AMY HANSEN

The end of the year is approaching and it’s a good time to stop and pause to reflect on the year that is coming to a close.  You may be thinking you’re not where you want to be or perhaps you’ve blown your expectations out of the water and far exceeded what you expected to achieve this year.  Either way, it’s important to review what’s worked and what didn’t work in order to set you up for success in the new year.

Here are five things to review before the new year.

1. Achievements

Think about the past year and what has gone well for you.  Write down your achievements and successes.  It doesn’t matter how big or small they are.  Think about the things that you’re most proud of and that bring a smile to your face.  Now that you have your achievements, you may be considering setting higher benchmarks to achieve in the new year.  Take some time right now and set goals for the new year.

...

Your comfort zone is the place where you feel safest.  Your brain knows what to expect when you’re in your comfort zone.  When you step outside your comfort zone unpredictable things can happen.  Fear takes over from the unknown and self doubt kicks in.  You think you should run and hide back in your comfort zone where you feel safe. 

The size of your comfort zone may be smaller or larger than someone else.  Each person has their own defined comfort zone.  Your experiences define the lines you’ve created for your personal comfort zone.  Visually you’ve put yourself in a box that’s called your comfort zone.  Your box expands when you try something new and step outside your comfort zone.  You’ve learned this is safe and acceptable to include in your box so the lines grow longer.

Imagine what would happen if you didn’t have a comfort zone.  If there were no boundary lines the world...

Going after you dreams can be hard in and of itself.  Add on top of that the negative criticism from others only increases the pressure you’re already feeling.  When you decide to take a stand and go after your dreams, you’re putting yourself out there to where you become very vulnerable.  During this time you may come across people who don’t quite understand what it is you’re going after.  These are the people who find it easy to criticize you and be negative about what you’re trying to achieve.

You may be fed negative thoughts that you’re crazy, it’s a stupid idea, or who are you to be doing this.  In reality, the people who are telling you these negative thoughts are simply voicing their own fears and beliefs about themselves.

When you dare to go after your dreams you may be surprised to find that the people you thought would support you actually say negative comments.  All because they feel...

In science class you may have learned about how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly.  Growing up you may have even seen the cocoons caterpillars make to transform their body, eventually emerging a beautiful butterfly.

Life is about becoming the butterfly.

You start out as the caterpillar.  Your cocoon is your comfort zone.  You have a choice to make.  You can remain a caterpillar or become the butterfly.

Often, it’s easier to remain in your comfort zone.  It’s warm, cozy, and safe.  Nothing can hurt you there.  On the other hand, becoming the butterfly is scary.  Spreading your wings and flying into the unknown is no easy feat.  Who knows what you will experience out there.

Many people remain stuck in their cocoons because of fear.  It’s easier to stay within the comfort zone where there are no surprises and everything is predictable.  But this is a boring life.  You are not meant...

Take responsibility for the three areas in life you have control over.  Stop concerning yourself with the thoughts, feelings, and actions of other people.

Often times you try to control the thoughts, feelings, and actions of other people.  It could be to get other people to like you or just to be polite.  In any case, you are not responsible for other people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.  You are only responsible for your OWN.

Let’s take a deeper dive into these three areas.

Actions

You are often led to take responsibility for other people’s actions.  For example, someone got upset and yelled at you for doing a job incorrectly.  You immediately take responsibility by thinking that you’re incompetent and incapable of doing a good job.  You believe that because you didn’t do a good job, the other person took their anger out on you.

In this example you are taking ownership of the...

What holds you back from going after your goals?

The most common answer is fear.  The fear of judgement of what other people will think of you if you fail.  Often times you decide it’s easier to be in inaction waiting for everything to be perfectly aligned before you start.  That way you’ll be less likely to make a mistake and fail.  Or perhaps you let self doubt keep you from going after your dreams. 

The question becomes how to get over your fear.  Here are five tips to help you get over your fears and confidently start taking action on achieving your goals.

1. Failure Happens

The truth is, failure is inevitable.  You didn’t learn to walk on your first try.  Yet, you think achieving your goal should be so simple.  Through failure comes success.  The more times you fail the closer you are to getting it right.  Failures are lessons learned.  It’s going to happen so just accept...

You may struggle with making decisions.  This could be because you wonder if there is something better out there for you or perhaps you’re just not sure which direction to go.  The opportunity in front of you may feel heavy and the decision is weighing on you.

Making a decision can be quite the commitment.  Everything may look good on paper but something is causing you to hesitate on your decision.  Here is a quick five step process to help you make the right decision.

1. Get Present

First, you have to be in the right frame of mind.  Stop what you’re doing and take a minute to settle into stillness.  Sit in the quiet silence and get present in the moment.  Then tune into yourself and listen for your inner voice.

2. Ask This Question

Ask yourself, will this opportunity cause my life to grow?

Be present to what comes up for you.  Think about your immediate response.  Notice if you feel a sense of...

You have two sides to your inner voice.  There is one side that is confident and tells you to go after your dreams.  Then there is the other side that is fearful and scared that keeps you stuck in your comfort zone.

It seems as if one voice is always louder than the other.  You have to learn to tune into your inner voice and differentiate between the two voices.

Let’s take a deeper look into the two sides to your inner voice.

Confident Inner Voice

You could consider one side to be the more positive inner voice.  It is optimistic about the future.

This is the inner voice of your deepest desires.  It knows you are meant for more.  This is the voice that allows you to dream big.  It is curious and encourages you to try new things.  It tells you to go out, explore, and experience life.

This inner voice is fearless and confident.  It believes in you without a doubt and constantly tries to empower you to...

You may have heard of alter egos before.  For example, Beyonce has Sasha Fierce when she goes on stage.  It’s almost as if she becomes someone else.  An alter ego gives you power, confidence, courage, and bravery to do things that you are afraid of.

The alter ego you should be focusing on is the future version of yourself.  The one who has already been through the tough times, learned the lessons, and came out on top by conquering fears.  This is the alter ego you should be embodying when you’re faced with something difficult or scary.  Pull from her strength and unwavering belief that everything will work out.

What’s most interesting about this concept is you aren’t trying to be someone you’re not.  You’re just becoming the future version of yourself.

You might be wondering how you become the future version of yourself.  Here are the three steps to becoming her.

Step 1:...

There are some commonalities that all successful people have.  Here are the eight key traits of successful people that set them apart from the rest.

Decide To Change

It first starts with deciding to make a change.  Successful people decide that they no longer want to be stuck in their current situation. They realize that there is more for their life and they have the power to make it happen.  They choose to take 100% responsibility for their life and future. Knowing that no one else is going to create their desired future but themselves.  Successful people draw the line and say enough is enough.  They make a commitment to making positive changes in their life.

Successful people know that they have the power to decide to change.  They also have the power to choose.  They can choose to remain where they are or choose to do the work and create the life that they have always envisioned.

Have A Vision

Once a successful...