I hope it’s been a good start to the New Year for you all. I have a love/hate thing when it comes to the beginning of the year. I like it because I feel motivated, and it gives me a chance to reset and more goals to work towards. I dislike it because it takes me a while to get into January. However, I’m going to just not put any pressure on and ease myself into it. I have mentioned in my last post how I like to set goals for the year for myself and how I stay focused by doing this. One of the things I do is I make a collage of different photos, save it, and then have it as my screensaver for my phone. Your phone is one of the things you look at the most and at least a few times a day. By having this as a screensaver, it’s a motivational reminder to stay on track. In this post, I will show you how I set my goals so that they seem more achievable and you don’t feel like you’ve failed before you’ve started. So get your pens and notepads out, and let’s plan a successful year!
I think one of the reasons people don’t stick to their goals/resolutions for a long time is because they set too many goals that require a lot of time and hard work. It could be that they want to go on holiday, move house, change career, go to Silverstone for the F1, (me) go to a festival/concert etc, because these aren’t things that most likely aren’t going to happen straight away, you aren’t going to see results and that leads you to feeling like you’ve “failed” already. For me, I think I would pick 2 big goals. That way, you are not going to feel too overwhelmed that you don’t know where to start. This year, one of those goals for me will be aiming to get a new car. I’ve had my car for 4 years now, and it was a great car to get me back into driving, but I feel like I’ve outgrown it now and would like something with a bigger engine. The other big goal I will add is to go on holiday. This one has kind of already been achieved as I am going away in June. However, if there’s the opportunity to go abroad this year, then I will take it!
Next, you should pick something that’s going to benefit your mind. It could be that you are too negative about yourself and you need to be kinder. Maybe you are struggling mentally at the moment, and that’s clouding over your vision. Why not start a journal and write one positive thing that’s happened each day. It doesn’t have to be a big event, it could just be I had my favourite drink or I read a chapter of a book or I went for a walk. Lots of things we deem to think are small, actually aren’t, and make a big difference. Perhaps you are someone who compares yourself to others or some people you follow on social media are harmful for you to follow mentally. Have a social media clear out, or if there’s people you don’t want to completely unfollow, how about just muting them for the time being. I have regular clear outs of people on social media, and it’s not just those who I’ve randomly followed over the years because I like what they share. I have a look through those who I’ve known in person, too, and have grown apart from.
We then move on to hobbies. I think it’s important to set time for yourself to do something that you enjoy, even if it’s just half an hour. For me, I usually set 2 goals. One for a hobby, I want to make more time for and one to try something new, just because I like a challenge. I actually have quite a few things that I want to make more time for. For starters, I’d like to put in more time to this blog. Maybe I can set myself time each night so that I can post more frequently. I also want to make more time for badminton. I love badminton, but where we go can get booked up quite quickly. However, I think it can be quiet on a Sunday morning, so that could be an option. Something new I am going to try is I’ve enrolled in a photography course. It’s something I can do as and when I want, but I’ve always been interested in photography, so I bit the bullet and thought, why not. The list is endless of new things to try, and you’re never too old to try something new. We all have to start somewhere.
Helping others in some form is another topic I like to set a goal around. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to spend money. It could be as simple as having a clear out at home and donating things to charity or domestic abuse shelters. It could be that you have some spare time and could help out at a soup kitchen or another local charity. A lot of charities rely heavily on volunteers, and it could be that you offer some time to help them or even do something to fundraise money for them. It doesn’t have to be charity related though, it could be helping a friend or a family member with something, or perhaps if you’re able to sign up, you could donate blood and potentially save someones life. The list really is endless, and everyone has needed help at some point, and we will continue to need help in moments of our life in the future. Life can be tough at times, and I think people are struggling more than ever at the moment, so even if you feel like a little isn’t much, you are still contributing towards a positive change.
I then think it’s important to prioritise our health as it’s something that probably gets neglected more than it should. I know when most people think of a health related goal it is usually to do with fitness and weight and although that will be one of my goals to work towards this year, (we are never happy with our bodies are we?), there are a few others that I also need to prioritise. One of those is getting better at taking my vitamins every day. I have to take multi vitamins as they cover a wide range of things, but I have also added to that Vitamin D tablets as working from home means I’m not getting much sunlight. I know the multi vitamins really do work. However, I need to get better at taking the Vitamin D in order to see the benefits. The other thing I need to be better at is making sure I’m drinking enough water. It’s on the list every year. However, I need to make a conscious effort this year to be better. Hopefully, this has given you some ideas that health doesn’t necessarily have to be just about how you look.
Now that you have written your goals down, it’s time to create your vision board. What I do is save pictures I find on Google related to my goals and then use an app on my phone to create a collage. All that’s left to do after that is save it as your screensaver to remind yourself what you’re working towards when you look at your phone. I would just like to say though that don’t feel pressured to achieve so much this year. You don’t even have to set any goals! Do what works for you and not what you feel like you should do. The idea is to work further towards your goals than you were before, and if you achieve them fully, then great! If you don’t, it doesn’t matter. A lot can happen in a year. What you shouldn’t do is beat yourself up over it. There is always a positive, even if you don’t realise it at the time, you will understand it within time. If you feel like you are underachieving and having an off day, allow it, recharge your batteries, and go again the next day.
Good luck!
Amy x
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