The New Year is here, and I’m here to burst your bubble — but don’t worry, I’ll leave you with an even bigger and better one full of hope for and happiness for the year ahead.
See, your best-laid New Year’s plans aren’t going anywhere if you can’t adapt when change comes your way. If there’s one thing you can count on this year, it’s that nothing will stay the same. Change is inevitable!
I’ve looked back at this year to distill how my clients and I have navigated significant changes — particularly the unexpected ones. I took notes on what worked, what didn’t, and what processes produced the best outcomes.
The result? An easy-to-remember approach to handling change with a strong mindset and action to back it up. Get ready to have a confident, calm, and H.A.P.P.Y. New Year.
HUG Change (With Your Brain!)
The best place to start a new relationship with change is by embracing it! To do this, you don’t have to be in crisis mode or facing a life-altering change. Shift your change mindset by journaling out how you feel about change and challenging your beliefs about change.
Here are a few prompts to get you started:
- When was the last time I faced unexpected change?
- How did I respond to it?
- What were my thoughts about it?
- When was the last time I intentionally created a big change in my life or business?
- How did I feel during that shift?
- What were my thoughts during that shift?
Take a good look at your answers to these questions and notice if you react to problems or are proactive and can feel your feelings, calmly respond, and move forward with a logical solution. A strong CEO mindset will result in the latter. It’ll also make your business feel simple, strategic, and streamlined. And you’ll have a good flow between being in work mode and operating as a leader who delegates and holds your company vision.
Once you’ve reflected on where you’re at, think about the relationship you want to have with change and ask yourself:
- What would my ideal relationship with change look like?
- How would I think, feel, and act when change came about in this ideal scenario?
- What would be possible for you if you had this ideal relationship with change?
- What new risks would you be willing to take?
- What results might you create?
ANTICIPATE Change
Just because life is full of unexpected change doesn’t mean you can’t anticipate it. Keep this exercise brief and make a bulleted list of the changes you experienced in the last year. Consider changes in the following areas of your life:
- Business
- Revenue
- Number of clients
- Hours worked
- Team growth
- Launches/new offers
- Retired offers
- Market/industry changes
- Personal
- Health progress or challenges
- New hobbies
- New friendships
- New pets
- Family growth
- Breakups/new loves
- Moving house
Once you’ve made your list, consider what changes you might encounter in 2024 in these areas. Some of your changes might be the same, and some might be different!
PLAN for Change
Once you have an idea of what changes you might experience in the New Year, take some time to think through the plans you need to make to accommodate those changes. Even if you’re not sure if something will happen, for example you may not be sure that your aging parents will need more caretaking, take a few minutes to write down what your first three steps would look like if a situation arose where you did, in fact, need to spend more time helping your family.
PREPARE for Change
Looking at the big picture and your list of possible plans for change, notice which plans you can implement now. How can you proactively prepare yourself, your life, and your business for change? Being prepared might look like saving a larger percentage of your income so you can take time off, starting the hiring process for a new team member, or investing in community relationships with people who will have your back this year.
Say YES to change!
Change can trigger a mix of emotions and throw our nervous systems out of whack. The next time you face change, be ready to say YES to the opportunity. Change can open doors, shake things up, and get you out of your comfort zone. It is helpful to make a YES list when change is on the horizon. Acknowledge how you are feeling, your thoughts about the change, and what your CEO self would do in response to the change.
Give the H.A.P.P.Y. New Year method a try in 2024, and let me know how it goes!
You can check out my other New Year themed blogs for more inspiration and motivation:
Get Focused on What Matters Most to You → here
5 Actionable Tips to Plan Your Best Year Yet as an Entrepreneur → here
A Quickie Year In Review, That You’ll Actually Do → here
For personalized help making 2024 your best yet, contact me here and we’ll get your biz backend ready for scaling in no time.
January 9, 2024
