A New Year, A New You

As this year draws to a close and the New Year starts to beckon us forward, it’s a good time to reassess our lives, our goals and our intentions.  A new year can help us shift our focus and become more ‘us’, more successful, slimmer, fitter, or whatever we want.  So as we enter a New Year, a new you with a more positive outlook can follow.

Decide what you want to achieve

To make changes you need to have a clear idea of what is important to you and what you want to do differently.  Without clarity of vision, you won’t get far.  Spend some time thinking about what you want to achieve.  Try writing down your ideas and your thought processes and reviewing them every day for a few days.  This process of journaling can often help you reach a focus that you would struggle to achieve otherwise.

Consider whether there are just a few areas you’d like to focus on or whether you want a whole new you.  Maybe you simply want to change your look.  Generally, it’s easier to tackle a few aspects of your life at a time.

Health, Fitness and Weight

These are regulars in many New Year’s Resolutions.  Eating more healthily works well for most people and with a bit of meal planning is fairly easy to achieve.  Losing weight and getting fit will probably require a bit more effort.

A good way to make the change easier and more sustainable is to build it up month on month.  Set yourself a goal of exercising once a week (or once more than you currently do) in January, twice in February, etc. until you reach your goal.  This means you’ll be expecting more of yourself in the spring when it might be easier to get yourself out of the house to do some exercise.   You’ll notice gradual improvements which will help motivate you for the next step.

Taking up a new Hobby

Many of us want to try something new or push our boundaries a little.  It’s also a great way of meeting new people and having new experiences.  Try something new each month maybe until you find something you want to continue with.  Maybe try indoor things like Do It Yourself in the winter months and as you move into the summer have a go at outdoor pursuits like paddle boarding.

Or if you are sure what you’d like to do, try to find a group that does the activity so you can tap into some help and support.

Keeping to a Budget

Getting your finances sorted out is a common resolution and for good reason.  Cutting out unnecessary expenses can give you more money for the good things in life.  Spend a week or a month writing down everything you spend.  Add it up at the end of the time and find out how much you are spending on that morning’s coffee or in the pub.

Maybe you’d like to do something more radical and long-term like clearing your debt or paying off your mortgage early.  Now’s the time to come up with a plan of how to do it and start putting it into practice.

 

Guest Post kindly written by Erica from 92three30.com