instead of in it.
You can’t just set goals with no plan to support them. Goals will not magically make themselves come true.
The lack of a plan is automatically also what I’m missing for future success. This will create clarity not only for me but also for my team.
A fun, or not so fun, fact? I did not reach my revenue goal for 2022. And you know what? It actually made me happy because that means there’s still so much to learn. How boring would it be if I had nothing left to learn?
Getting rid of my people pleasing mode
If you are following me online, you might know what went well for me. I am very much in love and extremely happy about it. However, what I learned in 2022 is that I should be more focused on the relationship I have with myself.
The happiness I was rewarded with was something I could’ve gifted myself a long time ago. In my experience, I am sure you can relate: you’ll keep bumping into the same types of people because there’s a lesson that needs to be learned.
You have to be able to say: ‘No, I don’t want to be treated like this anymore.’
Chances are, you deserve so much more but it is you that has to acknowledge that. A lot of people, including myself, have the tendency to put other people’s feelings before their own.
My advice is to step out of that people pleasing mode. Follow your gut and put yourself first because that will lead to true happiness. That was my biggest development of 2022: finally prioritizing myself.
Letting things and people go that no longer serve you is incredibly liberating. Whenever I have a hard time doing so, I ask myself: “How is staying in this situation serving me?” I invite you to ask yourself the same question.
What am I missing to make an absolute success of my relationships in the future? An amazing therapist that will help me work through certain struggles. So I will be on the lookout for that in 2023!
Unlock your true potential
Have you finished your exercise yet? If you haven’t, do yourself a favor and take some time out of your day to finish it. Do it now so you’ll be good for the rest of the year.
My intention and word for 2023 is focus. I am sure I can do anything I set my mind to. And no, I’m not saying that out of arrogance, because YOU can do it too.
Often we don’t trust ourselves enough to see our true potential. We don’t believe in ourselves enough. Fear of failure stops us from taking actions towards our dreams. I hope this is the year where you go after your dreams, the year you believe.
Do you feel like you need an extra nudge in the right direction? A nudge that will amp up that belief in yourself? I realize this is a challenging month and that’s why I have a gift for you. And that gift is my Belief Book!
You might be struggling with procrastination and fear of failure. With my belief book, you are able to work on your mindset and make it stronger for the upcoming year. Download my Belief Book for free through fastforwardamy.com/beliefbook
Let’s get that mindset on point and crush this year!
Listen to this episode via Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, and search for episode 164 of The FastForwardAmy Show.
PS I would love it if you shared your intention with me through Instagram! Choose 1 to 3 words that summarize your intentions for 2023 and don’t forget to tag me with @fastforwardamy.
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