It is, once again, the beginning of a new year! The arrival of a new year provides all of us with a chance to reflect on 2024 and consider what we want to see happen in 2025. This process of reflection and planning is very valuable, and it is one of our favorite exercises to walk through with our clients.
Here are a few reasons why we feel this exercise is so valuable:
Setting Goals
You may notice that I am making an implicit assumption: that you have set goals for the past year and are setting goals for 2025. This is the first benefit of this exercise: it forces you to be intentionally thoughtful about your life!
When you set out on a trip, you know where you are coming from, your desired destination, and the ideal path you will follow to get there. We all do some level of preparation and planning for trips; however, it is amazing how many of us do not apply that same level of planning to our personal lives from year to year.
Without specific, measurable and achievable goals, it will be very challenging for you to accomplish your big-picture, long-term desires that you have for your future!
Suggested Reading: Series: Values Driven Decisions – Introduction
Learn from the Past
As you reflect on the past, it is helpful to consider what you wanted to achieve in 2024 versus what happened.
For those things you did not achieve, what can you do differently in the future to put you on a better track?
For those things that went better than anticipated, how can you take what you learned from these successes and use this knowledge to achieve your future goals?
Stay Focused on the Future
Reflecting on the past is helpful, but we certainly do not want to live in the past!
After considering what went well and what did not in 2024, the next step is to use this information to help inform what steps you should take in 2025 to put you on a better path to achieving your goals.
For example, if you feel you spent more than you wanted to in 2024, to the detriment of your savings goals, then this information tells you that maybe you need to create and implement a cash flow plan that helps you align your spending and savings decisions to the goals that are important to you.
No Sweat, All Benefits
In closing, using what you learned from your past successes and failures to inform your future decisions will help to put you on a better path toward improving your life and achieving your future goals. To do that, you have to reflect on the past but not dwell there. It’s a simple exercise but often overlooked.
The Master’s team is honored to engage in these types of conversations with our clients! If you or someone you know would like to engage with the Master’s team further, please reach out!
