A new year is another transition period, it is a great reset and a time for renewal. We start a new year after ending another one.

How do we hand over ourselves into 2023 so that we begin prepared and renewed to drive our goals? The answers lie in being connected to the outcome as you begin driving actions and behaviours that support the picture of success or what you want to see at the end of the year.

But then what gets in the way of staying focused and intentional?

A new year starts with celebrating the new season, ambitious plans and high hopes for a better 12 months and somehow all that enthusiasm dwindles for some of us... It dwindles for a number of reasons and these reasons differ from person to person. It could be that they dwindle because:

• We get overwhelmed by what we are asking ourselves.
• We then get anxious and paralysed by the fear of what we need to give up to pursue our leadership agenda.
• We focus attention on the things we don’t want in 2023 and spend less time defining the 2023 experience.
• We worry about the perceived danger of unmet needs, peddling what-ifs and predicting a failed future.

In short, we get in the way by focusing our minds on what we don’t want!‍

‍How do we decode this emotional data that freezes our capabilities and or visions?

How do we focus our minds on what we want?

I believe we are crossing bridges every day with each courageous action we take towards our goals. I have realised that we cross our bridges because we feel safe and that we have clarity of where the bridge is leading us. The point is: if you feel unsafe about a certain goal, break it down into small mini-goals that give you a sense of safety to start and keep building moments and confidence to tackle the rest.  

Here are my thoughts about how to cross your bridges:

• Remember who you are – when we are going through change you feel a sense of loss and at times this sense of loss can include diminishing yourself/ your capabilities. Focus on your strengths
• Fuel yourself with inspiring memories - your past achievements remind you that you have more to offer towards your goals.
• Explore who you need to be to rise to your 2023 agenda and be that person NOW.
• Maintain continuity – it’s not all new, perhaps intensity is growing.
• Identify goals that stretch you but feel safe to do (the less threatening the better the chances of implementation).
• Prepare and gather – there is power in preparing even if we are not ready to start. Gather your thoughts and ideas and get ready. This has helped me to be less afraid of my starts and it switches on the mini-starts that give me the confidence to build and gather more.
• Always link back to your leadership agenda and/or your vision for inspiration and to stay meaning-centered.
• Emotions are data – worrying about what could go wrong is a misuse of your creative energy, move from worrying to creating solutions.
• Remember, reinforce and expand what made you successful in 2022 – your halala moments are real and fuel to your next. A reminder of what you can accomplish.
  

I have observed with myself that it is no longer the ambitious goals that scare me but how safe I feel with myself in achieving them. So, I set goals, and I spend time clarifying goals that will give me emotional safety if the goals feel emotionally unsafe, I reframe them until I am able to connect with them so that I can take action with integrity.

‍Which tools do we need to cross our bridge?

Our minds can help us create the energy we need to take action: I have developed a tool to keep ourselves energised and fueled to pursue our goals. The Rise Journal and Coaching Cards are designed as a self-coaching process to encourage our minds to focus on what we want to achieve.

‍What you focus on, you summon. What will you summon in 2023? How will you energise your mind to pursue your 2023 goals?