Happy New Year 2019! You made it through the holidaze, yay! I suppose you created a New Year’s resolution, correct? Well if so that’s all great, but did you know if you’re not really specific when writing out the resolutions, they may not stick. First, writing out your realizations from the year 2018 may be more helpful than you will ever realize! When you work on your realizations from the past year you will take inventory of all the great, good, and bad things that you experienced. Take a gander back into 2018 and see what worked and what did not work. To identify what you want to work on in this following year it is smart to know specific things to work on, so you’re not just blowing smoke into the wind. When you realize things that went sour, or south, in 2018, it may be a good thing to work on specific behaviors to make sure you are going forward, instead of staying stuck, or at worst going backwards, down the rabbit hole again. You don’t want to repeat the same mistakes or fumbles that created havoc in your life, again. Working on losing weight, drinking and eating less, finding a new job, writing a book, while all worthy causes, are so common that it may be more of a whim wish than a practical goal. Working on things that are measurable is much easier to achieve and will make you happier in the long run. Mending broken relationships, if they are with people that are very stable and supportive is a great idea. Working on repairing relationships with people who have never been supportive or helpful, bad idea.
The goal for resolutions is that they will solve things, and improve your everyday life. I think breaking up the resolutions quarterly may be a smarter choice than making big goals that you have an entire year to meet or not meet. So pick some grounded goals for the next 3 months. Achieve those goals and then make some more goals every 3 to 4 months. Breaking up the year and what you wish for in behavioral changes is much more practical than working on monumental achievements to be reached by the end of an entire year. It is a good idea to be kind to yourself even when you’re not focusing and acheiving goals. Getting down on yourself will not be motivating for accomplishing anything.
Also, while being kind to yourself, be kind to others, but don’t be a door mat either. Standing up to injustice or mistreatment is a strong willed behavior, and being strong willed is a good thing. When you cower to injustice you start to feel awful about yourself, and life. Choose jobs, people, friends and family that are supportive, have your back, and lift you up. Stay away from anyone that puts you down, or is not there for you.
The other things I recommend for 2019 is to do something different, and do something new, that you have never done before. Challenge yourself, not with risk taking or jumping out of plane, necessarily, but something that you’ve been saying you want to do, for a long time now,and do it!
Marla Stone, Author, Organizer and Creator of The Clutter Remedy™
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