Introspective Questions Before the New Year

The calendar is about to turn over.

“New year, new me” is about to take over social media. Gym memberships will be purchased and forgotten about. Lofty resolutions will be made and dropped in almost the same breath.

We know our usual approach to the new year doesn't work. Plus, if the last few years have taught us anything, we have no idea what’s coming and how it’s going to derail our plans.

This year, let’s do something different.

Here are 3 introspective questions to ask yourself before January 1 (or literally any time, because Jan 1 doesn’t actually mean anything, it’s an arbitrary date).

These questions come directly from Donald Miller’s book Hero on a Mission. They helped change my life, and the lives of many thousands around the world.

Your answers to these questions will give you a North Star to aim for in the coming year, a filter through which all decisions can be made.

The Questions

In 2023…

What is your biggest ambition for the new year?

At the end of the year, what would make you want to pop champagne and dance around like a lunatic? This ambition should be almost embarrassing to say out loud. Make it realistic, but make it BIG.

What challenge or obstacle will you overcome?

There must be something in your way that makes this ambition hard to achieve. Nothing worth doing in life comes easy. If it’s not challenging, it’s not interesting.

How will your 2023 journey inspire or help others?

If your journey doesn’t serve someone beyond yourself, it won’t be meaningful. Selfish acts may make us happy for a moment, but they don’t provide a deep sense of meaning. Meaning comes from living out a story bigger than yourself.

How to use your answers to have the most meaningful year ever

Compile your answers into a single sentence that reads like a one-sentence summary of a movie or story.

For example:

A former magician leverages lessons from a career in entertainment to build a $5 million international consulting firm that teaches individuals and organizations how to make meaningful connections with others, in order to retain and preserve our humanity in an increasingly AI-driven world.

That’s mine. It has ambition, a great challenge, and is in service of others.

Will I achieve that in 2023? Probably not. But that’s not really the point.

The point is that it’s my North Star. It tells me specifically where I’m aiming, and provides a filter through which I can make decisions about what to focus on and what’s a distraction.

Now I want to hear yours!

Comment on this blog post, the LinkedIn post, or send me a DM.

Hero on a Mission

Love these questions? There’s more where they came from. A LOT more.

As a Business Made Simple Certified Coach, I’m one of the very few people in the world who is qualified to take individuals and teams through Donald Miller’s life-changing Hero on a Mission framework.

Most people think life is something that just happens to you, that you are just at the mercy of your experiences and circumstances.

But what if you started thinking about life as something you actually get to create?

Whether you want to admit it or not, you are mostly in control of your experience. After you complete this program, you will have the tools you need to create the life you want and live a life of meaning.

Why?

Because you will be a Hero on a Mission.

For Individuals

Do you feel like you’re aimlessly wandering through your life with no clear direction or meaning?

• You’re not sure what to focus on each day
• You don’t feel like you’re making progress on your most important projects
• You set goals but don’t actually achieve them
• You don’t have a clear vision of your life for the next 10 years
• You aren’t sure how you can be most productive
• You wake up in a fog and feel like your life is meaningless

For Teams

Is your team feeling disconnected from the why of what you do and needing inspiration?

• Your team members don’t know what their most important priorities are
• Your team members need a sense of purpose
• You have team members who are just showing up to punch the clock
• You need to find a training to invest in your team that will build excitement
• You don’t have a good system to help team members achieve their goals
• Your team lacks a vision for the future

If you feel like your life or your team isn’t going in the direction you want it to go, this program could change everything.

Inquire about bringing this to your team, or for yourself, by booking discovery call: https://www.clarityupconsulting.com/discovery-call