2018 Reflections and Looking Ahead to 2019
I always get so emotional on New Year’s Day. My mind and heart are flooded with memories of the year gone by, and it’s a little overwhelming. 365 days of laughter, love, tears, trips, unnecessary stress, family, new and old friends, successes, failures. I try to focus on the positive most of the time, but you don’t grow if you aren’t able to face the negative head on. Maybe that’s partially why New Year’s Day is sometimes a little hard for me. I’m so hyper aware of my quirks; good and bad. I take personal growth so seriously. I get specific with my goals at the beginning of every year, but my overall goal at all times is to simply grow and become a better version of myself.
I knocked off quite a few things from my 2018 list. Overall, I’d say I’m pleased with my progress. However, there are still a couple of annoying little struggles for me that I have yet to conquer. I try to not be too hard on myself. Again, if I see growth in any area, that’s great! Sometimes (for our sanity) we need to celebrate a little growth instead of beating ourselves up for not perfectly conquering a goal.
With that being said, I do think we all need to set specific goals. It’s not enough to say “I want to lose weight this year.”. That’s great, but how? A better goal is to say “I want to lose 15 lbs this year and maintain that weight loss by journaling my food and working out 3 times a week.” Instead of making a resolution to “save more money”, put an amount and a time limit on it. For example, “I will have $15,000 in savings by the end of 2019 by putting aside X amount more each month.” Specificity! Goals without a plan are just hopes.
Here is a great way to help you decide what your goals/resolutions should be for the new year. Take an inventory of your life based on these key areas:
- Physical Health
- Mental Wellbeing
- Environment/Surroundings
- Hobbies/Joy/Restoration
- Romance
- Friends & Family
- Finances
- Purpose or Career
- Spirituality
- Personal Growth
This system is from Chalene Johnson and her planner: https://www.pushjournal.com/ It’s wonderful! Rank each area of your life on a scale from 1-10 (10 being perfect and 1 being a disaster). Pick the two or three that you score the lowest on and make them your focus going into the new year. After a few months, do another inventory. Scale your progress. See if you’ve made improvements in one area and slacked off in another. This process is seriously so eye-opening!
I’m super thankful for all the lessons 2018 brought. I love reflecting, and I think it’s important. But reflect and use the lessons from 2018 to help you plan for 2019. Don’t get caught up on what could have been or what should have been. Soak up all the good and let go of all the bad. Make it your goal and prayer for 2019 to be the best year yet! The best is yet to come.
xoxo,
Dee
