New Year, New Me? Not even.
In the wake of the New Year, people everywhere are making resolutions and goals to smash over the next 12 months. A New Year represents a clean slate. A new beginning to make changes and focus on self-improvement. Unfortunately, as the year goes on and life happens, resolutions begin to take a back burner. I, myself, have fallen short and missed the mark on plenty of resolutions. Goal-setting is a very imperative part of success and I’ve learned that in order to truly accomplish things, you have to stick to a system that holds you accountable and truly works for you.
Here is a list of some tools that really helped me accomplish my 2016 goals (and I have already started using them for this New Year)!
- Vision Board – Creating a vision board allows you to physically craft your “vision” for the New Year. Using images and other creative elements, I am able to foster my creativity and spend time really developing what I want my goals to look like. Having a visual representation of my goals also serves as reminder of what I am working towards. When I look up and see my vision board on my bedroom wall, I can’t help but focus on what truly matters to me.
- Susannah Conway’s “Unravel Your Year” Workbook – Get your copy here. Find a quiet spot. Reflect. Write. Goal Set. Watch your goals manifest. I’m telling you, it helps!
- Get a planner – I used to be a person who thought having a planner was unnecessary; however, I’ve found that writing down tasks and dates has truly been helpful.
- Schedule Personal Check Ins – Don’t let too much time pass without revisiting your goals or checking in with yourself. Be sure to periodically check in with yourself and review your progress. You may be surprised how far you’ve gotten. If you find that you haven’t been as successful as you would have liked, it’s also a way to hold yourself accountable!
- Forgive Yourself – If you find that you haven’t made much progress on your self-improvement, it’s okay. Personally, in the past I spent a lot of time beating myself about missing the mark on my resolutions but it usually didn’t help and was quite counterproductive. Instead, I learned to use that time to reevaluate and refocus. Forgive yourself and move forward with a renewed mindset. Change takes time and that’s okay!
I hope that my tools are helpful! This time of the year is always full of excitement and fun as we prepare for what the year has in store. Let’s make 2017 the year of show & prove!