Goodbye 2017 & Hello 2018! When you read that, what feelings arise within you?
Do you feel relief? Do you feel overwhelmed – with gratitude or anxiety?
Up until the start of 2017, I had a bitterness surrounding the flipping of a calendar year.
I went into 2017 knowing I was finally going to accomplish a huge goal (writing my book). I knew I had the support system and structure from the get-go and felt, 2017 was going to be my year. In a lot of ways it was. The start of something bigger than myself, helped me to wash away the residue that had remained all the years prior.
Lessons from 2017
Along the way, however, it wasn’t always sunshine and daisies. There were several lessons I learned throughout the year. I’m sure you learned a few of your own as well.
Here are my top lessons learned from 2017, in no particular order.
- A strong feel-it-in-your-bones why is more powerful than any self-doubt or fear
- Perception is as unique as a fingerprint. Each of us sees the world differently. Open-mindedness allows us to accept this. Therefore, the practice of being open-minded is a door to limitless ideas, collaboration, and opportunity.
- No one will care more about you and your health more than you. You are your best advocate – always.
- Sometimes, the hard things often come down to having just two seconds of courage; asking the girl, walking through the door, picking up the phone, or asking the question. You never know what awaits on the other side of courage.
- There’s no such thing as try; you either do, or you don’t, and it’s .my husband’s favorite to use, and it’s so true. Trying is an easy word to resort to when setting goals. Ya just gotta remove “try” from your vocabulary altogether.
As winter settles in here in the midwest and a new year begins, I have given some thought to what I hope 2018 brings.
Before the new-ness of 2018 begins to wear off and I potentially slide back into old habits or ways of thinking, I need to ensure that, what I set forth to accomplish/experience in 2018 is fully backed by more than outside motivation. My motivation needs to be deeply rooted in my soul.
What do I mean by that?
Instead of saying I want to [try to] blog weekly every week for the next 52 weeks, I need to look at the reason why I want to do that in the first place. Do I want more subscribers? Sure. But, if no one subscribes in a month, would that mean I would quit? Absolutely not. So, that’s not a strong reason why I want to blog weekly.
Instead, I want to blog weekly because 1. I want to become a better writer, and you can’t be a better writer if you don’t write – right? And 2. I want to help people. I don’t have the potential to do that if I don’t share writing that may help others.
A firm conviction as to why you want to do something is the difference between goals with soul versus a goal you’re just going to try. There’s that word try again!
2018 Goals with Soul
A vision board can be helpful when working towards something challenging. A daily look at the big picture result, along with a strong why, is sometimes the difference between a wish and reality. I have had plans to do a physical vision board for quite some time for long-term goals but hadn’t done it yet. I usually write everything out and keep it in a place I see it regularly. But, for long-term goals that are years out, I’ve not done this. However, I know the importance of doing so for mindset alone. It’s easy to forget, in the day-to-day grind of life, our long-term vision for our lives.
In the short-term for 2018, just a few of my goals are, in no particular order:
- blog a minimum of once weekly for both this site and my other site
- volunteer my time to a cause/people I care about (still working on refining this one)
- plan and execute a research project I thought of a few months back
- write letters (who doesn’t love snail mail that isn’t a bill, right?)
What lessons did you glean from 2017? What are your goals [with soul] for 2018? Tell me in the comments below! It’s a proven fact that sharing your goals makes you more likely to achieve them. Need an accountability partner? I can do that for you, too, by checking in with you, via email, from time to time. Seriously, sometimes that’s all it takes.
A Giveaway to Help You Succeed in 2018
To take it one step farther, I’d love to offer you a chance to win the very planner I am using for 2018 and have used the past two years – Danielle LaPorte’s weekly planner. Click HERE to enter!
How do YOU want to feel moving into 2018 and every day moving forward? What will you do with YOUR 8,760 hours in 2018?
