This is the last module. You’ve undoubtedly made some great strides if you’ve put the lessons into action. This final module is built around readying yourself to have your most successful and exciting year ever.

You may have tried to change your life before without much success. However, with the right process, it’s possible to achieve more in a single year than most manage to achieve in a lifetime.

• • Most New Year’s resolutions are little more than wish lists with no chance of success. In fact, the average person forgets all about their resolution within a few weeks.
  • Setting goals is a powerful process, but only if done correctly. There’s much more to be done than making a list of desires and then waiting passively for them to be delivered.

Your current life situation is a combination of several factors: Your beliefs, past, habits, expectations, and resources are all factors.

A spectacular life requires balance. Wealth isn’t a substitute for poor health. A great relationship isn’t a substitute for having sufficient financial resources.

Making the next year the best year of your life is within your control. But there are several requirements. You have to know what you want, develop the right habits, drop the wrong habits, deal with obstacles, and stay the course.

Review Your Past

Common wisdom suggests that you should keep looking forward and leave the past in your rearview mirror, but this can be a mistake. The past has much to reveal. At the very least, you can learn where you’ve made mistakes. This is important, because you’ve been making the same mistakes over your lifetime.

• • The reason your last relationship ended is likely to be the same reason your next relationship will end.
  • Financial challenges repeat themselves.
  • Your past challenges with work will be your future challenges at work.
  • Your diet and exercise plans will fail for the same reasons they’ve failed in the past.

Failing to examine and address the challenges of the past is choosing to repeat your challenges and failures throughout the rest of your life.

The past also includes some pretty great things. Failing to identify these things is an obstacle to enjoying similar success in the future.

While answering the following questions, consider all part of your life:

• • Physical/health
  • Finances
  • Relationships
  • Work
  • Hobbies
  • Spiritual/religious activities
  • Family

Reviewing the past is a critical component of creating the future:

1. What were the highlights from last year? Create a list of at least five positive experiences from the last year. Go with your gut. Anything that fills you with positive emotions can be a highlight. It might have been something as simple as spending a perfect afternoon at the park with your child.
   • Avoid relying on societies values when defining your own success. It’s a success if it feels like a success. That may or may not align with conventional measures of success. Decide for yourself.
2. What were the low points and how could they have been avoided? It wasn’t all good. There had to be a few days or experiences you don’t want to repeat. Make a list of them and consider how this experiences could have been avoided. Minimizing the low-points in life is more important to your happiness than adding high points.
   • Should you have been able to foresee the occurrence of these experiences?
   • How can you prevent a future reoccurrence?

3. What were the best decisions you made over the last year? You undoubtedly made some shrewd decisions last year. What were they? How can you apply this information in the future?
4. What were the worst decision from the last year? Everyone makes mistakes. What were yours? When you look even further into the past, have you made similar bad decisions? Why?
5. What are five positive habits you’d like to add this year? Consider the long-reaching characteristics of habits. What are a few habits you can add that will make a big difference over the long haul?
   • Diet, exercise, financial, and relationship habits can alter your future considerably. Keep this fact in mind.
6. What are five habits you’d like to eliminate this year? Bad habits can ruin your life. Which of your negative habits would enhance your life the most if you were able to eliminate them.
7. What are the most important relationships in your life and why? We’re all limited by our personal resources. Good relationships require time and mental effort. It only makes sense to spend those resources on the most important relationships. Also think about past relationships you’d like to renew.
   • It’s also useful to determine why those relationships are important. Why do you receive from these relationships that makes them important?
8. Which relationships should you consider ending or minimizing? Just as you’ve accumulated possessions that now clutter your life, you have relationships that need decluttering, too.
   • Consider all of your relationships, personal and professional. Which of these no longer serve you?
   • Relationships are never static. It’s common for a relationship to change significantly over time.

Are you aware of your past? Take advantage of your past experiences. Examine your past and apply that information to the future. You’ll find that it’s common to make the same mistakes over and over. End the cycle by thoroughly reviewing your past.

In the coming lesson, you’ll consider the type of life you want to live. Remember, having an intention is the first step to success.

Get Started on the Tips in This Lesson:

Examine your past intimate relationships.

• • Why did each of them fail? Were the reasons for failure consistent?
  • Is your current relationship on the same path?
  • What changes can you make now to prevent a repeat performance?

Downloads:
Enjoy Healthy Therapy From Writing Your Life Story