As we approach the end of the year, it’s natural to start thinking about what we want to accomplish in the coming year, especially when feeling stuck in life. Creating a personal strategic plan for 2023 can help us stay focused and achieve our goals. But how many of us actually take the time to create a personal plan? If you’re feeling stuck or uncertain about the future, it might be time to get busy with life’s purpose and let your words become works. 

5 things we need to let go of so we can move forward:

1 Fear 

We need to let go of fear. Most of the time, the things we are most fearful of never actually happen. In reality, our fear is only hurting us. It keeps us paralyzed by fear, but if we can let go of fear and focus on action and taking that next step, we can move forward.

2 Doubt 

How many times have you stopped yourself from doing something? “Am I making the right decision?” “Is this the right move?” We ask ourselves, what if? But you made your decision; you need to move on; the other option isn’t an option anymore. You made your decision, now go. When we sit in doubt, nothing is going to move forward. We need to trust our gut. We can’t go back; we can only go forward. Trust in your ability to make decisions.

3 Guilt 

We have this sense of guilt in our lives over the decisions we make. Are you allowing yourself to feel guilty over things that don’t serve you? We must let go of our guilt; otherwise, we’ll never push forward, and feeling stuck in life will never end. 

4 Should 

We say “should” all day every day. “I should be working more,” “I should be starting this new business.” And some of those things might be true, but what do you really want to do? Not what do you think you should do or what other people think you should do – what do you want to do?

5. Excuses 

We are so good at making excuses all day, all the time. We make time for the things in our life that are important to us. What are the excuses we are making in our lives? Instead of making excuses, we need to do it anyway.

Creating your personal plan for 2023

Now that you know what to let go of, it’s time to create your strategic plan. Your strategic plan will help keep you focused, but you must keep it simple. You don’t need the perfect pen or charts or graphs. Your strategic plan should empower you, something you go to consistently to keep you on track for your goals.

Here are 4 steps to creating your strategic plan:

1 Create a victory vault

These are all the things you accomplished, the things you are proud of. Then decide what your top 3 priorities are for 2023. Not your top 10 or your top 20, but your top 3. We overestimate what we can achieve in a year and underestimate what we can achieve in a decade. What are the top 3 things that, if you did, would grow your business and will make the biggest impact? Now, create the plan within the plan. Under each of those 3 priorities, write 3-5 things you need to do to achieve that goal. What are those few things you could really focus on?

2 The skills you want to develop 

What are those skills you want to develop over the next 12 months? Maybe you want to learn a new language; maybe you want to learn the skill of writing or the skill of leadership or of hiring the right people to create the best staff. 

3 Focus on expanding your network

Who are the people you really want to connect with? Maybe it’s a specific person, or perhaps the idea of a person, like the market you serve. Only when we put that down can we be more intentional about reaching and finding those people.

4 What does winning look and feel like? 

You must know what it looks and feels like when you accomplish your goal. It’s a reminder that this is important, and you must sit down and do the work every day. 

The Takeaway: Building a strategic plan to stop feeling stuck in life.

By creating your personal plan, you will see that these are your priorities; these are what will help you make an impact. By next year, you will have achieved so much because you stayed focused. You are worthy of the goals you set out to achieve – now it’s time to make them a reality.