I tried to enjoy Christmas in a bit different way this year. I was drawing and writing a lot. I read a lot of books. I spent a lot of time watching Christmas movies on TV with the lightened tree in the background. I was just trying to spend more time in the real world, than in the virtual one ...
And so that's why I'm coming to this blog just now - the last day of this year and I'm coming to talk to you a little bit about New Year's resolutions, goals and about the reasons why we often don't follow them at all.
This year will be so important and probably quite difficult for me. Starting with the graduation ball, then studying for the high school final exam, the exam itself, searching for a summer part-time job and so on ... And then what? University? Traveling? Work? I have no idea what my next steps will be ...
I believe that we don't need to wait for the first of January to change something in our life. However ... the first day of the new year always brings something special, the feeling of a new year beginning make us feel like we could start something new in our life too. So many people set crazy goals for the upcoming year and they give up on them in few week or days - maybe because they're too difficult to reach or maybe because they realize it's not something they would really want in their life. So .. is there any way to make a New Year resolutions which make sense?
What things make you feel dissatisfied?
Before you start thinking about the goals for the upcoming year, try to think about all the areas in your life that make you feel dissatisfied. I personally really failed at keeping a healthy lifestyle for the last couple of months and I'd like to get back to the stage where I used to be about two years ago. Also I want to devote more time to things which make me happy. Try to think about all the things you used to love when you were a kid and you stopped doing them because you feel "too old" or because someone some day told you that you'r not talented enough to do them ... Maybe you used to sing, dance or draw much more than you do now. Why did you stop? Think about the time you gave up on your beloved hobbies.
You don't need to try to become a new person. Sometimes it's actually about trying to go back to who you used to be and getting back to the things you left in the past.
Realistic goals
The next thing that may prevent you from reaching your goals, is the fact that your goals are to abstract. It's always better to set goals which you can measure somehow - For example things like "I've been to Paris. I got a driving licence. I read 20 books. I lost 20 pounds" ...
But there are also goals which you can measure that easily, like "I maintain healthy diet", "I read a lot", "I complain less" ... It's great to keep a motivational journal for these purposes. Make a simple table of habits for each month and make a tick in a box for every day you follow your new habits. This way, you'll be able to track all your goals a at the end of the month, you'll know in which areas you need to improve :)
Motivation
Few years ago, we had an interesting task at school - we were supposed to writr 101 life goals - but not only the goals themselves, but we also had to write the date until we want to reach them and a reason, why do we actually want to reach each of the goals. Due to this task, I realized that I don't really need a lot of those things in my life because I wasn't simply able to find out any proper reason.
So before you set any goal for the next year, think about why you care so much about reaching it.
Present tense
Whenever you write about any goal, try to write it in the present tense. For example - "I went abroad. I earned .... money. I weight ... pound". Goals which are floating somewhere in undefined future are much harder to reach.
Magical formula for the best New Year's resolution:
And so that's why I'm coming to this blog just now - the last day of this year and I'm coming to talk to you a little bit about New Year's resolutions, goals and about the reasons why we often don't follow them at all.
I believe that we don't need to wait for the first of January to change something in our life. However ... the first day of the new year always brings something special, the feeling of a new year beginning make us feel like we could start something new in our life too. So many people set crazy goals for the upcoming year and they give up on them in few week or days - maybe because they're too difficult to reach or maybe because they realize it's not something they would really want in their life. So .. is there any way to make a New Year resolutions which make sense?
What things make you feel dissatisfied?
Before you start thinking about the goals for the upcoming year, try to think about all the areas in your life that make you feel dissatisfied. I personally really failed at keeping a healthy lifestyle for the last couple of months and I'd like to get back to the stage where I used to be about two years ago. Also I want to devote more time to things which make me happy. Try to think about all the things you used to love when you were a kid and you stopped doing them because you feel "too old" or because someone some day told you that you'r not talented enough to do them ... Maybe you used to sing, dance or draw much more than you do now. Why did you stop? Think about the time you gave up on your beloved hobbies.
You don't need to try to become a new person. Sometimes it's actually about trying to go back to who you used to be and getting back to the things you left in the past.
Realistic goals
The next thing that may prevent you from reaching your goals, is the fact that your goals are to abstract. It's always better to set goals which you can measure somehow - For example things like "I've been to Paris. I got a driving licence. I read 20 books. I lost 20 pounds" ...
But there are also goals which you can measure that easily, like "I maintain healthy diet", "I read a lot", "I complain less" ... It's great to keep a motivational journal for these purposes. Make a simple table of habits for each month and make a tick in a box for every day you follow your new habits. This way, you'll be able to track all your goals a at the end of the month, you'll know in which areas you need to improve :)
Motivation
Few years ago, we had an interesting task at school - we were supposed to writr 101 life goals - but not only the goals themselves, but we also had to write the date until we want to reach them and a reason, why do we actually want to reach each of the goals. Due to this task, I realized that I don't really need a lot of those things in my life because I wasn't simply able to find out any proper reason.
So before you set any goal for the next year, think about why you care so much about reaching it.
Present tense
Whenever you write about any goal, try to write it in the present tense. For example - "I went abroad. I earned .... money. I weight ... pound". Goals which are floating somewhere in undefined future are much harder to reach.
Magical formula for the best New Year's resolution:
- Think about the areas of your life, which make you feel dissatisfied
- Think about specific things you want to change
- Choose a goal you can track
- Find a reason, why do you want to reach that goal (do you really?)
- Write the sentence in the present tense
What goals you have for 2018?
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