Three questions to replace New Year’s resolutions
By: Jennifer Clamp, Founder Coach
Tags: Founder Coaching, New Year Resolution, Scaleup, Entrepreneurship, Founders

When you’re thinking about the year ahead, rather than setting yourself lofty New Year’s resolutions, take time to reflect on these three questions and set yourself up to achieve your goals throughout the year, not just those set on New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s resolutions are often chosen to address areas in our lives that we think ‘need improvement’. And we believe that when we achieve these goals we will feel happier, be at our best and get more out of life.

Shortcut the resolutions — let’s be honest, most don’t make it past January — and get straight to feeling happier and more fulfilled by following a model of Appreciative Enquiry — focusing on what’s working and building on it.

Answer these three questions and have your best year yet

Before you get started, find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted. Get out the white paper, your best pen and pour a comforting drink.

To help you answer these questions, start by plotting out a timeline of your life over the last year. Mark on it the key events, achievements, occasions or memorable moments. These may be personal, in business or related to your family or wider community.

Looking at this timeline ask yourself the following questions:

When have I felt most happy?

Think of a few of the moments this year when you’ve been most happy — what were you doing? Who were you with? What was it specifically that brought on that happy feeling?

What would it take to create more happy occasions like these the next year?

When am I at my best?

What situation did you thrive in this year? What was happening and how did you respond? What were the outcomes? What is it about you that meant you thrived? What strengths did you draw on and what was it about the situation that drew these strengths from you?

How can you set up your life and your work to use your strengths and be at your best more often?

When have I felt driven to action?

Thinking back over the last 12 months, can you remember an occasion when you were driven into action? What was the subject of this occasion? What was it about that subject that was important to you? How did this drive impact the decisions you made and actions you took?

How can you harness that drive as a force for good in your life in 2021?

A personal case study

So let’s put this into practice! I’m going to show you how, by asking yourself these questions you can gain some perspective and change your outlook on what ‘success’ is to reconnect with what’s important. Here are my answers:

When do I feel happy?

My happiest moments in the last year were adventurous days out with extended family and friends. We came up with fun ideas, researched, saved the date and made an occasion of it.

Why? The occasions were adventurous but well planned so there was no drama. We booked in advance and got excited about it. We were ‘all in’ when we were there. It felt special to have an adventure with more people than my immediate family. The days were thoughtfully designed to ‘treat’ certain individuals — it felt good to do that and see them happy. I was creating memories and deepening the connection with people who are important to me.

Apply this: what do I need to do in order to create more of these moments next year?

When am I at my best?

I’ve had some moments of feeling totally ‘in the zone’ in the last year. Focussed, energised, capably delivering on the task at hand; opening the conversation for a networking group, in coaching conversations with clients, writing about what I’ve been learning.

Why? These were roles where I got to contribute and support rather than lead. I got to think deeply — which I love doing — and be exposed to new ideas and contribute to others thinking. I got to support others to achieve their goals, drawing on my knowledge, experience and strengths such as compassion and curiosity.

Apply this: how do I use this knowledge to achieve my business goals this year?

When have I felt really driven to action?

Going public with Aata I felt very focussed and driven.

Why? I hired someone to help me, we set a deadline and I got clear that the work I’m doing is so much bigger than me. My mission has become clear; to let founders know that business coaching is an option for them. They generally know how mentors and advisors work and coaching offers something very different.

Coaching is required more than ever, to support founders in their ability to grow so their businesses can grow, and also to lead through complexity. The world continues to get more complex and unpredictable and entrepreneurs today require the resilience and capability to bring a new concept to market in these conditions. They can learn to lead on the job — but when so much is at stake as a founder, having a business coach will increase the chances of success.

Big picture, I see the power that commerce wields, and believe that it is the fastest route to creating positive social and environmental change in the world. As a business coach to the next generation of business leaders, I am doing my part to create a world I’m proud to hand on to my daughter.

Apply this: How can I shape my work to engage this natural drive more often?

Connect with the joy in life

Whatever you set your sights on in the year ahead, use this knowledge to create opportunities to draw on your strengths, be at your best and engage in all the things in life that energise you and you’ll enjoy the ride. Whatever the outcome — and with this approach, I believe you’ll achieve more than you might have imagined on New Year’s Eve.