The start of a new year is often filled with resolution-setting for many people — big goals, lofty ambitions, an eagerness to change and start fresh! Yet how often do those same dreams go by the wayside a few weeks into January? Three things have become staples in my year to start off with a bang, keep that momentum throughout the year, and set myself up for success! Because let’s be honest, I’ve had my fair-share of years before implementing something like this, where time go away from me and before I knew it the year was over and I didn’t have much to show for it.
These three things have been so helpful that I want to share it with you, so those resolutions become real and tangible, and then things you commit to and accomplish.
1. JOURNAL: BRAIN-DUMP YOUR IDEAL LIFE
Have you done this before? Gotten a blank sheet of paper and a pen and written down every single thing that comes to mind when you ask yourself, “What do I want my life to look like?” “If money were not an object, what would my life, my day-to-day, look like?”
As ideas start to flow, write down everything. Nothing is off limits, nothing is out of reach or too weird, far-fetched, or impossible. Literally shut off your brain to the self-limiting beliefs — those thoughts that become front and center telling you alllll the reasons why something isn’t realistic. Take fear and possible out of the equation and just write. And then write some more. Spend a minimum of fifteen minutes writing — heck, a good 20-30 minutes getting all of your thoughts on paper would be awesome.
If you’re like me and sometimes do better with a bit of direction, you could break it up into categories and then get crystal-clear within each category. These could include:
- Job
- Finances
- Home
- Health/Body
- Relationships
- Hobbies/Travel
Within each of these, when you write about how your life would look like, consider your five senses. For example, what would your ideal home be like? What would the outside look like? Where would it be located? What would the scenery look like? When you walked in the front door what would you experience? What would the aesthetics be like? The smells, textures, rooms and spaces — bring it all to life. And then do that with each of the categories.
While writing like this, you should start to feel inspired, a stirring of excitement and motivation.
2. PLANNER + CALENDAR: GET DETAILED
This step is critical! Don’t let those detailed visions and goals stay dreams. Bring those thoughts on paper and stirrings in your heart into reality by assessing your year and making plans and timelines.
After you journal out your big visions, grab yourself a monthly calendar and planner. I like to work backwards and start with the end of the year. You know what you want to accomplish and what you want your life to be like, so flip to December and in the ‘Notes’ section, write down 1-2 things from each the categories you journaled about (I.e. Job, Finances, Health, etc.).
Pro-tip: write these goals down as if they already happened. For example, if you want to read more books this year, write something like, “I read 12 books by December; one book each month.” Rather than writing in future-tense, “I WILL read 12 books by December.” Oddly enough, the way we speak to ourselves matters significantly. Our brain focuses on these words and when we write and speak in past-tense with our goals, it builds confidence and may help decrease those self-limiting beliefs that can stop us before we even start.
After you write out specific goals that you want to achieve by the end of the year, then move up 3 months (go from December to September). Divide your year into quarters (by 4) and repeat the above — write out those goals so that you know by the end of September what you want to accomplish. Taking that same book example, your goal could be, “I read 8 books by the end of September.” Next, move up the next 3 months to June and repeat, an so on until you get to the start of this year. Before you know it, you have your year mapped out into each quarter/season. If you wanted, you could then break that down month by month, providing a ton of clarity and focus, which ultimately adds to your daily motivation.
3. VISION BOARD: BRING IT TO LIFE
Having a physical representation of those visions for your life can serve as a super powerful asset. From gathering all the supplies and things to include on it, to finding the perfect spot in your house where it will live for the year, your vision board will quickly take all the things your journaled about and breathe life into them. The purpose of this board is to be a visual reminder daily of your goals; a catalyst in those changes and daily behaviors that will get you from Point A to Point B.
Find pictures of activities you want to incorporate into your life, hobbies you will start, vacations you will go on, relationships you’ll nurture, the type of work and/or job you will have, etc. I’ve used personal pictures in addition to the ones I cut out of magazines, I’ve drawn and doodled, each year is a bit different and unique.
Once it’s complete, find a spot in your home (or office) that you will see it every day. If I had a home office I would put mine there, but since we do not, my vision board lives in our walk-in closet on top of the dresser. Every day when I’m getting ready it is there, and whether I consciously or subconsciously notice, I see it and it reminds me of that vision for myself. It drives how I feel that day, the decisions I make, what I give priority to — kind of a subtle stop sign that says “Don’t let your life be Ground Hog’s Day. Today matters.”
I’ll outline all the details and a “how-to” tutorial in an upcoming post so you can see what has been helpful for me in making these each year and create one for yourself!
These three activities have become staples to my year — usually something I do the week between Christmas and New Years. Having this vision, clarity, and vision reminder sparks joy, motivation, and persistence, making the daily behaviors like walking more steps and eating more vegetables have a greater meaning and purpose. I will also do a self check-in each quarter as I assess the goals I had written down as well as mid-year, and tweak as needed! Even if you start with just ONE of these three activities, it will make an impact on your outlook and future self.
