096 What’s your 2016 game plan?

Happy New Year! In this 2015 wrap-up edition of the Reinventure Me podcast, we ask the question: “What’s your 2016 game plan?”

Our favorite Inspire Me quote from 2015 is from Steven Pressfield, author of The Legend of Baggar Vance & The War of Art, as quoted in Episode 18: “Four things you need to know about resistance“:

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”

As we look toward 2016 and the football playoffs, it only seems fitting to ask, “What’s your game plan for 2016?” The strongest game plan incorporates both effective offensive and defensive strategies.

Offensive strategies:

• Develop a growth-mindset.
• Become a good apprentice; cultivate a hunger to learn.
• Become a good mentor.
• Set goals and write them down.
• Have a vision.
• Cultivate good habits.
• Take time for self-reflection (journal, go on a planning retreats, seek great feedback, and practice gratitude).
• Gain confidence.

Defensive strategies:

• Keep proper perspective.
• Be aware of and deal with your limitations.
• Set personal boundaries.
• Address shame-based thinking.
• Remember the value of setbacks and failures.
• Beat the need for approval.
• Address resistance.

Quotes from the show:

• “You’re not likely to win games on defense.” —Leary
• “As helpful as defensive points are to a game, you can’t build your strategy just around a defensive game plan—what you’re going to resist or how you’re going to overcome the obstacles you have.” —Leary
• “The best way to win is to understand and have a clear offensive strategy, which largely is around what’s your personal purpose and vision, and what are you doing with your life.” —Leary
• “A defensive strategy is almost [always] where we default because we tend to move into survival mode. We think about, ‘What does it take to get from here to there?'” —Leary
• “There are certain things that we propose as offensive strategies that don’t have to consume each day of your life—[they] can be done once a year, once a quarter.” —Armin
• “Don’t focus all of your time and energy into what is limiting you. But at least be aware of your limiting factors, deal with them, attack them, take some kind of initiative or action, so you can give yourself a chance to put your energy where it belongs, your willpower and focus into your offensive strategy—the thing that, like Leary said, will allow you to put points on the board.” —Armin
• “Don’t try to do everything at once.” —Leary
• “Your future does not have to be overshadowed by the mistakes, failures, or the shortfalls that you’ve had in your past. It doesn’t have to overshadow your dreams, it doesn’t have to overshadow your future. Whatever is ahead of you, everything that’s happened—even if it’s been failure—is the exact thing you can use to create the exact kind of future that you want. You just have to believe in yourself.” —Armin
• “There is a way for you to revinenture your life and pursue the dreams that you have. You don’t have to be stopped—not by you, not by people, not by circumstance, or by anything else that can get in your way. There is hope and there is a way for you to have your dreams, and age is not a factor.” —Armin

This week’s Challenge Me:

Review the offensive and defensive strategies discussed in this episode and consider which one(s) you want to incorporate into your own life in 2016. Be realistic about what’s do-able and consider incorporating the strategies that will propel you the farthest toward your goals. Take a few minutes to write them down and reinforce them by sharing with a spouse or friend.

Resources mentioned in or related to this podcast that may be helpful to you:

• Episode 4: “How your mindset affects your next great beginning.”
• Episode 7: “Why you should be a lifelong apprentice.”
• Episode 8: “How to be an intentional apprentice.”
• Episode 10: “How to dream strategically.”
• Episode 21: “How to create habits for your new great beginning.”
• Toolbox Episode 8: “How to create habits that stick.”
• Episode 24: “Why now is the best time to start journaling.”
• Episode 46: “How to have a personal planning retreat.”
• Episode 30: “The secret to getting great feedback.”
• Episode 45: “Ten habits to create a lifestyle of gratitude.”
• Episode 32: “Why confidence matters.”
• Episode 73: “How to set personal boundaries.”
• Episode 48: “The one thing guaranteed to hold you back.”
• Episode 56: “The value of setbacks.”
• Episode 89: “Five skills you can learn through failure.”
• Episode 59: “How to beat the need for approval.”
• Episode 18: “Four things you need to know about resistance.”
• Episode 61: “How to find your persistent resistance.”