Everyone likes to hype themselves up as a new year approaches and talk about all of their "New Year- New Me" Goals, but I'm not really a fan. I don't believe we have to wait until the start of a new year to reinvent ourselves, to make changes in our lives, or to work towards accomplishing something on our to-do list. Each day is an opportunity to start over and get things done.
With that being said, I do believe in setting goals and crushing them (read about that here) & I do believe in taking advantage of a clean slate, I just feel as though our motivation shouldn't come only at the start of a new year.
Here are a few easy ways to prepare for a bomb NEW YEAR.
1. Set your intention for the year. "Most people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan" I am all about getting a new planner in the new year and mapping out your goals. The planner I am using this year is The Purposeful Planner by Corie Clark and it is the bomb.com. It has a section for everything you need. Seriously- From prayer to meal planning and budgeting. The Happy Planner is also a favorite of mine and the planner I used for a major part of 2017. You can also find really cute and inexpensive planners at Target, TJMaxx or Marshalls. (I will write a full post on the benefits of planners in 2018) but in the meantime buy one & START PLANNING! * EDITED TO ADD* My company Luxe Legal Papeterie will be releasing a FULL 3 Year Law School Planner in Spring 2021, subscribe to be the first to know.
2. Map out quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals. You can use your planner to do this, but also a journal works. Make sure you're writing the vision and working towards it daily. Seeing something on paper or written down makes it more real. One step closer to making an "idea or dream" a reality. Include the 4 main areas, that I discuss below and edit your goals as the year progresses.
3. Assess your relationships. It may be tough but it is so beneficial to cut off dead relationships. It's not about them(well actually it is) but this is mainly about your personal growth and elevation. You can still love someone but you don't have to keep toxic people in your life just because of who they are and the title they carry. As you change and grow as a person so will your relationships with people, and that is ok. Don't let anyone make you feel like it is not. To grow & discover new things about yourself, or move on from old relationships.
4. Establish Boundaries. PROTECT YOUR PEACE at ALL COST. You can do this by creating healthy boundaries in every relationship in your life. If you don't feel comfortable with how someone treats you, tell them. If you don't want to do something, DONT. If you are uncomfortable with talking about certain things with certain people, YOU DON'T HAVE TO. NOT EVERYONE will understand your boundaries, sometimes they will push the boundaries you create, but stand firm & eventually they'll get the point - and if they don't - their problem, not yours. One of the greatest gifts I gave myself in 2017 was the ability to say NO & be done with something. NO is a complete sentence, you don't owe anyone an explanation for anything. DO YOU.
5. Create a reading list. "Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light." —Vera Nazarian One of my short term goals before 2017 was over, was to catch up on leisure reading. Because let’s face it, in law school you don’t have time to read for fun! I really enjoy reading and could not wait to pick back up after walking across the stage in May. I started in the middle of the year & the goal was to read 1 book a month. I’m proud of myself for exceeding that GOAL.
Here are the books I Completed:
Each book truly enriched a different area of my life. You should put some of these on your reading list in 2018.
As I reflect on 2017, it has been a year full of abundance and blessings. Highlights being the birth of our Rainbow Baby Ian, Relaunching and Growing my Blog & of course graduating from Law School!!
As I look forward to my 2018 Goals- the main thing I wish to accomplish; Passing the Bar Exam & personal GROWTH.
4 Areas & Goals I'd like to slay
Family- Spending more quality time together. Communicating better (we have a teenager, peeling back layer by layer to understand him is work) & also doing more of "experience" giving instead of acquiring more things in 2018.
Faith- Being intentional about my relationship with God. Spending more intentional time with him. Starting each day with God & purposefully working on my weekly prayer project journal (You can purchase here) Continuing to attend church regularly and allow him to GUIDE EVERY ASPECT OF MY LIFE.
Finances- We paid off over $22k in Debt this year. The goal in 2018 is to continue paying down our debt, (SAY NO TO Student Loans.) SAVING for our children's education{post about saving for education coming in 2018} & retirement (Maxing out retirement accounts is a huge tax benefit) Also, sticking to our BUDGET(If you don't already budget-- in 2018 you should CREATE ONE! This is the first step to truly mastering your finances and meeting your goals.) Lastly, lowering our expenses especially in the first half of the year, in order to save more. We have a huge move coming up in the summer and if the situation is right, we'd like to buy when we relocate.
Fitness- Since trying to conceive my body has been on a roller coaster ride of hormones and as a result, weight gain. Ive talked about that in previous post, read here. I've already started working on this goal but in 2018, I plan to continue to get back in shape. I haven't set a number or goal weight because in my opinion the number isn't as important as how you look and feel.
Here's to slaying in 2018.
