REFLECT
As the year is coming to an end, it’s a good time to take stock of where your life is going and what changes you want to make in the new year. Carve out some time to reflect on the ups and downs of the previous year. What went well? Where did you fail? Look at this time as an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and adjust your goals for the coming year accordingly.
SET REALISTIC & SPECIFIC GOALS
We’ve all been there, sipping champagne, hugging friends under a display of fireworks and proclaiming that our New Year’s resolution is to get serious about going to the gym. Come February, it’s clear that all that got serious was our Netflix-addiction. This year, to make a real, long-lasting changes in your career, health, or family life, set realistic and specific goals. For example, if you want to start exercising, instead of deciding to go running 6 days a week (not realistic!), start easy with 1-3 times a week and set an end goal to run a 5k by May. By having enough rest days and a clear end date, it’s much easier to stay motivated and stick to your goals.
PLAN YOUR DAYS
To up-level our lives and reach our goals we need to plan our days in advance. Life is a whirlwind of work, social events, and family life, and if we don’t plan our days ahead of time it’s unlikely that we’ll do anything but crash in front of the TV when we get home. The likelihood of eating a healthy dinner is much higher if we’ve done the grocery shopping during the weekend, because we know we’ll be too tired during the weekdays to come up with what to eat for dinner.
VISUALISE YOUR DREAM LIFE
One of the reasons that we often fail to make our dreams reality is that we forget to visualise our goal. The most successful people are able to envision their goals beforehand. To visualise your goals, write down your dream goal and describe it in detail or create a vision board with cut-outs from magazines. Once you’re done, start visualising how it would feel to achieve the goal as if it is your reality right now. Imagine the emotions, what it would look and sound like. When we visualise something, a new neural pathway is created in the brain, which prepares us to act as the way we visualised it - so without actually doing anything, you have primed your mind for success!
PRACTICE GRATITUDE
Practicing gratitude is easier said than done when you spill water in your laptop and fight with your kids in the supermarket aisle. But changing your thoughts and practicing gratitude is well worth the effort. People who are grateful not only feel a greater sense of happiness, they also become more successful, because when you are grateful, other people are drawn to you. Gratitude also improves physical and mental health. Start your gratitude practice today by writing down 5 things you are grateful for every day and watch all aspects of your life improve by the time 2019 rolls around.
