This is the time of year to go within to contemplate and reflect.
Regardless of whether you achieved your “goals,” did you feel content and fulfilled?
We often get caught up in all the things to do to meet our goals for wealth and money without contemplating what will truly bring us contentment.
I’ve lost track of how many conversations I’ve had with real estate agents that followed this theme:
The agent planned how many deals she needed to do to meet her goal numbers. And she met them. She hustled. She did all the things. She had a great financial year. But she wasn’t fulfilled. The journey was stressful. Her marriage suffered. The things she said she wanted the money for — to travel more often and see her family more — became further out of reach because she was giving everything to her business and couldn’t step away.
So she made her numbers, but at what cost?
This pattern isn’t unique to real estate agents.
We rarely consider the costs of “success” the way we define it.
I’ve suffered that same fate in my life; meeting all the benchmarks only to discover that they didn’t really mean much. It wasn’t what I truly wanted.
There’s no amount of money that fills an empty soul.
Many people consider only their goals when planning their year. They don’t think about their outcomes. They don’t consider all parts of their lives, or the cost of achieving their goals.
Suddenly, you might find yourself wondering, is this all there is?
Of course, many people don’t wonder this, because they don’t even stop to reflect in the first place. They simply roll over last year’s goals to next year, or they up the ante with some arbitrary goal for how much growth they want: 5 percent, 10 percent, 100 percent.
This is unfortunate. If you’re already onto planning for next year but you haven’t reflected on this year, you’re missing out on the wisdom that can help you fuel sustainable growth.
Nature dictates a season for every activity. There is a season for visioning and planning. But first comes the season for reflection.
A life of meaning must be built on a solid foundation.
This is the time to go within. To reflect and consider what you’ve learned this year, and decide what you want to take with you into next year. Don’t rush into your vision for next year; you have plenty of time for that.
The most important thing you can do this week is to stop and look back before moving forward.
Create the foundation that will allow you to fill your soul.
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