The week between Christmas and New Year's is the perfect time to reflect on the current year and take stock of what is working for us and those areas that we would like to change. The annual goal-setting process should be an invigorating exercise. Each year offers us a fresh opportunity to make changes in the direction our life is heading. It offers us a lifelong process of renewal and optimism when looking to the future. Remember it is never too late to start over or change direction.
I encourage a big focus on character because I believe it is the keystone for all other areas of goal-setting. I believe it is important to work on character traits and to develop the whole person as the foundation for all of life’s pursuits throughout our lives. My research in this area suggests that grit is one of the stronger predictors of success. I believe it is the foundation character trait along with self-control that all our goals and aspirations are built on. For without a healthy amount of grit and self-control or discipline we would lose focus and give up on our goals and dreams. It is never too late to take a personal inventory of our character traits and reinforce those that we already embody, and set personal goals to strengthen and practice those we want to embody. And yes, I believe you can and should practice character traits.
I believe that each of us have God given character strengths that we group under “personality” or “temperament.” Some people have natural social intelligence and zest; some have a lot of self-control and grit; some are very spiritual and wise. Regardless, if each of us does a personal inventory of the 24 character traits (from the New York Times Article, What if the Secret to Success Is Failure? by Paul Tough) we will know which ones are our gifts, which ones we developed easily throughout our childhood and life experiences, and which ones we might want to strengthen. Each of us possesses the ability to become solid in all of these areas. And the ones that are the most challenging will be our proudest accomplishments when we conquer them.
Life is full of distractions and curve balls. There will be many unexpected challenges. I believe the strength of our character is what gives us the tools to weather the storms of life – and there will be some. So I contend character strength is more important than academic and career accomplishments. Strength of character combined with our accomplishments is powerful. It will drive the direction of your life to be balanced for the better good, and not in the sole pursuit of what society or the media defines as success, which is typically wealth and fame.
You can get started with your goal-setting for the new year by exploring my resources and templates within the Goal Setting section of my website here. Have fun and Happy New Year!