This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

Want To Better Yourself? Swap Your Resolution For Reflection This Year

All it takes is one simple question.
Sit back, reflect.
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Sit back, reflect.

"What's your New Year's resolution?"

It's a question that evokes mixed feelings and one that is generally void of any real meaning because really, how many times has somebody actually held you accountable for said resolution? Not many. Right?

"The problem with new years' resolutions is that people tend to set multiple goals, and stick to their resolutions for one to two weeks, before slipping up," Aliza Werner-Seidler, clinical psychologist and research fellow at the Black Dog Institute told The Huffington Post Australia.

The focus is on what you want to change in your life, rather than the things that have gone well and yes, sometimes the things that haven't gone so well, too.

Which is why the idea of reflection, rather than resolution is going to offer you more.

"Reflection provides an opportunity for learning that will likely lead to personal growth and development," Werner-Seidler said.

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Vanessa Bennett, CEO and founder of high performance coaching company, Next Evolution agrees and said reflection is a crucial part of performance.

"A lot of people forget to reflect on the year that was and instead they focus on what's coming, rather than analysing what's worked well for them," Bennett told HuffPost Australia.

And the problem with ignoring the little wins?

"If you don't celebrate what's worked, it's really hard to create that direction going forward. It's like you're going without map," Bennett said.

So what exactly should we be doing instead of making resolutions?

According to Bennett, asking one simple question: "What is your why?"

If people can take the time to think about what really drives them, and what energises them, it's going to be a lot easier to create a path going forward.Vanessa Bennett, CEO and founder of Next Evolution

"If people can take the time to think about what really drives them, and what energises them, it's going to be a lot easier to create a path going forward," Bennett said.

Bennett often encourages clients to think about what their vision for success looks like in order to figure out the steps needed to move towards a goal.

When it comes to workplace performance, people are really successful when they are doing more of what they enjoy and what they feel engaged in.

"If you take some time to reflect on what it was that gave you that feeling throughout the year, then that's probably where you want that next level of direction to go in," Bennett said.

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