There are so many things you can do with a new year. You can create resolutions for lasting change. You can create a yearly mission statement so you can always default to it when making choices this year. You can keep track of the feelings you want to have (rather than creating goals) and keep all of your choices aligned with those feelings (as with Danielle Laporte's The Desire Map). You can plan out a year of awesomeness with an excellent planner (like Leonie Dawson's Your Shining Year or this great one I got from Amazon called The Law of Attraction Life Planner). You can do a Soul Archaeology tarot reading for yourself (a way of reading the tarot that requires NO psychic ability whatsoever). You can set a Goodreads reading list for the upcoming year. You can begin a new blog or start a career or research ways to make money this upcoming year. You can finish everything you put off from last year. You can pretty much pick and choose how you want to kick off your year, or choose them all!
I am not a fan of on big resolutions, as they don't seem to really work out for me (I have trouble sticking with things). But I do love to feel the brand new energy of the winds of change on my back. So here are a few of my favorite ways to bring in the new year:
- I get out my bullet journal and create a chart:
I separate my life into these categories and I first take stock and rate them 1-10: Family, Marriage, Friends, Business (broken into smaller bits like blogging and other businesses I run), Finances, Health, Personal Development, Spirituality, Fun. And then, from those categories, I write what I want to achieve this year in each one (not resolution style, but actual do-able, realistic items). - I then answer these questions:
-How much do I want to earn this year? Myself? I set a goal and make it a game in order to achieve it. And how much do I want to save this year? Try Capital One's savings accounts (you can have up to 25) and create one for each of your categories in life.
-What kind of lifestyle do I want for my family? (taken from Brian Tracy's Goals) How do I envision our daily lives? And how can I make this achievable? I brainstorm ways in which I can live more towards the vision I have rather than what we're already doing.
-Who are my allies in life? Who would I call if I were stranded? If your answer is nobody, then this year you should definitely work on gaining more allies in your life (allies can be friends, but not always: they can be neighbors, coworkers, and other people that you trust and those whom you do the same for them). If you have a good list ready, make note of who you'd lend money to, who you'd spring from jail in the middle of the night, who you'd call to watch your kids in an emergency, who you'd drive to work if their car was broken, etc. Those people are the ones you'd call for the same things. If you wouldn't lend money to your brother, then don't ask him to lend you money (catch my drift?). In your journal you can arrange them by levels or some other code. Level 1 could be someone you'd do anything for (just make sure they'd do anything for you, as well, if not, time to reevaluate!), and level 10 is someone you'd never do anything for and never call for anything (aka, not your ally!). Allies are powerful people in your life, just make sure you both are giving and reciprocating equally as much as you can in order to keep your relationship balanced.
-What is my theme for this year? Every year I pick 1-3 words for my year's theme. Last year was simplify and I think I did a GREAT job at keeping to my theme, as every choice I made was out of creating simplicity (when faced with a choice, I asked myself "will this create complication or simplicity?" and would choose the choice of simplicity). I will keep that word this year and will add: create (I want to create everything I possibly can this year, as well as creating a better life for my family, as well as create opportunities to be able to live all my theme words), respond (instead of a reacting, thinking through shit before I open my mouth or make a choice), 5 Seconds (meaning the 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins--count to five and get shit done--yes this seems to counteract the idea of "respond", but really, it doesn't. I will count to 5 for things I know I have to do that are hard, and think through other choices. It also means I will STOP putting off things I know that need to be done--like health matters for myself, my family or my pets, or cleaning things or other items that need my attention immediately that I normally put off). I put all these together into a sentence so I can remember them (when you only have one, it's very easy to remember): I have 5 seconds to respond, create, and simplify. - Then, if I'm feeling adventurous, I mind map my life. I take and put the words MY LIFE in the middle of my journal and then I break down my life into those pieces above and make a huge mind map (a different color for each category) of how my life is now. From this I can see the pieces that need to change and what is being fulfilled and what isn't. It's a very visual way to see your life laid out before you. And by separating each into colors, you can just glance to see what's lacking and what isn't.
- And last but not least, I will do a Soul Archaeology reading for my current life issues. I will lay down the cards and read the pictures in a way that makes sense to my psyche. While I do not believe in psychic abilities, I still feel the tarot is a great spiritual tool to use when you're feeling lost or you'd like some insight into your own life. The cards are pictorial representations of universal archetypes, which is why every single card can apply to anyone at any given time. I've got 30 years of tarot reading under my belt, but even someone who's never read the cards before can pick up a deck and give themselves a completely accurate reading and find strength, healing, and the answers that were locked deep in their souls (hence the term "Soul Archaeology".
So, when you answer your questions in your journals, you can find that using the other tools, like creating a yearly theme, as a way to stick to those goals. Say you envision your family being world travelers, and you find ways to fulfill this goal, you can then use your theme word(s) to stick to that goal. Print your theme words to put on your walls or paint them onto a wooden plaque or a canvas to hang where you can see daily. Or create a Vision Board and put your words on that. Try to make everything you choose to do for the new year cohesive, so that way you'll have a greater chance at achieving anything you set your mind to.
Because isn't that what New Year's resolutions and goals are about? It's a brand new 365 day cycle in order to find lasting peace and change and achieving your dreams. So why not make it easier with tools that will keep reminding you every single day what your goals are? The #1 reason why people fail to change is forgetting and reverting back to their old ways. So don't let yourself forget!
Let's review:
- Answer the 3 journaling questions above (or come up with more if you can think of any).
- Map out your current life. What is aligning with your journaling answers from #1? What's not?
- Rate each category 1-10 (10 meaning it's working very well, and 1 meaning it's not working at all).
- Then from the map, brainstorm what you want from each one that's different than (more of the same) from what it is now.
- From all of this, pick your theme word(s). Make sure they align your goals.
- Create a sentence, if you have more than one word, so you remember them.
- Put the word(s) or the sentence on something you can see on a regular basis.
- Look at it (them) daily. Remember these words so you can use them in every single choice you make throughout the year. Do you want more love? Then every choice should come from a place of love (not fear). Do you want more money? Then every choice you make should help you get there. Do you want better health? Then every choice (from food, to exercise, to making doc appointments) should reflect you having better health. Do you want more honesty? Then every choice you make should be honest yourself and others.
- Watch your life change right before your eyes.
- Next year, choose more words to add to these.
When your choices come from a place of authenticity (meaning you're not making choices just because you feel you have to, or because that's the way you've always done it), then your life will start to change in the way you want it to.
Even if you slip, your visual reminders of your theme word(s) is there to remind you and keep you on track!
Because of last year's theme: I healed my damaged marriage, I went no contact with my abusive mother, my house is cleaner more often, and I found a peace that I never knew before. No, my life isn't perfect, but there's no such thing! I no longer make overly complicated decisions based upon fear and my abusive upbringing. I mean, sometimes I still do, but I'll catch myself and ask "What is the simplest way I can get this done?" And from that, I make my choice.
Try it, I know it sounds complicated and convoluted to do all of this (which, again, is how my brain works most of the time LOL), but it's also simply freeing to see all of your goals and your entire life put down on paper. It empties out all that mess that's in your head and puts it plainly for you to see. And from that mess, you can make simple choices to get to where you want to be in life.
Good luck, my friends <3 And I hope your New Year's is off to a great start!!
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