Coming out of the holiday season and into the New Year can be energizing and disruptive. There’s an expectation to make this next chapter meaningful and improved - more productive, successful, and disciplined. Before getting carried away by the pressure of setting your biggest goals and resolutions, get grounded with us. Navigate the new year with your best foot forward through a committed, pragmatic approach.
The start of a new calendar year is an ideal time to reflect on the quality of life you desire and assess your finite resources, such as energy, time, and money. Planning for the future while understanding your present place will align you with realistic goals that match your current and projected capacity. We’ll walk through listing these goals, seeing them through, and caring for yourself along the way.
NAMING YOUR COMMITMENTS
You may already have a list of goals in mind and methods to complete them. Shifting your perspective of “resolution” goals to commitments keeps you accountable and practical as we take action. Just like commitments made in your everyday life, it forces you to be realistic with the time, energy, and resources you currently have while looking ahead to the fruits of your labor.
Your values will guide and support you as you make responsible decisions toward an end goal. Values build the foundation for your character and dream life. Broad concepts like health, community, wealth, and optimism reflect specific truths of how you want to live your life. When you’ve named your values, you can ensure your decisions reflect those principles, thus making even the toughest commitments doable.
PUTTING PLAN INTO ACTION
One of the best ways to set realistic goals is to build an intentional plan that’s authentic to you. Acting out your vision according to your own standards and beliefs will keep you motivated and aligned in the right direction. Here are a few suggestions to prevent goal stray and fatigue:
- Pace yourself. You’re living on your own timeline, and burnout won’t do you any good.
- Decide what method(s) you’ll use to envision and track your progress. Think:
- Breaking long-term, measurable goals into short-term action steps and needs
- Enlisting an accountability partner or group to check-in with
- Documenting your journey through journaling and other creative outlets
- Utilizing visualization techniques, moon rituals, and other manifestation practices
- Be creative and compassionate with the process. Expect obstacles and challenges to provide an opportunity to show up as your best self.
- Affirm yourself by celebrating wins and decisions you’re proud of.
- Define what success looks like for you on this path.
And lastly, don’t forget to honor your feelings along the way. Your vision may pivot or find different meaning as time passes. It’s okay to pause + recalibrate.
COMMITTING TO SELF CARE
To successfully navigate a year full of goals, it’s essential that you don’t put yourself on the back burner. The excitement of planning for a new year is a charged start that’s difficult to sustain for 52 weeks. Prioritize yourself and your needs as often as reasonably possible so that you don’t have to run on E. Remember that like plants, the body has legitimate needs such as sleep, food, hydration, and pleasure.
Setting clear boundaries early on, and knowing when they need to change, supports progress in a manageable way. No matter how challenging your 2023 goals may be, we encourage you to offer yourself grace and trust yourself each step of the way. When you need a reminder, disconnect + decompress and come back.
AFFIRMATIONS
• When unexpected changes arise, I am flexible and creative
• I trust my ability to focus and achieve my goals
• My perspective keeps me present and grateful
• I am committed to myself and my desires
• I believe that what I want is already finding its way to me
FOR YOUR GROWTH
As you embark on the early stages of this New Year, and as your journey continues, here are some questions you can use to check in with yourself and your goals.
1. What kind of resources does this goal require and how much can I realistically dedicate?
2. What boundaries do I need to implement to achieve xyz task(s)?
3. What can I do to strive despite obstacles?
4. What decisions will I look back and be glad to have made?
Grow with us in 2023! @groun.ded
