Hey Lookers
So a whole NEW year is ahead of us waiting for ‘great and amazing’ stuff to be done and to happen…how can you not be EXCITED.
Open The Door To New Possibilities
Like most people I love to use this time of year to set goals, make plans and start over. After parting with Christmas and all the magical and hype that comes with it these first few weeks in January can sometimes feel like there is a void and an emptiness. So no better time and way to fill your head and days than planning for the future.
2017 was definitely a good one, with lots of exciting things happening in my personal and professional life, you can see more of ‘My Amazing Year’ here. So I am very grateful and thankful for all of it and wish and hope for much of the same in 2018. But this doesn’t come without planning, setting yourself goals, some highs and lows in between, stress, worries and fears, but by setting a goal you can get through all of this and make it happen. Things are thrown at us to test us and make us stronger and I believe gives us more resilience when we get where we want to be. So my advise is when you get there, where you want to be ‘Live in the Moment.‘
Live In the Moment
Time flashes by so quickly, it feels like no time since I was writing a similar post like this time last year, just a blink. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older or life is getting busier, but time is definitely going quicker and I am so conscious of not enjoying the here and now and being in the moment when I achieve the goals I set out. Despite being aware of this I personally find it really hard to be ‘in the moment’ myself, I always look back and think ‘I should have enjoyed that more’ . Anyone else like that??
I’m always thinking of the next thing, spending time taking photos and capturing it rather than enjoying it, thinking where I need to be next, worrying about some other project… you get my drift. We spend our time counting down the days to something and then it arrives and it is gone before you know it. It makes me realize how important it is to enjoy each and every day and live more in the moment, instead of focusing on the past or thinking to much ahead, enjoy the here and now. Now that still doesn’t mean we should not have plans and goals, as we very much need to, but the important thing is when the moment we have dreamt off eventually comes, we need to be in the moment, savour them and really enjoy them.
A New Journey Awaits You
So with all of that in mind I am thinking about getting to those special moments and what they might be for me, whether its getting to a particular weight and getting fitter, buying a specific item, spending more time with friends, taking more ‘me time’, I want to be specific about all these moments and know when I’m going to achieve it. So the New Year is the perfect time to seek out those moments – new opportunities, new challenges, new beginnings and a time to focus on new goals. I myself use it as an opportunity to reevaluate, a time to reset and start over and take on new ventures. By setting goals it gives me something to focus on and work towards. Throughout the year I might add to them and tweak them, but I’m fine with that as long as I know the end goal.
Success Comes from Seeing It
I always write down my goals and recently have also done it in the form of a ‘ Vision Board’, which is something I learn at a recent ‘Life skills ‘ class I attended with Cliondah Fullen. It really is amazing how the visual image gets you to really focus on what you want and you start to believe and think of it as a reality. Physically seeing the thing by having a picture of it, as well as writing it down makes, makes it easier to visualise and in turn make it happen. I am also obsessed with notebooks, journals, diaries, you name it, but I think having a ‘pretty’ notebook is a great place to keep all your goals in one place and motivates you to document your progress.
Highs & Lows Along The Way
One thing I have learnt while working on and achieving goals there is only so much we can plan and we need to be prepared for the unexpected and obstacles along the way. We can be taken on a little detour, but as long as we get back on track and it doesn’t deter us then that is fine, sometimes these things are thrown in to challenge and test us. I know I have encountered many fears, hesitations and worries along the way when reaching many of my goals along with lots of stress and sleepless nights but it’s how you handle it all that makes the difference and it’s about focusing in the end goal.
Plans for those Special Moments
I wanted to share some of my own goals with you as below is my list so far. I review them generally and add more specifics with time. This will give you a flavour of what I plan to do and of course I will keep you updated on my progress as I go!
- Well-Being (Set aside some time for myself each day, a proper break from my phone each day, a break from social media, being more in the moment, read one of my many many books that I have never read, watch a box set, get regular spa treatments, surround myself with like minded, positive people)
- Fitness (Continue with my fitness regime that I started a few weeks ago, commit to a plan or programme and achieve my target weight, exercise more, eat cleaner by cooking from scratch, prepare meals in advance, drink more water)
- Personal Development (Present at more events, get more comfortable talking on social media, learn a new skill…to be decided what that might be)
- Skills & Education (Attend more digital/marketing courses and seminars, retain my Charter Marketer status, complete another marketing course, listen to more podcasts that enhance my skills in marketing, read more newspaper articles to help inform me)
- Home (Continue to decorate my home to complete finishing touches, work on landscaping and getting my gardens finished, create a new ‘dedicated work’ space within my barn, finish my gallery that will be a library/switch off zone)
- Travel (go on some family holidays, enjoy a holiday with kevin, go skiing, visit a new destination in 2018)
- Wedding – (To many things to list here….my entire wedding needs to be organised in 2018…ahhhhh)
- Elaine’s Roves ‘ Troves Blog – (Refresh my blog site to update the overall look & feel, work with more local businesses to promote their products, grow my followers with engaging content, host a blogging event, have a better blogging schedule with certain topics on certain days)
- Money (make regular donations to a charity, save for a new laptop and new camera equipment)
- Family & Friends (make more time to visit family and friends, take more time for a cuppa and a chat, carry out more regular acts of kindness, listen more)
- Other (Put myself out of my comfort zone more often, have a date night once a month, less worrying and doubting, focus more on the positive)
So that is my list of goals for 2018 and no doubt I will add to this and over time and of course I need to make them more specific and set timeframes, but I can work on all of that. Then as time passes I always review where I am with each to make sure I am on track.
I hope this has helped give you some ideas for your own goals and all that is left to do is enjoy the journey, embrace the challenges along the way and when you get to where you want to be…savour it and ‘be in the moment’.
Elaine xx
