By Phil Harwood
 
As you look ahead to 2023, I would encourage you to also take a few minutes to look back to 2022. There is value in conducting a year-end review in that it will give you some perspective and inform you as you set your goals for the upcoming year. 

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Looking back across all of last year, what were the highlights? These are the positive things that happened in your professional life, personal life, or both. For many of us, and increasingly in our society, our professional and personal lives are becoming more intertwined and inseparable. So, what went well? Where did you see forward progress? What goals were achieved? What made you happy? 

When we begin with good news, it puts the bad news in perspective. Let me give you an example. At the end of 2020, I made a list of all of the highlights from that year. Keep in mind that this year began with a complete lock-down of society, travel bans, and everything else that the pandemic brought. You may think that my list of highlights would be a short one. On the contrary, I legitimately recorded 52 amazing things that happened in 2020, professionally and personally. Despite being a rough year in many ways, it was a great year in other ways. The good news balanced out the bad news. 

Next, we should recognize where we fell short in 2022. The goal here is to learn and better plan for the future. Try to get through this as quickly as possible and don’t allow yourself to get sucked down into a bad place here. Stay at a high-level but also be honest about what didn’t materialize that you had planned on for 2022. More to the point of this exercise, think about how this knowledge may inform you for 2023.

For me, 2022 was the second year of a five-year plan. Generally, the plan is on track and I have complete confidence that it will be achieved. In some aspects, I’m ahead of plan. In other aspects, I’m behind. But the point is, I have a plan and know where I stand. I know what I need to accomplish in 2023. This is a good feeling and something I highly recommend. If you’re interested in learning more about the details of my plan, you will need to travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan and sit on my deck with me for an afternoon. Call first please. 
 
I would also encourage you to check out two courses at GrowTheBench.com. The first is our Strategic Planning course. This course will provide you with a complete understanding of the Strategic Planning process and the tools to help you be successful in this area. The second is our Goal Setting course. This course will inspire you to set goals for 2023 in a way that you probably have never thought of before. 

Happy New Year!

Now go forth.