How to Celebrate Your Wins and Uplevel for Next Year

A new year is coming up and I want to give you some resources to end the year on a high point and get a great start to the new year. I realize this is going to be a long one, so let me help you out with a guide to this article. In the first part, I’ll share my best ideas about how to celebrate success. The next part is about setting goals and what to do to follow up. I end the article with some reflections of my own year. Read all sections or just the one that will inspire you.

Celebrate Your Wins

In October I read the book “The Long Game” and attended an HBR Webinar with the author Dorie Clark. One learning that resonate with me, is that we must celebrate even a small raindrop of success. Because raindrops accumulate (compound) over time and could lead to something bigger. And who wouldn’t like success to rain down on them? 

Here are some ideas to celebrate your success:

• Open a spread sheet and write a note every time you have success – it could be just a “raindrop” or a big game changer. Review the spreadsheet as often as you feel like it but make sure to put reminders in your calendar to review. When you read the lines, revisit the memories, and celebrate these memories in your mind. 
  
  
• Take screenshots or photos of situations you want to remember and save it in a success album. Review the album during this precious time right now at Christmas – put on some great xmas music, get comfy, and look at the memories with a loved one. Sharing you success with someone is the key here (and they share their success with you). 

I have some awesome, high achievers amongst my clients, who thinks about what’s next, and you must remember to celebrate your wins. And I know other's that aren't high achievers but want a better future and feeling the gratitude will put you in a beautiful state.

Celebration doesn’t have to involve drinks, food, or expensive gifts for yourself. Being grateful and appreciative is the gift. Sharing the memories with someone is a gift.

How to Set Goals for Next Year:

The key to goal setting is knowing your limits. In order to achieve something, would you need a small goal or a big audacious goal? 

If you don’t know you can either: 

• try to reflect on a time you reached a goal: how long did it take to reach? And was it the end goal or increments to a larger end goal in the future – do you know your end goal or not? 
• If you can’t think of a time, then try it out now. Set a short-term goal (a month), then after you’ve reached it a longer-term goal (begin with a one-year goal). What felt better? 

This will help you identify if you prefer short term goal or longer time and if you like small goals or big goals. There’s nothing wrong or right here – but it feels fantastic to reach a goal.

To set a goal there are three frameworks you can use. Choose the one that fits you better:

• SMART: This has a high level of detail and for you if you love to-do lists. A smart goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-boxed. I’ve made a short example, but you can be much more detailed if you prefer:
  
  S: Wealth goal of $140K.
  M: I will measure my success every month. $11,7K monthly.
  A: This is a stretch goal, and it is achievable with a massive action plan.
  R: The plan: A week-plan of what I must focus on every week in January (be specific what you want to do every day ex. Monday: Investing Practice, Tuesday: Read about X etc.), I’ve made a monthly plan which includes a new beginner course for brand new investors. The first half year plan includes 20 course participants.
  T: By December 31st, 2022.

• RPM which is less detailed than the smart goal and not for a "to-do'er". The horizon can be short or long and is focused on the result rather than a detailed route. RPM = Result, Purpose and Map/ Master plan.
  
  R: The result is Financial Freedom by 2025.
  P: The purpose is to work with my passion and spend time with my family to experience the wonders of the world.
  M: The master plan is to grow my wealth by $140K in 2022. The first step is in January where I want to create a course for beginners. (Add more details about your concrete steps).

• OKR. The Objective-Key Result framework is even less detailed because there’s not a plan on how to get there. The plans are iterative / made as you go along on the journey, so if you prefer not to create a to-do list, or if your goal is big and you don’t know how to get there yet, this is for you.
  
  Objective: Freedom to focus on my passion and with my family receive lovely experiences the world offers. Money works for me.
  
  Key Result: (the tangible result) $1 million within 5 years (July 13th, 2025).

My Reflections and Gratitude

Financially I've reached goals I would've never thought possible, for example reaching my 2021 goal of $43K this summer. At the beginning of the year, I thought it was a stretch goal, so to achieve the goal by July 31st was such an amazing feat. I set a new goal of $78K and it was tough to reach but I did it. The year ended with $80K.

I've grown tremendously this year too. Started the year off with a very expensive value investing course that taught me little about investing but gave me many other gifts that I’m so incredibly grateful for. One gift was the courage to start my own business because I realized that I had valuable knowledge and to share and contribute with that knowledge and not keep it to myself. 

This year I faced some rough periods (times of immense stress and pressure, and some tough relationship challenges) that has taught me so many valuable lessons. It was so hard to overcome, but it’s interesting to reflect and realize that it was in those periods I grew the most. 

I'm so grateful about what I've achieved this year. Financially, with relationships and with my personal growth. I’m so incredibly lucky to have a husband Simon, who believes in me and supports my goals. I’ve had exchanges with extraordinary people like Guy Spier, Danielle Town, Eitan Chitayat, Adam Mead, and William Green. My mastermind group is one I hold very, very dear and I’m so lucky and blessed to have, my accountability partner - my brother - from Tony Robbins’ UPW, my inspiring and energizing mentor Maria, and I've had the most kind and wonderful clients. I’ve received reactions from clients and followers that brought happy tears of gratitude because of their kind words and reactions. 

Thank you for reading my newsletter and/or my blog – I see you, and I’m so grateful for every single person who comes by because I hope I can be a small part in changing your financial future to something beautiful and better.

Happy New Year!