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New Year - New Me?

Beverley Stewart • January 7, 2024

New Year - New Me?

 

How’s that New Year’s resolution going? Every year we make promises to ourselves – promises that seem to become forgotten within the hustle and bustle of our daily lives and the return to our regular routines. Often, we have hopes that the New Year will bring a new beginning, a new me! But sadly, the positive changes we dreamt of, don’t materialize. Instead of the standard resolution this year, why not try one of the following 3 creative tools for getting more out of the New Year ahead. We introduce you to setting monthly growth goals, a reflective events calendar, and a scrapbooking adventure. Find the tool that grabs you … and stick to it for 12 months. Hopefully you’ll find it easier to stick to, enjoyable, and it will add something special to the next twelve months. (You can even try all three together for a full makeover!) Even if we don’t end up with a totally new me – we’ll be much happier with the “me” we’ve got!  Happy New Year!


Tool 1 - Goal of the Month!

Rather than tying yourself to a black and white / win or lose 12months of working towards a seemly impossible target, here’s a more fun way to tackle the year ahead.  Instead of committing to a single resolution (that will probably fail), try out 12 individual monthly goals.  This tool will give you an opportunity to try new things that can re-align your focus and bring a warmer, more compassionate side of you into the world.  


Directions:  


(1) Buy a nice wall calendar.  

(2) At the start of each month, write the goal (see list below) at the top of your wall calendar. 

(3) Brainstorm a few ways you can incorporate the goal into your daily routine, and add specific actions to some dates.

(4) Go forward and conquer!  

Write up the actions you’ve have taken towards your monthly goal on the calendar to celebrate your progress and accomplishments.


Try the goals below, or come up with your own ones that are meaningful to you.  Either way, the next 12 months will provide you with an opportunity to develop your self-compassion, experience personal growth, and find more meaning in your daily life.  


Tool 2 - Now That Yesterday Is Over ….

 

Do you ever sit down for a coffee and your friend says, “So what did you do on the weekend?" We usually end up saying “Nothin’ much”, or we bombard our poor friend with a list of grievances about what went wrong recently. And this is how we often view our lives – either as empty, or faulty. To find more positives in your life, try this activity for the next 12 months. 


Directions: 


  1. Buy yourself a nice monthly wall calendar. Instead of writing up your future appointments or things to do, leave the calendar blank. 
  2. Then after each day has past (eg. 7pm the next day) ask yourself the following question: “Now that yesterday is over, what is really worth mentioning about it?”
  3. Write on your calendar the thing about yesterday that was worth remembering, the thing that made you feel that life is worth living. Eg. Saw great concert, My 5yr old gave me flowers, Dinner with Mum, Got a goal at soccer, Beautiful moon, etc.
  4. Below this write the value in life that this represents to you. (Below is list of common core values to help you.)
  5. At the end of each month review your calendar. Think about the good things that happened in your life. You will also start to see the values that keep coming up that represent your motivations in life.


This tool allows you to seek out the things that matter in your life and ignore the meaningless aggravations that interrupt our days. After the day has past the emotional hold of annoyances dissipate and we can see what’s really important. At the end of the year, you have completed a study on yourself! You can look back and see all the wonderful, meaningful things that you’ve experienced each day. You’ve also learnt what your true-life values are so you can fill the following year with activities that align with these.


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TOOL 3 – A Year in Pictures

 

There’s been a lot of hype about the virtues of mindfulness and living in the present moment. But research also tells us that looking back at our happy memories helps us to maintain positive feelings and feel good about ourselves. Reminiscing has been shown to ward off depression, alleviate anxiety, and promote a feeling of general wellbeing. There are a range of different ways in which reminiscing can be used to extend the life of our happiest moments (well after they’ve passed).  Give this one a try to create a wealth of positive memories that you can look back on at the end of each month, at years end, or even 20 years down the track! Each time you look back you’ll be reminded of what a great year you are having, and how good life is. 


Directions:


  1. Buy yourself a nice monthly wall calendar. 
  2. Each day write up any pleasurable activities, get togethers or situations that brought you fun, contentment, excitement, or joy.
  3. Take happy snaps as you enjoy these life experiences. (At last, you can put all those selfies to good use!) 
  4. Keep any other mementoes that serve as reminders eg. tickets, brochures, notes, articles, magazine photos, etc.
  5. Each month sit down and paste these photos and memory joggers onto the picture page of your wall calendar. 
  6. Look back each month at the wonderful visual reminder you have of your life as you experienced it.


This is a wonderful way to highlight what’s important to us in life. Our wall calendar becomes a visual scrapbook of the happiest and fondest memories we’ve experienced throughout the year. We can gain benefits not only when looking back and remembering, but also, while getting creative and putting together our collage of memories.  By intentionally reliving our positive experiences, we find out what makes us feel alive, what fills us with joy, and what magically connects us to the world. 



In The End:


We may all be looking for a New Year and a new me – but maybe we just need to see ourselves from a different perspective. Let’s find out what makes us light up inside so we can build and grow from that. Whether it’s planning out a year of monthly goals to focus on our relationship with the world, whether it’s identifying the things we do each day which are truly important to us and align with our values, or whether it’s giving ourselves the opportunity to celebrate and remember our daily happinesses, … there are many ways we can grow this year and discover the awesomeness of who we truly are. 



Happy New Year - Happy New You! 



To find out more about Change and Life Transition Counselling click here. Or go to Contact Page to make an enquiry. 

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