10 Minutes to Make This Year Your Best Year Ever

There are a lot of ways people plan for the new year,  but  here's the super fast way to do it when you know that you won't do it otherwise. It will take you about 10 minutes if that's all you have, but put more time into it and you'll get more out of it. Why do goal setting or year planning? Because it can lead to a more fulfilling and successful life.

How ? Get out a piece of paper and pencil or pen. Read the steps, then answer the questions at the end. Done. If you want to time yourself, do so. Read steps 1-3, then set a timer for 10 minutes and answer the questions. The time constraint will force you to prioritize your answers in a way that will be helpful for you. Spend 3 minutes on each question.

Step 1 : Keep the Best of  the Previous Year

Here's a summary of the purpose of this step :

• Keep what has worked for you this year and integrate it into your life.
• Let go of what you don't need anymore.

This is like packing for an ongoing journey -  dump out the junk you don't need - the scraps of paper and gum at the bottom of your backpack, the book you thought you'd read but don't care for anymore, and repack it with what you want to keep and anything new that is working for you.

Step 2 : Envision What You DO WANT

This is more than goal setting, this is actually a really cool hypnosis mind hack - only think about what you DO WANT. Think, or picture it in your head what you want by the end of 2016. Imagine a beautiful painting capturing your life at the end of 2016 - what are the highlights? This programs your subconscious mind for what you actually want. There are a lot of examples of this, but if you've ever decided to buy a new (or used) car, then noticed cars everywhere you go, it's the same principle. When you think about what you DO WANT, your subconscious mind will help you achieve it.

Step 3 : Answer the Questions

1. What am I most proud of this year, and what did I learn from the experience ? (keep this - and what I mean by that is actually imagine placing the lessons learned and positive emotions from the experience in your backpack or suitcase for the next year.)

2. What was the biggest mistake I made, and what did I learn from the experience ? (keep the lesson learned as described above, discard the rest - it's purpose in your life has been fulfilled when you find and retain the lesson learned.)

3.  Imagine a beautiful painting capturing your life at the end of 2016 - what are the highlights?  describe it. (hint : what do you look like? what are you doing ? who is with you ? where are you? keep this as well.)

That's it ! Just those three questions will help you make this year your best year ever.

If you want to do more, go through steps 1-2 over and over until you've captured everything. Forgive yourself and others for mistakes made. Then continue revisiting and refining the image you created in Step 3.

This may sound a little too easy, but it's not intended to be comprehensive - it's intended to be short and to the point for people that don't have time or won't do year planning otherwise.