Can you believe we are fast approaching the end of January? We are 1/12th finished with 2022!
So where are you on your New Year’s Resolutions?
Are you exercising more? Have you given up the fast food? Did you stop or reduce drinking or eating candy or anything else? What about your spiritual goals? How far into the bible are you? Are you praying or meditating more?
Okay – I’m not getting on you about resolutions. Besides, isn’t the unwritten rule that resolutions are made to be broken?
So why do we make them in the first place?
New Year – New You
The new year gives us a great time to start over. It is a blank page, a “Tabula Rasa” and it makes sense to do something different January 1st.
When you consider the holiday season – from Halloween through New Years’, we consume a lot of food, candy, cookies, and the beverages of our choice. Our bodies simply need a break, our minds need a break, even our wallets need a break. It is even an intense time for religious folks – most world religions and cultures have some form of special celebration during the last quarter of the year. Advent/Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali and Kwanzaa are just some of the celebrations (and there are many more). These celebrations are wonderful – yet can be draining for many. As we approach the New Year, many simply need a break from the partying.
The new year also gives us a chance for reflection. What was good about the past year?
What did we do that was great? What did we do that we want to change? How can we make this new year better? We reflect on these things and then we make resolutions – that we tend to break.
So, what do we do? Accept that we want to make changes, but do nothing about them? Continue to make resolutions that we do not keep, or do we try something different?
Vision Boards
What is your vision for your life this year? It is a different than saying “I want to eat healthier” or “I want to read more”, it is all encompassing. It is an important question
Over the past few years my wife and daughter have been making vision boards for the new year. This year I joined them. We sat around a table with magazines, paper, pictures, stickers, colored pencils and a bunch of other crafting supplies. We thought about what we want this new year to be and allowed the creative process to happen and we had a lot of fun doing it.
A vision board can be a list of things, it can be images, it can be inspirational quotations, and it can be a combination. For me, I took pictures of things I like – and want to spend time doing – such as my model railroading and guitar. I also added quotes that touch me and I made a list of things I want to do.
Some of these things are easy, some are hard, and most will take some time.
But the first part is to put it down and the second part is to look at this vision board every day – to read it, to take it in, to truly make it a part of our daily living.
If you have already given up on your New Year’s resolutions, consider a vision board. Spend some time with creative process, put it together and look at it daily. You might just find those changes easier.
And if you need more help clarifying and reaching your goals, consider a Life Coach.
Bill
Reach Life Coaching 