You’ve worked hard this year and with Christmas on the horizon, it’s a great time to take time off and connect with friends and loved ones. As you connect and catch up with others, you’ll surely talk about your business. All this business talk may prompt you to begin to reflect on your year in business. And, if you’ve been a network marketer for a while, you may begin to compare your results with previous years as well. Reflection is a powerful activity to do, especially at this time of year when you’re developing your goals for the year ahead. In fact, if you want to achieve success, it’s vital to take time to reflect.

Why reflection is important to success

It’s impossible to move forward and succeed if you haven’t learned the lessons of the past. The thing is, you’re destined to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over until you learn the lesson. Success depends on learning from near misses and failures and using what you’ve learned to approach the situation differently. And, if you achieved success, discovering how to replicate the success again and again.

Reflection tip 1: What worked? What would you do differently?

This is key – you have to reflect on both what worked and what didn’t work so well. From the former, you’ll figure out what tasks, scripts, activities, etc. to replicate in your business. From the latter, you’ll be able to discover why something didn’t work so you can approach it differently or not do it again. 

For example, you may find that connecting with your network four times a week during your Power Hour helped to boost your sales for the quarter and meet your goals. That’s something you’ll want to continue to do in the coming year. Or, if a certain script tends to get a big response from prospects, keep using it. You may even want to add to it or customize it for each member of your network.

Similarly, maybe doing your Power Hour in the morning didn’t see a big response from your network or you find it hard to remember to do it at all. Try doing your Power Hour at different times of the day to see what hours work best. Before you know it, you’ll find that sweet spot. 

While you’re assessing your personal business, encourage your team to reflect on their businesses as well. Get the conversation going by having them answer the question “What did you do well this year and what would you do differently?” This will get them thinking about the year that passed as well as previous years, if they’ve been network marketing during that time. Have them write down their answers and, if they’re comfortable, share them. 

Often we get stuck thinking about what we can do differently and need a bit of prompting. Share your ideas and encourage your team to share their ideas as well. Everyone has a unique perspective and can offer new solutions for any challenge.

Reflection tip 2: Were you true to your Why?

As you reflect think about this: Were you true to your Why this year? That is, did you do what you could to honor your Why and move you closer to your ultimate goal? 

Your Why is also a powerful force, one that provides motivation when you need it the most. It’s what drives you to prioritize your business each day, to do your Power Hour – even when you don’t feel like it – and why you started your business to begin with, in many cases. 

If you’re not sure what your Why is, take a few minutes to figure it out.

Have your Why in your mind? Think about if you abided by it this year. If you have, congratulations. Now, figure out how you can continue to do so in the year ahead. Often the answer is to keep doing what you’re doing. If you didn’t abide by your why, ask yourself why not? Did you experience a setback or feel burnout during the year? Or, did you forget about your Why? Sometimes life circumstances make it difficult to remember it every day. That’s why we encourage you to keep a visual reminder of your Why where you can see it. This daily reminder will keep your Why top of mind. This will help you ensure that the actions you take (or don’t take) are true to your core.

Reflection tip 3: Start thinking about your goals

We’ll get more into goals next week, but right now, start thinking about what you’d like to accomplish in the year ahead. 

For many network marketers, this means continuing to put in the work to achieve more ambitious goals. Perhaps you want to exponentially increase your numbers – think of setting a goal that allows you to do that. Think about what you’d like to achieve and what is achievable in the year ahead.

For others, the focus may be on creating goals that are more realistic. We all want to set goals that launch our businesses into the stratosphere, but sometimes our skills and experience aren’t quite there yet. Often, when we miss our goals, it’s because we made them a bit too hard to reach. If that sounds like you, reflect on your year and think about what IS possible this year. Perhaps you’re in a better position to reach the goals you set last year. In this case, you may want to set the same goals, but this time approach them differently, especially now that you have a year of wisdom and experience behind you. Or, you may want to calibrate your goals so that they’re challenging, but you’re sure you can reach them within the time limits you’ve set. 

Reflection tip 4: Don’t forget to rest

Rest is vital. After all, how can you offer your best to your network and team if you’re not feeling your best? 

Even the most successful entrepreneurs and athletes take time to rest and recover, especially after a busy season. Entrepreneurs take time to rest and disconnect from the hustle and bustle. They find quiet time to rejuvenate their spirits and clear their minds so they can think about the future. Athletes take time to rest because it helps them get stronger. They tax their muscles and then they rest so that the muscles have time to rebuild and grow.

The same is true for your business. If you’re like many network marketers, you’ve spent the last few months working hard to meet your annual goals. You’ve been spending your spare time thinking of your business and connecting with your network and prospects. It’s exhausting!

So, take this time to rest.

Take time for self-care

Disconnect. We don’t mean disconnecting from relationships. Instead, disconnect from your phone or computer each day. You can’t enjoy silence and recharge if you’re hearing the endless ring of notifications. Additionally, resist the urge to absentmindedly scroll through your social media feeds and do nothing instead. How many of us fill up our time by scrolling through our feeds? Instead, put aside your phone and turn off notifications during that time and just take a few moments to breathe. 

If you feel compelled to do something, look out the window and take note of the world outside. Observe your kids playing or watch cars drive by. Get present with your surroundings. This will help you relax.

Reward yourself. You’ve worked hard, so take the time to celebrate your successes. Do something to celebrate all that you’ve accomplished this year. Additionally, take time to celebrate the people on your team who have done well this year as well. It’ll make you feel good and will keep motivation high.

Do something you love. This may go hand-in-hand with rewarding yourself. Take the time to do something you love, whether it’s getting your nails done, browsing through a bookstore, or just taking a walk. Use the time to do something for you! 

Teamzy can help with reflection of your year

Teamzy tracks your numbers so that you always know where you stand in your business. Additionally, we not only help you set goals, we keep track of them so you know how close you are to reaching your goals. Click here to learn more.