In traditional planning approaches, people set new goals and busy themselves with plans for the coming year or more. This is a wonderful practice, no doubt. As you envision what's possible for the year ahead, you can set intentions for progress you'd like to make and accomplishments you'd like to celebrate at the year's end.

And therein we find what's lacking, too often, in this forward-thinking approach. How often do we forget to actually acknowledge, much less celebrate, the progress we've made in the year past? And how often to we neglect to compile our progress and accomplishments from our "historical story" to use as a treasure map, a guide, and a source of motivation and inspiration for the new goals we're setting (and setting about to accomplish)?

When we at Ivy Sea do our own visioning and planning — especially when we are wanting to make a quantum leap in our skillfulness and practices — we make sure that we begin with a look through our history, including the past year, for nuggets of gold and wisdom that can inspire and help us set a course for the coming months and year. In our visioning and planning approaches, this crucial "look back" step provides a foundation for envisioning the future and creating a plan to bring our vision into reality.

Looking back over the past year, or three years, or five years, ask yourself the following questions:

• What have I/we learned?

• What have I/we become more skillful at then I was (or we were) back then?

• What situations, events, or people were important catalysts or teachers that prompted my/our progress?

• What did challenges did I/we survive, surmount or persevere through?

• What did I/we learn from those challenges?

• What did I/we accomplish that was a part of our intention or plan?

• What did I/we accomplish that wasn't on our original goal list?

• Of what accomplishments am I (or are we) most proud?

Use your resulting list as a foundation or treasure map as you envision and plan for the possibilities of the year ahead. And keep that list handy — you'll find it useful to revisit often, whether to refine by adding something that you'd forgotten, or to lift your spirits and raise your confidence when new challenges arise along the way.

Is your brain still hungry? Stop by the Brain Food Cafeteria

Be bold, and dare to take a quantum leap. Ivy Sea can help you: (1) discover how to define your inspired-leadership, big-vision, or conscious-enterprise principles, (2) clarify and make progress towards your vision, and your Spiritual and/or core philosophical "principles in action," (3) make the most of your individual and organizational strengths, (4) identify ways to "get there from here," (5) rise to greater levels of mastery, success and meaningfulness as a leader, group or organization; and/or (6) benefit from having a "thought and dialogue partner" with whom to discuss ideas, inspiration, issues and perspectives. How can we help you? Visit About Ivy Sea for more info, Or send us an email inquiry.

Why be an Ivy Sea VIP? Ivy Sea VIP members get access to a VIP-only Library that includes 6 PDF skillbuilder guides/workbooks, , full Ivy SeaZine, Mastery Tip, and Brain Food archives; and more than 165 VIP-only articles, tip sheets, dialogue-starters, and vision-catalysts available for visioning, leadership development, communication mastery building, training, and self-study. Gold, Platinum, and Diamond-level VIP Members also gain license to reprint and distribute from Ivy Sea Online's public and VIP-only resource libraries.