With New Years fastly approaching, now is a great time to look over at how we spend 2015 and plan how we want to spend 2016. I don’t mean you should go through all your 2015 Facebook posts and reminisce (Facebook definitely made that easy with its “year in review” feature). Just think about what you did and didn’t do this year. What made you happy? What made you sad? Perhaps there are some things you could’ve done better or been better at? What did you do this year that made you feel proud of yourself? Thinking about this will give you an idea of what you want to do next and how you’d like to spend the next year. Perhaps there’s some changes you’d like to make in your life?
Having said that, I urge you not to be too strict with yourself. Don’t get hung up on the negative. It’s ok to acknowledge mistakes you might’ve made during the year, but don’t beat yourself down. Just promise yourself you’ll be better next year and set some goals for yourself. It’s important to have a positive outlook.
A lot of things we’re annoyed by can actually be viewed from a positive perspective. For example, a lot of us hate early mornings. We dread waking up early, getting out of bed and going to work. But you could choose to view early mornings as something that means you have a purpose in life. You have a job, you’re providing for yourself and perhaps your family. Maybe you have lovely kids that you have to tend to in the morning. Those are all positive things, right?
Are you annoyed by constantly having to clean the apartment or house you live in? You can choose to see that as “I have a safe and cosy place to live and I want it to look awesome”. Now cleaning up a bit doesn’t sound as bad, does it?
This method can also be applied to a lot of things. Have dishes to wash – that means you have food to eat. Doing laundry sucks? You have clothes to wear. You feel like your house is very noisy and people keep distracting you? That means you have people in your life that want to spend time with you. Everything has it’s positive side, we just have to remind ourselves to see it ever once in a while. Perhaps that could be one of your new year’s resolutions – to look at the bright side of life more often.
Speaking of New Year’s resolutions, do you ever keep yours? Most people don’t, but that’s probably because they set unrealistic goals and then when they can’t reach them immediately, they get discouraged and give up. There’s a way to avoid that. Try to break down your resolutions and you’ll see that it’s much easier to keep them.
Instead of planning to go on a diet, try just eating healthier. Want to be fit? Set yourself a goal of going to the gym 3 times a week. Be realistic, you’re not gonna go every day, and that’s not good for you either way. Want to grow your hair out? Treat yourself to some awesome hair masks. Remember to reward yourself too. Go to a SPA salon or get yourself a massage from time to time.
A lot of us just wing it, and don’t have a plan, but planning ahead gives you something to look forward to. Instead of waiting all year for a long vacation, plan a few small ones throughout the year. A concert here, a weekend getaway there and you’ll be surprised by how much better you’ll feel about yourself and your life. You’ll be excited for the upcoming year and ready to be a better, happier version of yourself.
And finally 2016 is a year of the monkey, so remember to have fun 🙂