It’s January 3rd — have you made your resolutions, yet? Fear not, neither have I. It’s not that I don’t believe in setting goals. I do, emphatically. But, I’m not a big fan of traditional resolutions. So, here are a few suggestions for getting the year off to a good start using a different approach …

Before you look ahead, look back and ask yourself a few questions:

What is your own personal definition of success?

• Now, with that definition in mind (and canceling out the definitions of your spouse/partner, parents, boss, colleagues, friends and others), what were your greatest successes of the past year?
• What did you learn from what you achieved and what are you going to do about it? (How will you use this knowledge moving forward?)

What were your greatest challenges?

• What did you learn by confronting those challenges, or not confronting them, and what are you going to do about it?

Take some time to reflect on the broad spectrum of experiences from the past year. What can you take away from your peaks and valleys and the everyday rhythm of life that will have a positive impact on how you live your life tomorrow?

Now, looking ahead to tomorrow and beyond …

What do you want your life to look like a year (or five or ten years) from now (your ideal scenario; dare to dream!)?

• Where are you?
• What are you doing?
• Who is there with you?
• What are you most excited about?
• What was your greatest achievement?
• What was your greatest challenge and how did you handle it?

(Pay close attention to how you feel as you create this scenario and where you feel it in your body)

Flash back to today … Now that you have a better sense of what your future looks like …

• Is the path that you’re currently on going to get you there?
• If not, how do you need to be different in order to get there (more confident, resilient, aggressive, assertive, laid back, willing to ask for help/support, accepting of help/support, etc.)?
• What do you need more of in your life in order to achieve your goals and how will you ensure that you get it?
• What do you need less of in your life in order to get there and what changes will you make to ensure your success?

At the end of all of this, you won’t have a bulleted list, and you shouldn’t. The goal is to take the time to be with and learn from past experiences and envision what you want for the future. This enables you to create your intentions for the coming year from a more empowered place based on increased awareness, clarity and knowledge. The focus is less on the circumstances and logistics and more on how it feels — in your body and soul. Pay attention to your energy and use it create the goals that will set you on the path to where you want to be tomorrow, next year and five years down the line.

How do you set resolutions, goals, and intentions for the upcoming year? What helps to keep you on track?

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