It’s that clichéd time of year again when people make New Year resolutions.
Whether you do or not, it can be a good time for reflection and to prepare for the year ahead. Here are some ideas that might help.
We’ve all made ambitious New Year resolutions before, only to fail miserably after a few weeks.
Rather than do that, how about using this slight pause before choirs start back to reflect on the past, present and future to inform your preparations for a new year of singing? Whether you ‘re a singer or a choir leader, this exercise will definitely help.
the past
Before you start looking back at the year just gone, take some time to pat yourself on the back. You’ve made it this far in one piece!
Take some time to be kind to yourself, to understand how far you’ve come and what amazing things you have achieved despite all the obstacles.
Then maybe think about questions like these …
- What did you achieve last year?
- What were your successes and failures?
- What were the biggest surprises?
- What did you learn?
- How many people did you touch or help?
- How much fun did you have?
- Where did you go (literally and metaphorically) that you’d never been before?
- What new things did you try?
the present
I’ve written before about making plans for the future, but needing to take into account how much you can really change. It’s no good making unrealistic plans or trying to change yourself. You are who you are, and you have to take that with you into the future.
Time for some more self-reflection …
- What is your current skillset?
- What comes hardest (and easiest) for you?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- What are you best (and worst) at?
- How do you respond to stressful situations?
- Are you good at the admin needed?
- What would you rather being doing right now?
- Who do you admire?
the future
Looking into the future can be a thought experiment. It’s a time to let your imagination and dreams run wild. This is not (yet) about planning or making resolutions, it’s about imagining what your ideal future might look like.
- Do you see yourself continuing as you have done this coming year?
- Would you like to let go of some things or embrace something new?
- Is what you’re doing working for you?
- How might next year be different from last year?
- Is it time to give up or to start something new?
- Are you heading in the right direction?
- Where do you want to be in 12 months’ time?
- What new skills would you like to acquire?
planning ahead
Now you just need to put all that you’ve learnt from these exercises together, then you will have a roadmap for where you want to be in the coming year. You’ll have a clearer idea of the practical steps you’ll need to take, new skills you’ll need, things you’ll be letting go of and so on. From that you can make a concrete plan.
Far better to do this than to sleepwalk into the coming year and ending up not doing what you really want to.
Good luck!
Chris Rowbury
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