“Different challenges you will be faced with will threaten to shake and destroy your faith, even when the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be out, do not mistake darkness for the absence of God.”
Hello friends! HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope your Christmas and New Year celebrations were filled with joy. New years always come with the opportunity for a fresh start, but before spilling the details of my 2018 goals, I would like for you to try this exercise I came across in a recent Youtube video.
First, simply raise your hand as high as you can (yes, you have to actually physically elevate either left or right limb, fingers splayed out towards the ceiling). Now, try to raise it just a bit higher than the point your hand was just at.
In most, if not all cases, you will find that in the second instance, you could in fact raise your hand just a bit higher. To me this “extra effort” represents my transition from 2017 to 2018. Through many discussions with close friends at the end of December, 2017 was a year of uplifting standards, immense growth, and reaching for what was once thought unreachable for many – myself included. However we are changing up the game in 2018 – here are some goals I have outlined for myself, to add a little more height to progress made in 2017.
1. Be more self-aware
Self-awareness is a topic that has slowly creeped into mainstream ideologies within the past year. From experience, becoming more in tune with your ongoing thoughts and feelings in different circumstances, is great practice not just for emotional well being but so that you can identify and appropriately address situations that cause your mental health to suffer. This year, I hope to implement mental health resources as well as activities specifically geared towards self-awareness and self-realization such as meditation, prayer and yoga.
2. Be more consistent in all areas
This includes professional and personal areas; school, work, going to the gym, blogging and promoting my brand. It is very easy to get involved in something new, however I find that getting into too many activities causes the time and effort put into each to drop drastically. So in order to consistently deliver consistently excellent content and results, planning and prioritizing is key!
3. SAVE! SAVE! SAVE!
It wouldn’t be a list of goals if I didn’t include saving money now would it? As graduation approaches (YAY!) this becomes even more essential, not just for everyday expenses, but for someone like myself hoping to travel after school, this is critical! Thankfully, I have a somewhat full-time job but will definitely be looking out for more paid opportunities. Better saving could also be a case of simply being smarter with money and cutting out unnecessary expenses (psst..Netflix and Spotify are PERFECTLY okay, but ZARA will have another sale I promise *sigh*)
4. Travel + Solo
Travelling has always been a desire of mine, and with graduation on the horizon (again YAY!), I hope to make it a reality. In particular, I want on at least one solo trip this year, destination undetermined, but will definitely keep you all posted! A few places I have always wanted to visit include; Las Vegas, Rome, Bali, and Barcelona.
5. Stay on Track
Accountability is a huge part of staying on track and measuring progress and having your goals in writing is a good way to constantly remind yourself of what you consented to at the beginning of the year. Now I challenge you to put your own 2018 goals in writing and hold accountable to them, by reviewing them perhaps at the beginning of each month.
Here’s to a fantastic and successful 2018!
With much love and gratitude,
x
Wow that analogy! Cheers to achieving all your goals this year!!!