Like anything, when you’ve got goals to achieve and dreams to make reality – it requires work, focus, determination and planning. Your goals won’t work unless you do ;)
With the New Year just around the corner, it’s important to get ourselves in the right headspace to start the year with a bang! Although I’m a big believer in striving for new goals year round, the start of a new year is a good place to reset, refresh, and align yourself with what’s important to you.
The 5 tips below are strategies I find incredibly useful to help get me on track. I suggest setting aside an hour or two to plan for your year and follow the steps below. I PROMISE you, it will pay off. Join me on starting this year on an AWESOME note and get ourselves clear-minded, set up and ready to make 2016 our best year yet!
1. Find your balance – The circle of life
Do you often feel as though you don’t see your friends enough, or maybe you’re working too hard and know you’d like to dedicate more time to your health and well-being? This can mean you’re off balance and your life isn’t flowing the way you’d like. Doing this exercise will help realign you with what’s important, and will help you identify areas you need to find balance in.
Start off by drawing a circle exactly like the one below (with each section numbered from 1-10). You can change the name of each section, depending on what's important to you.
In each section, how happy are you in that area? How balanced and content are you? Circle one number for each area depending on how you feel. Is ‘health’ at 2 and ‘fun’ at 9 because you’ve stopped going to the gym and eating healthy as you’re always out with your girlfriends? Choose a number for each section, and then draw a between each section. How is your circle looking? It is even and balanced? Or does it look more like a star?
Now it’s time to set some goals.
What can you do to make your life circle more flowing? Do you need to get up 10 minutes earlier to make a healthy lunch? Or plan one night a week that is dedicated SOLELY to spending quality time with your partner? List each section and create ONE goal per section to cultivate balance in your life this year!
Balance is the key to success and a happy life.
2. Create a new daily ritual
One thing. One simple change that will bring you closer to being the best version of you. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it could be as simple as getting up 5 minutes earlier in the morning so that you have more time to relax. OR journaling for 5 minutes per day to help you find clarity. Just one step. One simple little step to help integrate positive changes into your life
3. Decide on your non-negotiables
I don’t know about you, but I’m a ‘yes’ woman. I find it difficult to say no to people and often sacrifice my routine due to saying yes to others, leaving me even more stressed than before. Think to yourself, what is important to you? And what will you NOT negotiate on – regardless of what happens. When you know the areas you’re not willing to budge on, you’ll find yourself much more centred and grounded.
4. Decide how you want to FEEL
How will you feel when you’ve reached your goals? Will you feel calm, content, healthy, fit? When it really comes down to it, all of the goals we ever set in life are to help us feel a certain way. You want to be fit and healthy so that you feel energetic, beautiful and loved. You want that raise at work so that you feel successful. Start cultivating those feelings right NOW. What you focus on, will also focus on you. Keep your eye on the prize and start imagining feeling those ways already.
5. Create a vision board
With all of the above goals in mind, create a vision board. A beautiful board covered in pictures and quotes to remind you of what you want to achieve this year, where you want to be, and how you want it to LOOK. Get some old magazines, have your printer ready, grab some butcher paper and coloured pencils and get CREATIVE.
If you don't know the power of positive visualisation, I suggest you read up on it. When we focus our energy and visualize where we see ourselves being, we not only remind ourselves of these beautiful goals we have every single day, but we also subconsciously start acting with intention to get to those goals.
You could create a board that looked something like the one above, or put your own twist on it. Hang it above your bed, or next to your desk or in the bathroom. Somewhere that’s easily in sight. Look at this board everyday, and truly envision yourself being there with all of these goals come to life. How does this look? How does this feel? Imagine you’re there already. You’re already living that life.
Envision the way you want to live your life. You can get there, I promise you!
Here’s to an amazing year ahead!
With so much love and gratitude!
X
For those of you who don't know me, I'm Kate. The founder, brains and vision behind Retreat Yourself. My dream is to inspire and empower you to live your healthiest and happiest life.
When I'm not behind the computer working on Retreat Yourself, you'll find me at the beach, riding my surfboard, adventuring to new places and hanging out at the local organic café with my friends.
I love what I do and I'm so pleased to have you on the journey with me.
Kate xx
Visionboard photo credit from Bliss Inventive