Each Year we tend to make a few resolution goals and promises, but do they really stick? Do we really recognize what facets need to be improved in our life? Right now might be a good time to sit down and evaluate your goals. It is the perfect time to reflect how you have done in the past year. One good way to reflect is using four facets of well-being:

Material Well-Being

Spiritual Well-Being

Physical Well-Being

Social Well-Being

These four aspects give us a balanced view of our true well-being and potential. By reflecting on them, you can get an idea of how your life goals as a whole have progressed in the past year.

To help you reflect, I will share some questions you can ask yourself for each facet. By giving honest answers, you will be able to see whether or not you have progressed as much as you would have liked. Looking back, I know that I haven’t progressed and evolved as much as a should have. There are a lot of steps I must take to recognize what is going to make me truly prosperous. For the questions to which your answer is no, you can also ask “why” to find out the reason behind it. For example, take this (redundant) question:

Have you eliminated debt?

If your answer is no, you probably think “Of course I haven’t. Its impossible.” Well, then you can then ask:

Why?

The answer might be because you didn’t save enough, or there were unexpected expenses you weren’t prepared for. Or maybe you decided to get another credit card or two to cover all of the things you wanted or needed. You can use such answers to better prepare yourself for the coming year and get a better understanding as to why you have been set back. Just imagine the clarity and freedom that comes with living debt free (What a wonderful feeling that would be!).

So, here are some questions to help you reflect the past year. Please take a moment for each question, especially if it rings true with you. I found that there are quite a few aspects of well-being that I pushed to the side, disguising the true cause of my set back. If you have a printer, it might be easier to print this out, take a comfortable seat and give yourself the time and space to write it all out.

Material Prosperity

• Did you achieve your desired net worth?

• Did you achieve your desired income level?

• Have you built the habit of spending less than you earn?

• Have you been able to eliminate debt?

• Have you built the habit of saving?

• Has your career progressed as you wanted to?

• Have you reduced your spending on some unnecessary expenses?

Take a few moments to answer these questions, even if you think they might not relate to you. You might realize some new insights about your spending or career habits.

Spiritual Prosperity

• Have you found your life mission?

• Do you feel fulfilled?

• Could you honestly say that you are happy?

• Have you built the necessary habits for spiritual growth?

These questions really helped me evaluate my true sense of spiritual happiness. Fulfillment and happiness bring peace of mind and allow room to grow and bloom. Our habits depend on our beliefs. They could be through meditating, spending time outside, joining a community or reading sacred text, for example. Would you be happier volunteering for a local non profit? Would you be happier if you had more time to travel? Do you set aside time to reflect on your goals, ideas and how you have progressed as a person?

Physical Prosperity

• Have you built the habit of exercising?

• Have you built the habit of consuming nutritious food?

• Have you taken the time to evaluate your diet?

• Have you had good rest?

• Do you feel physically fit in doing your daily work?

It is amazing how much energy your body holds. That stored energy must be released, otherwise you are taking the risk of becoming more prone to feelings such as anger, frustration, or even insomnia.  Do you feel energized? Are you getting enough sleep? Maybe take a look at your food choices and try reasoning through new eyes. Remember, you are what you eat–what you decide today will effect you tomorrow. Try to focus on getting and staying healthy. :)

Social Prosperity

• During the past year, has your relationship with your partner grown and progressed for the better?

• Has your relationship with your family been good? Why or why not?

• Have your friendships continued to evolve into stronger bonds? Have you been a good friend?

• Did you make a lot of new friends?

• Did you get to know people from diverse backgrounds?

Having a strong social well-being is just as important as any other aspect. As humans, we need people in our lives. There might be times when you need solitude or a time to be introspective but in the end, we require the company of others to evolve and grow and to know love. Strong bonds help keep us motivated, involved and aware of others feelings and emotions. When we are able to help another person out, we are truly helping our overall self and spirit. If you have broken ties with people, try to mend them. If poor communication is the issue, work on building it up. If you are butting heads with someone, try and find a balanced medium. To each her own. We must accept that we all have our own ways of living but there is always room to share and grow. As my Mom always told me, “Make sure to be a good influence on others, don’t let them be a bad influence on you.” Emotional energy stays with you. Make sure it is positive energy that you are carrying and passing on and your social well-being will only bloom.

While the questions listed here are not comprehensive, at least they can give some ideas about how you have progressed over the year. Besides, You can prioritize the actions based on what will make the most impact on your life. All these, I believe, will help you set your goals for your future. Your objective should be to have positive progress in all four facets.

Very few people can claim that they have achieved all that they are capable of achieving. In the Western world most of us do moderately well. We get an education and a succession of jobs; we have some relationships that work; we are well fed; we avoid penury and destitution. We can take comfort in modest achievements. But for many people there is a nagging feeling that they could have done much, much more with their lives and careers. They know that their talents are mostly undeveloped. So what is it that is stopping you right now from making a much greater contribution to society? What is that is preventing you from fulfilling your potential?

1. You do not have enough belief in yourself.

All successful people have enormous self-belief. They know that they have something special to contribute and they are determined to make their mark. This does not mean that they are arrogant, narcissistic or complacent. On the contrary, they are self critical and push themselves hard because they know that they can achieve more. What is it that is special about you? What is the talent that you have not developed? What do you know you are capable of achieving?

2. You do not measure yourself against written goals.

It is hard to make progress if you have no clear goals for your life. Most of us muddle along from one thing to the next. Successful people define their objectives and measure progress against them. You should set yourself targets in the areas that are important to you e.g. career, wealth, health, relationships and social life. There are many books giving detailed advice on goal setting and they reinforce the point that the most important thing is to write your goals down and track progress. If you do not achieve some of the goals then reset them. You can be flexible and adjust how you move forward but you must keep moving. Do you have written objectives that you track regularly? If not, write them down. :)

3. You are too comfortable where you are.

It is easy and natural to settle into a rut. Why try something new when you are already doing something that you are good at? High achievers go further. They take risks. They move out of their comfort zones. They take on difficult challenges. They push themselves to acquire new skills and to face new examinations of their abilities. This means that they run the risk of failure. Where are you right now – inside your comfort zone or taking risks?

4. You are lazy (don’t take it personal.) :)

Either that or you waste a lot of time every day on low value activities.  Thinking and planning are great but it is action that leads to success. It is only by doing things and doing the right things that you change the world. If you have clear goals but are not making progress towards them then look at your activity level. If you are a writer are you writing enough? If you are an artist are you drawing enough? If you are a leader are you leading enough? Great sportsmen and musicians practice for hours each day. Picasso painted over 20,000 pictures. Persistence pays dividends. How much time do you waste on activities that do not advance you towards your objectives?

5. You are not mixing with high achievers.

You might be around some really nice people but are they challenging you to achieve more? Spend more time with productive and positive thinkers who understand ambition and achievement. Share some of your thoughts, dreams and challenges with them. They will encourage you and give you the direct advice you need. How much time are you spending with productive, goal oriented people?

The person who can motivate you, change you and get the most out of you is in the mirror. Build your self-belief. Set yourself clear goals and measure progress against them. Push yourself outside your comfort zone. Take on some difficult challenges even though you risk failure. Significantly increase your creative skills. Mix with high achievers. Ask yourself this – do you want a safe, comfortable existence or do you want a life where you achieve something really worthwhile?

One of the things that scares me most in life is mediocrity. Life is too precious; it is a golden opportunity. Living in mediocrity means we do not use our opportunities to the fullest potential.

Unfortunately, many people are trapped in mediocrity. I believe one of the main reasons is they do not dare to be different. You need to be different if you want to be above the average. Do you dare to be different? :)

Here are some more specific questions to help you check yourself and take actions:

Do you have a dream?

This is the first question you should ask yourself. I believe one of the main reasons people just follow the herd is that they don’t realize that they have the option to live out their dreams. A dream is what sets you above the average. Not having a dream means putting mediocrity on autopilot.

I’m sure you have a dream deep inside of you. It might be something from your childhood. Maybe for long time you have been too busy to let the little voice of your dream be heard. This is the right time to heed that little voice.

Are you doing what you want or what you should?

There are often implicit “rules” about what someone should do in a particular situation. For example, when there are two job opportunities, the “rule” says that you should take the one with higher pay.

But is that what you want? I mean, does it help you achieve your dream? Maybe the job with less pay will help you achieve your dream while the one with higher pay doesn’t.

Do you worry more about being loved than being what you love?

Another reason why we don’t dare to be different is because we are trying to meet other people’s expectations. We often worry more about what other people say than about what matters to us. But living someone else’s life is a bad way to live your life. Why should you lose opportunity just because of what other people say?

Do you choose what is safe rather than what is right?

Maybe you just don’t want to take risks and therefore you choose to play safe. This is exactly what many people end up regretting. Don’t let the same regret happen to you.

If you had only six months left to live, would you do what you are doing now?

Doing what matters to you is a sure way to excellence since you will do it with all your heart.

I hope that you found this information useful. I know I did. Many people have asked themselves these questions and have implemented changes in their lifestyle to create positive change. I based this post off an article I came across by Donald Latumahina. His words are inspirational and good to look through every once in a while. :)

For me, there are a lot of aspects in my life that I need to evaluate if I want to progress and be happy with how I am living. Balance and Well-Being and two very important factors to living in harmony. One of the main facets I recognize I need to work on is my social well-being. Granted I am a social person BUT I need to work on ALL aspects or my social balance. I recognize that friends and family are a huge part of life and without them, I wouldn’t be where I am at today. :) Rather then just living socially, I need to work harder at keeping my friendships growing and blooming. We are truly an amazing race. It is a gift and true pleasure that we can show and share love, creativity, and life :)

Peace and Progress,

Jessica Brothers