It's the new year and it's the time that you set new goals and business plans... But what if I told you that you're probably missing the first step to achieving your goal??

Chances are that you know how to decide what you want to achieve and then create a plan to achieve it, but there's something HUGE missing.

Becoming aware of the reason as to why you haven't achieved it yet.

For example, someone who is looking to lose weight could come up with a goal of losing 20 pounds and a plan to achieve it. But what if at a subconscious level being overweight helps them feel safe? Many sexual abuse victims can develop this problem because being overweight decreases the chance of being abused sexually. This may be an extreme example, but the same principle applies to all goals.

If you're an entrepreneur and own your own business, the business relies on you. So if you haven't achieved something yet, chances are that you held yourself/the business back. Typically if we could tackle our biggest weakness and turn it into a strength, every year, our lives would take a quantum leap. But our biggest weakness is rarely what we think it is.

Every new year, and new quarter, I like to take inventory of how I may be holding myself back and have developed some journaling prompts to shed light. Do this now, before moving ahead. If you have limited time, set a reminder on a post-it or on your phone to come back to this.

1. What is the biggest way I am holding myself back? (think about your goals)

2. How do I do this?

3. What do I keep asking/telling myself?

4. When do I do this?

5. What beliefs are holding me back?

6. What’s going right? What Can I celebrate?

7. What lessons has this brought me?

8. How am I moving forward?

9. What is the #1 thing I'm starting to do now that will reverse this trend?

These questions allow you to realize how you're creating the problem and how to reverse the trend. Here's a hint, the answer to the last question should be a part of your goal and plan for the rest of the year.

James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits says, "New goals don't deliver new results. New lifestyles do. And a lifestyle is a process, not an outcome. For this reason, all of your energy should go into building better habits, not chasing better results." I believe in both. This way you will be changing your lifestyle while focusing on your goals.

Sometimes doing this journaling prompt can bring things up that we didn't realize. Sometimes we'd like an outside opinion either on what comes up or how to move forward. No worries, I'm always here. You can set up a call with me and I'll help shed some clarity.

Remember, achieving goals also requires you to become a better version of yourself, and to do that, turning your biggest weakness into a strength is a game changer! Set time aside to run through these journaling prompts, it's going to bring massive clarity and greatly increase your chance of achieving your goals!!