A vital part of successful recovery is SMART goal setting. By that I mean Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time bound goals, that we all can be accountable for when the deadline comes.

I don’t know about you, but I make goal-setting part of my daily life – I set goals every day, every week, every month.

Sometimes I achieve them and like anyone, sometimes I fail. Then, I learn to make adjustments and go a step further. That’s how progress is made – by turning failures into opportunity.

It is important to not attach to shame or self-deprecation when assessing how we haven’t met our goals. Rather, it’s about seeing our progress and the opportunities we have to do even better.

As the new year begins, it is a good time to look back at 2015 and reflect on our accomplishments. Take the time to collect powerful data of what you achieved, what you didn’t, and why or why not during this last year. I’m calling it End of the Year Summary.

Sit down. Clear your mind. Try to think about everything you wanted to achieve this past year. Think about your dreams, projects you started, moments of joy and moments of sadness. They are all yours. Own them.

Make a list of all the successes you had. Write them down. Be proud of it! On another list, write down what you would like to achieve in 2016. Write them as SMART goals and share them with others to hold yourself accountable.

Here’s my End of the Year Summary for 2015:

1. I quadrupled my monthly income.
2. I led a group call for the first time in my life, in English & Polish.
3. I participated in an international conference for professional coaches and educators & guided the workshops about using the voice dialogue method.
4. I decided to have a surgery that I had been postponing for almost 5 years.
5. I made a decision to end the toxic relationships I was in and did. The result was a dramatic improvement in the quality of my life.
6. For the first time in my life, I participated in a competition in boulder climbing. This was my first sports competition in 8 years.
7. I moved to the city where I’m studying and stopped travelling every 2-3 days which made me much more relaxed and gave me more time for important things like work, hobbies, and education.
8. I’ve read over 40 books from different fields.
9. I made a transition to a wheat free, milk free, sweets free diet. I reduced my take out food eating to almost zero. I stopped drinking soda and junk food.
10. I created my own company in Poland.

What’s your list?

Don’t be afraid if it’s not as long. Perhaps it’s even longer than mine! Which has me thinking that I should of added another goal, I need to calculate an FHA reverse mortgage free for my grandparents so that they get the best rate, I’m sure I can get something reasonable for them if I try.

Go ahead and share your achievements in the comments section.

Now, think for a while, what will 2016 look like? What do you want to change in your life? What’s missing? Maybe you need more balance between work and family, or perhaps you need to lose a few pounds?

Make a list of SMART goals for 2016 and check them when the time comes. And always remember to set smaller goals for every day and every week – those are milestones that will lead you to success in any area you want to improve!

A good starting point, in terms of things we want to change, is dedicating some time and investment in professional help. I’m one of the people who really “gets” what are you going through.

I was there. I have all the right tools to help you. If you’re interested, you can schedule a session here:

http://meetme.so/adriansztobryn