The Rear-view Mirror and the Windshield

Ed Jacobson, Ph.D.

Happy New Year to you!

Before we get so engaged in 2012 that we no longer recall much about 2011, I have a few questions for you to ponder:

• Was 2011 everything you hoped it would be – for yourself, your family, your business and other important aspects of your life?
• Did some of the seeds that you had planted grow and mature last year?
• Were there positive surprises? Nasty reversals of fortune? Unanticipated losses?
• When you tote it all up, how did 2011 “add up” for you?

I hope you feel as though you devoted sufficient time to savoring 2011’s blessings and extracting its lessons. And I hope you’re viewing 2012 with excitement, and perhaps are envisioning a breakout year.

These two hopes are intertwined: a clear-eyed (but appreciative) look back through the rear-view mirror at 2011 is part of your foundation for looking ahead through the windshield at a possibility-laden, rich and exciting 2012. Let’s use this edition of The Appreciative Planner to do both.

Notes: (1) You can answer the following questions mentally and privately, but you’ll benefit more by sharing the exercise with others and by writing down and discussing your responses. (2) If you believe you’ve done enough retrospecting about 2011, simply scroll down to “The Windshield (2012)” section.

The Rear-view Mirror (2011)

Personal Life:
Please write down two high-point events or accomplishments in your personal life in 2011.

As you think about an event or accomplishment, use these criteria to decide if it’s a high-point:

• It was significant and meaningful: it mattered to you, and perhaps to others;
• It wasn’t easy (i.e., you weren’t sure you could accomplish it);
• It came as a positive, welcomed and beneficial surprise.

High-point 1. ______________________________________________________________

What about it makes it a high-point?

High-point 2. ______________________________________________________________

What about it makes it a high-point?

Work Life:
Please write down two high-point events or accomplishments in your work life in 2011.

As you think about an event or accomplishment, use these criteria to decide if it’s a high-point:

• It was significant and meaningful: it mattered to you, and perhaps to others;
• It wasn’t easy (i.e., you weren’t sure you could accomplish it);
• It came as a positive, welcomed and beneficial surprise.

High-point 1. ______________________________________________________________

What about it makes it a high-point?

High-point 2. ______________________________________________________________

What about it makes it a high-point?

A 2011 Regret:
Write down one 2011 regret, either personal or work-related. It could be:

• An opportunity you didn’t pursue or didn’t give your all;
• Something you gave your best, but the required conditions didn’t all fall into place;
• An event that occurred, that you wish had not (e.g., illness that you or someone close to you had, departure of major client, ending of a personal relationship).

“I regret… _____________________________________________________________”

What lessons did you learn from this circumstance or event? How can you use that experience, and those lessons in 2012?

(Another way to think about it: while you didn’t welcome it or wish for it to happen, what are its blessings and teachings? In what ways have you grown, or can you grow, from it?)

Summing up 2011:
When you take into account your 2011 blessings and regrets, how would you summarize your 2011? Does a short phrase (e.g., “The year I…”, “The year of…”, “The year that…”) or a visual image occur to you? Please summarize it below:

“The year… _______________________________________________________________”

What are 2011’s lessons and gems for you? What do you want to remember indelibly, even as the past year’s specifics fade and disappear?

The Windshield (2012)
What are you excited about for 2012, in your personal life, work or anywhere else?

In what way(s) does your 2012 vision build on lessons and gems from 2011?

If you gave 2012 a title (e.g., “The year I …”, “The year of …”, “The year that …”), what would it be?

“The year…______________________________________________________________”

What’s the greatest opportunity that’s looming for you in 2012?

What’s required for you to capitalize on that opportunity? What supports and resources do you need to set in place?

What could get in the way of your bringing this opportunity into being?

What do you want to say about 2012, one year from today?

Making it Happen in 2012

One year ago, The Appreciative Planner column presented a nine-step process for making a workable plan to achieve your 2011 aspirations. The process doesn’t have a “use-by” date; it’s fully applicable to your 2012 goals. You can view an updated version of these nine steps by clicking here.

A Final Thought

All Garrett members believe in the importance of having a well-structured, well thought-out plan for their clients. After all, planning is what you “do.” You should give the same caring attention to your own needs and aspirations (and those of your family) that you lavish on your clients. So… what’s your plan for 2012?

©2012 Ed Jacobson, Ph.D.