Starting the New Year Off Right on January 1
January 1st - a day of letting go, envisioning the future, planning for joy!
A day of letting go, reaffirming, envisioning the future, planning for joy!
This time of year, there always seems to be a plethora of newscasts, magazine articles, blog posts, insta-videos about the virtues and necessity of reorganizing your life as we reach the new year. And here’s another one!
Yes, today I’m writing about letting go of 2024 and jumping headlong into 2025. The focus is about identifying things you do that disturb relationships and get in the way of you getting what you want out of life. Then working on new habits that will help you create the life you want. So how do we do that, exactly?
Unsplash photo by Sincerely Media
First Things First
As Stephen Covey said, first things first. So start with your current condition -
what parts of your life are working for you
what goals were reached
what goals are now obsolete
Now begin to envision next year. It’s important that you don’t filter. The purpose of the vision is not to filter by what you think you can actually achieve but what you’d like your life to look like.
List Next Year’s Personal Goals
Career, relationship, educational, whatever - list them all as the come to you. To qualify, we’re talking big picture here. Not having spaghetti for dinner on Thursday kind of goal. Focus on grand goals right now like moving to Montana, completing the nursing degree, buying a new car kind of goals. You can also make a list of long-term goals (meaning over a year for expected result). It’s a good idea to look far down the road. My caution is to monitor your stress at this point.
A list of 50 big life goals to achieve over the next 10 years would cause me a good deal of stress - something I prefer to avoid at all costs. Some of those long-term goals might be better put on the bucket list which is sort of the back-burner goal list. Those goals can move to the priority list as your life evolves or your burning desire intensifies.
Focusing on the next year goals, once you are happy with the list you can start prioritizing. [Special Note: if you are a visual person, a treasure map using photos of your goals might work well for you; or try writing the goals on a small white-board or big piece of paper. Either of these methods can activate neuropathways and so is more productive than using the computer for this exercise.]
Prioritize and Set Intention
Going over your list for next year (you can do long-term and bucket list later), make sure each goal is achievable, inspirational and measurable.
For example, go to the dentist for cleaning and exam is a necessity and worthwhile task but it is also a to-do kind of thing and not a goal that inspires.
You can put be a ballerina on your list every year but in reality if you haven’t been preparing since childhood, it’s not likely achievable. It could be achievable theoretically but are you really up for the physical demands of such a goal. Just closely examine motives for these “astronaut” kind of goals.
BUT how about shifting the ballerina goal to attend an adult jazz dance class or learn line-dancing or something similar? Now it’s something that nearly anyone could attain.
Unsplash photo by Ardian Lumi
This process helps you set your intention. You’ve chosen your goals because of the vision you hold of your ideal life. You’ve gone over the list and given it a reality check - achievable, inspirational and measurable. You’ve set your intention - yes, this is something I want to attain!
Countdown to achievement
Now it’s time to document your plan to reach the goals - one at a time or overlapping depending upon what goals you’ve chosen and the limitations that may be involved (money, time, physical abilities, etc.)
Break goals down into monthly steps and weekly or daily steps again depending upon the specific goal. What has to happen when and in what order to move you closer to success. Is it a gradual, daily process like losing weight or training for a marathon? Then daily steps need to be designed and planned for and celebrated when achieved. Maybe it’s a little more random like saving money to buy a house. So possibly the first goal is the extra part-time job and the steps are the wages you are able to save as a result depending upon how many hours you can work.
All along the way, monitor you progress so you can adjust the steps (or even sometimes the goal) as you move through the year.
Falling behind? Ask yourself why you might not have wanted that goal. Your answer is likely “of course I wanted the goal. I wrote it down!” But your results say it was either unrealistic or you lost your intention. This is not to beat yourself up. “I’m such a failure! I’ll never get that new car.” The purpose of the re-examining your commitment is to see what corrections have to be made. Maybe you decided to finish your degree not for you but because your mother always set that expectation. “I was so hoping that ONE of my children would graduate college.”
That’s not your goal but hers. Be truthful with yourself. Is it something you really want? If so, adjust your plan, re-commit and go for it. However if it was something you chose to appease your mother, maybe you need to let it go.
Summing Up
Setting goals is a very human thing to do. We wouldn’t take a vacation without some kind of plan where we might go and what to pack, right? Why would we live a life of 80 years without some idea of where we’d like to live it and what it might look like?
Don’t trip through your life, step boldly and with purpose!