Day 3 of 31 days to Create Your Inspiring Personal Plan for 2012.
By now, you have hopefully recruited your planning “buddy” (Step 1). And, you are well on your way to recruiting your Board of Advisors (Step 2). Your advisors will serve as reviewers of the draft plan you will have developed by mid-month.
The third step in this 31 day planning process is one we hope you will find very, very rewarding.
Today, take a breath and reflect on your accomplishments for 2011. What you accomplished in 2011 is an important foundation for the exciting plan for 2012 that you are building with this process.
Most high performers are frequently very tough on themselves. (Clearly, you are a high performer or you wouldn’t be investing in yourself by taking time to build a dynamic 2012 personal plan.) Often, high performers focus more on what they haven’t accomplished, as opposed to celebrating what they have accomplished.
Today is a great day for you to celebrate your 2011 accomplishments in various areas of your life. For today, set aside thoughts of what may remain incomplete. Just revel in what you did accomplish in 2011.
Take a pad of paper and start writing out a list of your 2011 major accomplishments. Think about what you did accomplish in your personal life, in your career, in your relationships, and in any other important aspect of your life.
Don’t be concerned with polishing the descriptions of the accomplishments. Just quickly jot them down. The more the merrier. 
When you have done your “brain dump,” it is now time to prioritize your five greatest accomplishments of 2011. What are you most proud of having done (or even having gotten started doing)?
This list will become one of the elements of the draft plan you will be submitting to your Board of Advisors…so don’t be modest (but do be truthful!).
When you have your priorities set, type a list of your five greatest accomplishments. I suggest that you use something like 14 or 16 pt text on a portrait style page.
Include a header (in larger text and bold) for this page as follows:
My Five 2011 Accomplishments
For Which I Am Most Grateful
Polish the description of each accomplishment, but keep each one simply stated.
Sometimes, in life, simple things can have a profound impact. This single page will have a profound impact on the plan that you will be evolving for 2012. For now, don’t be concerned about how it will be used. Just enjoy a day of reflecting on that which you did accomplish in 2011.
Feel free to exchange your list with your planning buddy. If your buddy is not feeling great about what they accomplished, help them see the good in what they did accomplish. Please do not be judgmental about what they accomplished or even compare their accomplishments to yours. Help your buddy appreciate that which they did accomplish in 2011.
All of us, in our own divine way, achieved accomplishments in 2011 that are now a part of the fabric of who we now are. Celebrate that fabric today.
And, also celebrate that you have now completed three steps and 10% of the way to having a personal plan for 2012 that will launch your new year in style. Congratulations to YOU!
Finally, while you are still in a celebratory mood, would you please do me (and yourself) a personal favor by inviting two of your friends, relatives, business colleagues or fellow organization members to join the #2012Plan process. Remember, they do not have to be a Twitter user. There is no cost and there isn’t even a need to register. Participants can partake completely anonymously.
Give a gift to others that will pay dividends throughout 2012 by recommending this process to someone you would like to see achieve even greater success in 2012.
When you have completed Step 3, you can access Step 4 here tomorrow. If you want an anouncement every time a new step is posted, you can sign-up – to the right – to receive new steps by either RSS feed or email. PS. (If you miss a day, for whatever reason, just climb back on. You can catch up quickly. Don’t beat yourself up, just climb back up.)
Please note: If you have arrived at this step first, it is not too late for you to join other high performers who are collaborating to follow the bite size steps that are unveiled here every day. Get started here.
This blog post was written by Dave Carpenter. Dave is a prolific author, inspiring speaker, and well-known consultant to professional service firms. Besides writing regularly for this blog, Dave’s writing can be seen in leading business and personal development publications. Dave is also the leader of the Accelerate Success mentoring program where he mentors high performers in a unique program designed to do great things for the favorite charity of each participant. If you are (1) a high performer who believes you still have untapped potential, and (2) passionate about a favorite charity, you may want to learn more about this powerful program. You can also follow Dave on Twitter, on Facebook, and/or on Google+.
