Beginning a new year can be a great source of inspiration to incorporate good habits or to phase out bad habits. And, just because the first of the year has passed, that does not mean that it is too late for you to set some goals for yourself.
Keep reading to be inspired to set some goals of your own for this year!
-
Drinking more water
Anyone would greatly benefit from drinking more water. This simple change will improve your digestion, skin, hair, nails, and more. You do not have to eliminate other beverages from your life, but saving them for special occasions or waiting until you have met your daily water goals can be a great motivator!
If you benefit from reminders, you could download an app to periodically notify you to pour yourself a glass of water. You could also get a water bottle that is marked with a timeline of how much water you should have consumed by each hour of the day.
-
Reading more
You might want to spend less time looking at screens, or maybe you want to expand your mind and interests. Either way, reading could be a great new pastime for you to set goals for this year. If you need some motivation, you could join a book club or start your own with your friends and family.
Set yourself up for success by drafting a list of books that you want to read each month or over the course of the year. You could do a monthly theme based on genre, subject matter, or author to stay inspired to continue your reading journey.
-
Advance yourself professionally
If you feel like you are in a bit of a rut with your current job or field of work, take this year to prepare yourself for the next level. Create a plan based on where you are now and where you want to be with the necessary steps to get there. Once you have done this, figure out how to accomplish those steps.
Maybe you have realized that your current work life could use some improvements. Try cleaning off your desk and organizing its contents and blocking your time, if you struggle with feeling overwhelmed by your work. You could also dedicate a certain time of day to respond to non-urgent messages and emails if you struggle with that.
-
Grow your relationships
Consider dedicating some time this year to improving or growing your relationships with your friends, family, and coworkers. This might look very different from one relationship to the next. For some relationships, you might need to set some healthy boundaries. For others, you might make yourself more available to spend quality time together.
Take some time to reflect on which relationships you most wish to improve, and consider what specific needs those relationships have. This is not a goal that you have to announce to everyone you know, and your actions may come across more sincerely if your loved ones don’t know why you are making these efforts.
-
Reduce your stress
Take some time this year to focus on you and what best helps you to manage the stressors in your life. For some, this could be physical exercise, whether that means running, lifting weights, yoga, or just a nice daily walk outside. For others, this could be incorporating breathing exercises, journaling, or establishing a daily self-care routine.
A good start to reducing your stress is identifying what it is that stresses you out, why it bothers you, and how you can overcome this obstacle. Consistent stress can severely affect your quality of life, so definitely consider this as a goal for this year!
Sometimes setting goals for the new year can be seen as cliché, but this truly is a fantastic opportunity to start fresh. Forget about the unhealthy choices you made last year, and begin this year with a positive goal-oriented mindset. You are sure to succeed if you keep at it, and this time next year you might find yourself in a totally different mindset.
The best way to maintain your goals is to not be too focused on the results. It can be difficult to keep wanting to work out if you only want your body to look a certain way, rather than wanting to strengthen your body over time. Likewise, it can be difficult to read a lot of books if you are more focused on accomplishing a certain number of novels, rather than trying to expand your mind and cut down your screen time.
Whatever your goals are for this year, we wish you the best of luck in accomplishing them!