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Personal Reflection: Gratitude, Accomplishments, Takeaways

Posted on January 16, 2018January 13, 2018 by UWIB Blog

As the new year opens in front of us, it’s time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished and give thanks for all that’s come from last year. It’s also time to consider what we’ve learned and what we should carry forward into the new year as we seek to improve our lives. This guide will walk you through a self-assessment of your accomplishments, takeaways, and gratitude for the year.

Break Out the Pen and Paper

Self-reflection takes a lot of work. The best way to get through this process and gather real insight is to take thorough notes as you examine every aspect of your life. You can refer back to these notes throughout the year to stay on track. This is also a great time to bring together work you’ve completed during the past year. If you’ve kept a personal journal, or have projects you’ve finished, include them for closer examination as well.

Commit to Honesty

Personal reflections are only beneficial if they’re honest. Commit to being honest with yourself, about the good and the bad. Yes, you can admit you hit some speed bumps during the year, but try not to be overly hard on yourself. Being honest takes a certain amount of courage, but it’s always a worthwhile endeavor. Whether you’re performing a self-evaluation for your boss or your own benefit, honesty is the most critical factor.

Categorize Your Thoughts

As you go through your self-appraisal, start by creating categories you want to focus on. For instance, your accomplishments, challenges, and gratitude. Fill in each category with details of things you’ve done well, things you have struggled with, and things you’ve learned to be thankful for. You may add other categories as you see fit, but once you’re done, create a separate category for key takeaways. Look at the big picture and think about the biggest, most important lessons of the year that you’ll carry forward in your life.

Take Your Time

Perhaps the most important thing is to take your time going through your assessment. Work methodically through each category and the timeline of last year. Don’t rush or skip over the hard parts, and definitely don’t leave anything out, especially if it was a challenge.

These are the moments you learn from the most, so make sure to pay attention to them. Most people can’t complete a full self-appraisal in one sitting. It usually requires several days or weeks of contemplation, note-taking and a-ha moments to gain a thorough understanding of what your year really looked like.

With these 4 tips, you are on your way to a better understanding of yourself and your strengths. Make sure to take your time and gather all of the relevant materials to examine your year and learn from it. Stay organized as you work, and take time to look over your notes with a 30,000-foot view to understanding the entire picture.

Personal Goal Setting: How to Set Goals for the New Year

Posted on December 12, 2017November 30, 2017 by UWIB Blog

Planning for the New Year ahead includes making resolutions for many, many people. But setting goals is an even more powerful way to set your course for the future.

While making resolutions and establishing goals may seem like the same side of the coin, there are differences. While a goal determines a course of action that you follow over time, resolutions represent a great intent – but one which often fades quickly when the results aren’t instantaneous.

Moreover, by taking baby steps along the way as you work toward your goal you experience the sense of accomplishment that comes with successfully making each step.

Here’s a look at how to set goals now that will provide focus and a path to follow in 2018.

1. Take a personal inventory

Before you decide where you want to go in the future, it’s essential to determine how you feel in the present. What’s your current satisfaction level with your life? Take a few hours to evaluate and reflect while developing the foundation for where you want to start.

2. Think about what you’d like to add to your life

It’s helpful to change your focus from the behaviors and habits you want to get rid of to the healthy, productive actions you want to add. For example, instead of saying you want to stop eating unhealthy food, focus on eating more healthy food instead.

3. Define dreams and goals

Once you’ve done a personal inventory, take some time to write down your dreams and goals. And it’s not about what you already have or what you have done, but what you truly want. Everyone has dreams, and your task is to uncover those that mean the most to you. Write down all of your dreams, no matter how outlandish they may seem. What thoughts and dreams excite you the most? Once you’ve written them all down, prioritize them by order of importance.

4. Make S.M.A.R.T goals

You may have heard of the acronym S.M.A.R.T. before, but it stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-sensitive. Once you’ve dreamed big and prioritized your goals, make sure that they fall into all of the categories:

• Specific – Be specific about your goals. Incomplete goals produce incomplete futures.

• Measurable – Make sure that your goals are specifically measurable.

• Attainable – Don’t set your goals so high that they’re unattainable.

• Realistic – Your goals have to be real in your current life situation. There’s nothing wrong with setting big goals, but they need to be realistic, too.

• Time – You should always attach a timeframe to every goal. One of the great things about goals is that they have an end and you’re working toward accomplishing them in a specific period. There’s nothing wrong with breaking bigger goals down into smaller goals with different timeframes.

5. Always keep your goals where you can see them

Once you’ve written down your goals, make sure they’re somewhere you can easily see them – whether they’re in a notebook, a part of your screen saver, or on post-it notes that you place around your house.

Most of us have made New Year’s resolution at some time in our lives. Setting goals, however, often have more impact and define your journey ahead. And now’s the time to establish your goals for 2018.

Fine Tuning: How to Identify Strengths

Posted on October 24, 2017October 20, 2017 by UWIB Blog

Most, if not all of us, have heard about the importance of addressing our weaknesses. Improve the areas where you lack needed expertise or skill and excellence will soon follow.

But what about your strengths?

While it’s never a bad idea to get better in your areas of weakness, identifying and leveraging your strengths will make you stronger personally and professionally.

The first step, however, is figuring out your strengths.

1. Ask for feedback

Asking for honest feedback from friends you trust and whose opinions you value is an ideal way to understand where your strengths lie. You might ask your friend to name 3 of your strengths. Or, you may solicit the opinions of many and then look for common themes among their responses.

2. What excites you the most?

One way to recognize your core strengths is to identify activities that truly excite you. In most cases, these are the things which you’re good at and those that keep you energized and motivated.

3. Take an assessment or personality test

If you’re having trouble identifying your unique abilities, you may want to take an evaluation like the Reflected Best Exercise or Gallup’s StrengthFinder. Or, you may opt to take a personality test, like the DISC Personality Testing, which is a useful resource to help identify your strengths and weaknesses.

4. What are your values?

Knowing your core values makes it easier to identify your strengths. Your values, after all, shape how you think about yourself, others, and the world. Think about people you respect and the traits that you admire about them. Or, think about your community and the one thing you’d change about it if you had the opportunity. Moreover, consider if the life you’re leading now agrees with your values.

5. Do your own evaluation

It’s great to receive feedback from others when recognizing your strengths but it’s important to do your own honest assessment, as well. Think about the aspects of your personality that you’d call strengths, including kindness, generosity, open-mindedness, etc. Consider the innate talents or abilities that fit with your sense of self and your vision for the future.

6. What do you do differently?

If you’re truly using your strengths, chances are you’ll stand out from the crowd. What are you doing that’s unique and separates you from others during those moments?

7. Try new things

What you think may be a weakness is actually something that you’ve never tried or you lack of experience. A great way to grow – and uncover new strengths – is by pushing yourself to do things you’ve never tried before. For instance, you could take a painting or dancing class, launch your website, or try a new athletic experience, such a yoga or rock climbing.

8. Journaling

Numerous studies have shown how useful journaling is for becoming more self-aware and reflective about your strengths and desires. Whether it’s listing the memorable moments of your day, diary-style, or including more detail about your thoughts and desires, you’ll learn more about yourself and your strengths.

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