2020 Hindsight Or Mindsight?

They say, 'Hindsight is 20/20'. Hindsight means that it is easy to understand something after it has already happened. If that is the case then, 'Mindsight in 2020' means that it is easy to understand something before it happens.

Stay with me . . .  Imagine what could change in 2020 if you were to apply the life lessons of 2019 to this New Year. Think for a moment how many negative thoughts, toxic encounters and traumatic experiences you had last year. Now, imagine if you could learn from them and avoid repeating them or choosing a more thoughtful way to react to similar experiences in the future. Looking back, it's not just your own challenges and opportunities. It's also all the things you tried that didn't work and the things you saw other people try that didn't work as well as those things that did work out. Perhaps it was the excruciating pain of the loss of a loved one, a relationship or employment that you experienced or perhaps the euphoria of finding your purpose in life.

Without a doubt though, there were things you experienced last year that that worked out too. What would happen if you applied even a quarter of the life lessons, and experiences you've gained in 2019 to living life with positive purpose this coming year?. . . Your life would be pretty spectacular! It would be such a shame to waste all of those valuable lessons from your experiences, no matter what they were. So since you've experienced so much in 2019, why not put it to good use? 

Unfortunately, the reality is that we don't change our behaviors very much from year to year. Instead of moving forward with intention, we tend to move forward with one foot firmly planted in a stressed, fear-filled or negative past with little thought of what we can do differently. However, choosing Mindsight can help to change all that because it means taking the time to review, learn and apply the takeaways of the good, the bad and the ugly that we have experienced in order to better understand our choices going forward. 

In 2020 will you commit to making this year different?

Today, you have a clean slate, a blank page to choose to live with Hindsight- again, and get to December 2020, wondering what 'would have', 'should have' or 'could have' been or you can choose to live with Mindsight now in January 2020 and apply the lessons of the past to the days, weeks and months of the New Year!

1. Practice Mindsight. What did you learn last year, both positive and negative? Did you make decisions you regret or did you fail to make some decisions at all? What were your biggest wins? Can you see any patterns? Are many of your challenges caused by doing the same thing year after year? How about your friends and family. . . what challenges did they face? What were their successes? What can you learn from them? Make a list and write down the best and the worst from your past and figure out the lessons you can learn from them. Make use of that information to enhance your every area of your life.

2. Replace Ineffective Actions. Maybe you consistently show up to work or appointments late. What are the changes you want to make in the coming year regarding punctuality? Brainstorm some new options and choose which one(s) you will implement and take action. 

3. Identify Successful Behaviors. Perhaps you stepped out of your comfort zone and surprised yourself by the amazing results. That would be a behavior you might want to rinse and repeat.

4. Create New Habits. Choose habits that will counteract your less-effective behaviors and ensure your positive behaviors occur more frequently. For example, if you are prone to procrastination try this: Take immediate action when you know something needs to be done. Remind yourself of the pain procrastination has caused in the past and imagine how amazing it will feel to complete the task. 

5. Check Yourself. If you're not careful, you'll quickly slip back into your old patterns of behavior. Change is challenging, and you can expect to face a lot of internal resistance. Be mentally prepared for this reaction to change and understand that it is normal. Your mind is simply trying to protect you from 'danger of the unknown'. Provided you are making positive, healthy changes, keep moving forward. Avoid being too hard on yourself if you slip. Just vow to be resilient and committed to the changes you want to make and redouble your efforts going forward!

6. Celebrate Your Successes. When you apply what you've learned from last year, you can expect some great things to happen. Appreciate them and be proud of yourself. This is the best way to ensure good things keep happening. When you experience success, your brain will thank you and you will experience the release of some feel good neuro chemicals such as dopamine. Enjoy!! Reinforce your behavior by feeling good about yourself. 

You've faced some tough times in 2019 for sure. Take advantage of those challenges! You've also had some good times, too. The application of your life takeaways from 2019 can be the key to your success in 2020. Take what you've learned and leverage that experience going forward. It would be a shame to repeat your mistakes in the future and you don't have to in 2020.

You can have the best year of your life, but not if you fail to learn from your past experiences. Remember, your life experiences have lessons to teach you. Are you ready to pay attention?

If you're really ready, I am committed to helping you make 2020 a year of Mindsight. I'd love to hear what you are going to choose in the comments below.

Here's to 2020!