Hey there fellow Type A, Overachievers:

It is mid-December. We are frantically planning for the holidays, buying last minute Christmas gifts, and figuring out the crazy holiday schedule – you know, organizing no school, various commitments, and other obligations. And, in the midst of all the craziness, we start thinking about next year. The year change is the closest I ever get to the clean-slate feeling of the first day of a new school year. It is a new opportunity to redefine ourselves and move toward goals.

If you are like me (and, since you’re here, I’m pretty sure you are), you are already planning for next year. You’ve ordered the planner/notebook/or whatever you need to continue to be organized in 2016 and chart your progress. And, most importantly, you’ve started thinking about your 2016 goals – and you may have already started writing them down.

STOP!

Let’s walk through this process together. Between now and the end of the year, let’s explore how we set our goals and make our plan for 2016. This means you’ll hear from me more! (Yea! I know you’re excited!) And, if you are lucky, I may even get some awesome gurus to opine on the subject — fingers crossed.

Now — the first challenge.

Answer this question:

Where are you?

Be brutally honest. It is okay. And just a warning, this can be painful. But you need to recognize your shortcomings now to be better able to plan for the future.

Verizon has ever so thoughtfully (please note sarcasm) placed its fee-based GPS program on my phone and, sometimes when I ask Cortana to give me directions, it will default to Verizon Navigator. In Verizon’s generosity, it does give you the option to use Navigator for free and it will give you turn-by-turn directions to your destination. But the starting location isn’t where I am. Granted, it is some other place in Houston — but just not my exact location and, most times, the location is in a completely different part of town.

Seriously, what good are turn-by-turn directions from a starting point that isn’t where I am? While I will get to the final destination, it will require more than simply following the directions. And, depending upon where the destination, you may never get there. (Say, I’m in Houston and want to drive to Los Angeles – with these long distances, it is pretty darn important I have a starting location!)

Why would you purposefully do this to yourself when planning for 2016? You are only creating more work for yourself and, possibly, setting yourself up to fail.

Take a look at your goal/planning categories. In what areas of your life will you plan and set goals. Here are mine (in no particular order – that will come later):

• Family and Spiritual Growth
• Finances
• Business Development
• Athletics
• Nutrition

Your task: Figure out where you currently are in each of these areas. Give yourself a brutally honest assessment. Forget being nice. Be the harsh critic. It may sting. But you need to know the truth. From there, you can improve and change.