Happy New Year Everyone! As we say goodbye to 2012 and usher in the New Year, I've been reflecting on the past twelve months as I often do at this time of year. There are so many things that I'm thankful for that occurred in this past year but also some disappointments too, usually the result of lack of discipline or focus on my part. In December I started challenging myself in new ways to prepare for the New Year. For example, I took 6 straight days of yoga classes (something I have never done before) with hubby attending the last one with me. He usually does yoga at his own gym so it was nice to have him as my 'guest' and work out together side-by-side. I typically go to yoga twice per week but never back to back days. As my membership to my local studio was quickly about to expire it was the perfect time to prove to myself that I could push through even when I was tired and did not feel like going. I feel so much better when I exercise every day so that helped re-establish an important daily ritual for me in 2013.
I encourage you to find something that you enjoy or even something new you've wanted to try and challenge yourself. Do you love running? Why not run every single day even if it's for 15 minutes, consistency is more important than distance. Maybe you're committing to better overall health this year including what you eat? Set aside the time to make homemade breakfast, lunch and dinner from scratch for a week and see how you feel! The smaller accomplishments always lead to bigger ones. For this reason I'm not a fan of typical 'New Year's Resolutions' as people always declare grandiose changes for the new year that they often cannot attain. Starting small and working your way to bigger challenges gives you a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment that will continue to propel you in a positive direction.
Sometimes circumstances can bring us down and then we tend to associate those negative feelings with that particular year, deeming a certain year as good or bad as I've heard many people say about this past year. I try hard not to do that because our year or even this very day is what we make of it and out thoughts are the beginning of what we'll see come to fruition. In order to change our reality we need to change our thoughts. If we think it will be a bad year, it will. If we believe the new year holds great opportunities, it will!
For the past few weeks I've really been feeling as though 2013 will be MY year! Maybe it sounds silly, but I've never felt this way before and I'm really excited about it! Good things have already begun happening and it's as if everything that I've been working towards will finally come together this year. If you feel the same, declare it for yourself! The past fears that have held me back from achieving all that I've dreamed for myself will no longer stand in my way. I have my eyes on the prize and I just know the next twelve months will be filled with unwavering focus, determination and hard work but anything worth having is work that kind of dedication. I have some exciting things that I've been working on and can't wait to share with you in the coming months!
Each year, aside from business, financial, health/fitness and travel goals I'm looking to achieve, I also like to look at the areas of myself that I'd like to work on. Personal Growth is very important to me and there are some aspects of me that I need to polish. Without going into great detail, here are five of the specific areas I'd like to grow in this year.
1. Become a more patient person both with others and myself.
2. Stop pre-judging how an event or opportunity might play out and just go with the flow (in other words stop over-analyzing and enjoy the present moment).
3. Compare myself only with my past performance and not with others. After all, everyone's path is different.
4. Be more spontaneous! I'm a planner and this is always hard for me but one thing I know for sure is that my most joyful moments are when I'm doing something new, unexpected and spontaneous.
5. Add more discipline and structure into my life. One of the greatest things about being self-employed is that you can make your own schedule and often work from the comfort of your own home. While I've always been a disciplined and driven person, it's easy to fritter away time on projects that really aren't important sometimes, I think it's just the nature of working from a home office, or maybe it's just me. I have been lax in writing a daily schedule which makes it difficult to stay on track, but that's all about to change!
Are you excited about 2013? What goals or personal growth areas are challenging yourself with this year? I'd love to hear what's important to you to make this your best year yet!
Thanks for stopping by!
XO
image credits (1), (2)
