My Bullet Journal is poised, I am making my plans for the new year and I am starting with some amazing inspirational quotes.
.Not only have I created a focus list, but work is also being started on a detailed list of blog posts and jobs I need to get done over the coming 12 months.
This year I am going to get myself closer to where I need to be.
One of the aspects I will be working on is self-care and motivation; I really feel I need to start using my time more wisely and efficiently. To this end, I have been almost micromanaging the hours in my day for the last week or so.
This has made me realise that I do waste a lot of my ‘free time’ worrying about how I will get all of the things I need to get done, done, rather than actually doing the things!
I am a potter-er, and I need to follow my own advice more often and become better at focusing on what I need to achieve.
Quotes to live by
Maybe you currently find yourself in a similar place?
You know there are things you need to be doing but you are not getting them done.
While the words of others are never really going to motivate you if you cannot motivate yourself, hopefully, these wise words might give you pause for thought and help you on a journey of your own.
So grab your notebook and jot down what you are going to get done in the coming year. Also, feel free to pin any of these to your vision board on Pinterest for some extra inspiration.
The Choice is Yours
Everything we do, to some extent, is a choice.
Even doing nothing is arguably a choice; you are choosing to not make a decision one way or the other.
Each morning we have options. We can make the best of what we have and strive to improve, or we can spend the day looking down and just trying to plough through it until we can rest.
What choices will you make this year?
Working on improving yourself is not selfish. Becoming our ‘best self’ enables you to be of more help to others.
In her interview with Tom Bilyeu, the motivational speaker and writer Lisa Nichols discuss how she needed to get herself right before she could be of benefit to the rest of her family.
Dream Big
This time last year, one of the items on my 40 x 40 List was ‘Drive a Car‘. Now 12 months later, I have not just had a go at driving, but I have applied for a provisional licence, passed my theory test and am now looking to book my driving test.
Always try and dream a little bigger than you think is possible, you never know how much further your positivity will take you
If you have read the home page (and why would you not have!), you would know that I have a tagline on there regarding turning your dreams into goals by having a plan.
I would like to suggest you start by embracing the power of list writing, but how you choose to do it is really up to you. However you do it, remember to dream big!
It is always good to have a plan
I have a well-documented passion for planning. My lust for lists has even been the subject of a speech I have given.
What happens sometimes is that we spend so much time imagining what we want, that we fail to actually make a working plan that will help us to achieve our dreams. Writing down a plan is always a good idea.
Even if it changes, or you decide to go in another direction, clarification of your goals and intentions makes success more likely.
It is also important to remember that your dreams will stay just that – dreams- until you decide to take action. The only person who is going to be able to start the ball rolling is you
When it all seems too much
It often comes to a point where sometimes we feel we are making no progress at all, and we may even wonder if our dreams are even worth pursuing. At times like this, it is important to remember that all progress is good, no matter how small that progress appears to you.
Make a choice to do something every day that will get you closer to where you want to be. If you have broken down your dream into smaller, manageable goals there is no reason why there can’t be something you can do towards it every day.
Don’t start again, start from where you are.
We are often tempted to rip up everything and start all over again when we feel something isn’t working for us. Everything we have lived through shapes our experiences and helps us form new ideas. Therefore you need to take all of this into account when we are writing our plans.
I have been writing a novel for about 15 years. My problem is I keep re-writing the same chapter over and over again; trying to perfect it instead of trying to finish it.
Sometimes you just need to see things through and then go back over them when you are done; you can’t reflect on a task until you complete it.
Over to you
What one task do you want to start this year? You don’t have to complete it, you may not be able to currently afford to do it, but what can you do to get a step closer to making it happen for you?
Tell us your dreams in the comments; speak them into existence and start planning your new year.