EVERY STEP COUNTS: Make the most of reflection

What a rollercoaster of a week for me and mainly due to the football.

By now, you will fully know I am a huge Liverpool fan and have been through the highs and the lows in recent seasons.

With the huge comeback against Barcelona last Tuesday and then the dramatic events on Sunday, you just have to love being a Reds fan.

To put it into perspective, Liverpool only lost one game this season in the English Premiership out of 38 games.

To not win the league with 97 points and also only one loss is just insane. What can you say?

There is only one thing to do and that is congratulate Manchester City who did win the league.

EVERY STEP COUNTS: This year is going to be huge for you

EVERY STEP COUNTS: Make the most of Christmas, it's such a special time of year

That’s what real winners do and even though we finished second in the league, for me we are winners also. Anyway, enough of the football talk, let’s get focused on Every Step Counts and being the best version of yourself.

It’s PRIMING TIME!!!

Be YOU this week but be the best version of YOU.
Be YOU this week and give it your all staying true to your values.
Be YOU this week and don’t be scared of standing out for being AWESOME compared with everyone else…
Be YOU this week and STATE YOUR DAYS MISSION FROM THE MOMENT YOU WAKE UP.
OPTIMISE your Morning rituals and watch the OPPORTUNITIES come your way.
OPTIMISE your diet and watch the OPPORTUNITY to be energized lead you on an awesome path.
OPTIMISE your state of mind and allow your brain to offer up OPPORTUNITIES that may have been suppressed for some time.
OPTIMISE your training and I am sure with summer being just around the corner, the added emphasis on the way you look, and function, will give you some OPPORTUNITIES.
OPTIMISE your environment and allow the positive to whoop the negative in every possible way. Eradicate the negatives and I just wonder what OPPORTUNITIES will land at your feet.
OPTIMISE your rest and recovery and I truly believe the impossible will become the possible. OPPORTUNITIES occur when you are at your best, you are at your best when you are at an optimal state of performance.
And finally, OPTIMISE YOU. What do you stand for? What matters to you? What OPPORTUNITIES would change your life?

This week I want to talk about REFLECTION because I talk about it day in day out with my private clients and to be honest … everyone should do it and do it regularly.

In terms of the football, I have been very reflective since Sunday and all I can come up with is flourishing positives. Sure, there is the odd negative here and there, but they are more constructive if anything.

What feedback could you be giving yourself right now?
What reflection might you take part in after reading this article?
How about a handy mnemonic to help us on our way? But first, what is reflection? In the field I work in, REFLECTION is the examination of your own thoughts and feelings. In learning, reflection is an important part of the feedback loop to go through in order to MAXIMISE experience and move forward. We shall use the word REFLECTION to help us today so what are we waiting for:

R-E-F-L-E-C-T-I-O-N…

Recall – Be specific and really target what you are reflecting on. Look back and RECALL exactly what you are focusing on. Go back in time and feel the moments, get specific and get it on point.
Examine – Don’t just lightly touch on what you are reflecting on. Get deep, get micro, EXAMINE everything and get detailed. Don’t leave anything to chance, really investigate it.
Forward planning – It’s all about the future benefits when it comes to REFLECTION. It’s all good being reflective but the future has to be regarded. Reflect and instantly look forward to how the knowledge you acquire can be used next.
Learn – What can you learn? There is a famous quote that goes “You never lose, you either win or you learn”. What can you learn from the experience? What can help you grow?
Explore – Remember when you were younger, and you would go exploring for hours on end and time would fly by. When you reflect, I want you to explore and then keep exploring, get lost in your reflection.
Create – Don’t finish REFLECTING until you have created something to take away from the experience. Create a plan of action and create some options that will take you forward. This is your chance to CREATE something very, very special.
Trust – Have FAITH in the process. TRUST your work and trust the end result. I believe in life you can never be completely 100% sure that everything is going to go to plan but the process and the stages you put in front of you give you that confidence. Trust in YOU and then go with the flow.
Invent – Don’t be scared to INVENT something new. If you have tried reflection before and it hasn’t worked for you then try something different. In fact, if this process that I am describing to you today doesn’t feel right then INVENT your own. Do not be scared of moving slowly but do be afraid of standing still.
Opportunity – REFLECTION is an OPPORTUNITY. It is an investment, it is that one chance that could change your life forever. Remember a few weeks ago when I talked about being an OPPORTUNITY MAGNET … Reflection is your chance to be this.
Now – The final piece of the puzzle. Don’t wait, don’t put it off, don’t procrastinate, don’t say you will do it later and then forget.

Do something that will help you move forward right that moment. Make a call, make a list, send an email, start the design process … Just do something.

And there we have it for another week.

The homework is simple this week, be REFLECTIVE and use the model above…who knows where it may take you, but I promise it will be in a different direction to where you are currently going, it’s just the way it goes.

See you next week and until then, be YOU, be AWESOME, be CONFIDENT and be HAPPY.