Man looking up at skyIt’s almost the end of 2013 and it’s time to reflect and celebrate what you have accomplished this year. If you were industrious enough to write your year goals, pull them out and see how you did. Don’t beat yourself up if you did not make every goal on the list. Concentrate on if you made any progress against those goals.  Progress is an opportunity for celebration – no matter how small the step.

When I look at some of my goals for the last year, there are a few that were knocked out of the park and some that….well they will have to fall into next year or I will decide that goal is no longer important to me.

I had personal and professional goals this year that were intertwined. I decided to make a personal investment in myself and the business by becoming certified as a professional coach, even though I have been working in the field for many years.

The pathway to doing becoming certified is not a straight line – it involves extensive training, mentoring and testing. While my goal was to be certified this year, the timeline has slipped into early 2014 because of the additional work I am doing to prepare for it.

As I reflect on my goal, I realize that the timeline was not my measurement stick, it was the personal and professional growth through experiencing the training and subsequent coaching that was important. The certification will come as a byproduct and is not the end product.

As you reflect on your progress with each goal, think about these questions and how they might help you shape your future outcomes:

  • What effort did it take to do it or make progress?
  • What trade-offs did you make to make it work?
  • What trade-offs you were not willing to make?
  • Has your goal changed or morphed into something unexpected?
  • Is your goal still relevant?
  • Are you holding on to getting to the finish line over having a goal that adds value to your life?
  • What could be possible if…
  • What stops you from making progress?
  • How to you make changes in your thinking or approach to get where you want?
  • Are you working on the right things?

As you work through this list, think about celebrating your wins and how you might bring your 2014 goals into sharper focus.