What Are Your Goals for 2017?

A New Year is the perfect opportunity to write down how you would like to see your year unfold. Remember, we all have very individual goals and motivations. It is important to stay true to what ‘you’ want. Make time before the year kicks into full swing to jot down your goals, dreams and what inspires you to keep you motivated for a happy, successful and rewarding year. It is also the perfect time to declutter your home and work space. Enjoy the process!

Declutter: Declutter on an ongoing basis – one drawer, one cupboard, one room at a time. Keep it super simple and achievable. Why don’t you pass on all your Summer magazines that are piling up on the coffee table? Another easy one for today is to throw away any chipped water glasses or crockery.

Make Lists: List making is the best way to keep a log of what you would like to achieve. You will have short term and long term goals on your list. For example, on your immediate To-Do list you may have: clean the pantry (part of your ongoing decluttering), try ‘that’ new Barre class, clean windows, sharpen knives, print off 2017 schedules (such as yoga), update home manual (kids class lists, emergency contacts, extra curricular, babysitters, food menus). On the long term To-Do list you may have: organise family photos, reduce EMF radiation in the study and bedroom, enrol in a photography course, book dinner party dates with friends, create a reading list for the year, book a hiking holiday, visit the National Gallery. You can keep these lists on your phone, in a notebook in your bag or pinned at your desk for easy reference.

Create Healthy Daily Habits: Review your habits and get rid of the ones that aren’t working for you. It is good to focus on the start of the day and the end of the day, as a first step. What you do at these times of day can more easily become part of your everyday routine. Rise and shine for an early morning walk, wake up and do some stretches, make the bed every morning (a simple way to ‘declutter’ your room), always have a healthy breakfast (make a big batch of frittata or Bircher muesli), start each day with a lemon juice water, switch off social media after 9pm. Whatever your routine is, include some new small changes you would like to include each day and stick to it. Then you can keep adding to your new habits throughout the year. Remember, keep it simple!

Personal Goals: Establish your values and work out what is most important to you.  Break your life down into areas and write some quarterly goals into each segment. Look at ways you can grow as as person. Look to further your studies, enrol in a cooking class or meditation course. Get out of your comfort zone and try something new. Here are some suggestions for headings: Family/Friends, Education, Finances, Career, Social/Community, Health and Fitness etc. Gina and her family have an annual conference each January to set their goals for the year ahead. It is fun to work towards your goals with the support of family or friends.

Be Grateful: Be mindful of what makes you happy. Reflect on past experiences and find out when and where you were your happiest self. Who were you with? Were you in nature? What were you eating etc? Write down some special things you would like to do in a journal and book them your diary. Review them often. Be grateful for the people and little things that give you pleasure.  Let go of negative thoughts and complaining and replace them with more positive thoughts.  You will be amazed at how the world starts to become a friendlier place.

Kindness: Practice small acts of kindness. Remember to pay it forward. It feels good to give back. It may be a small compliment, helping someone with their groceries, donating old clothes or toys, bake a sick friend a cake, or a simple smile to a stranger.

Say NO: Remember to be kind to yourself and don’t over commit! Please don’t fall victim to the ‘rushing syndrome’. You can read our article on The Art Of Saying No.

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