Who is ready for the new year? I know I most certainly am! This past year has been a lot to take on mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and in some cases physically. We as a nation have endured a lot, and as a result of that, a lot of individuals have been greatly impacted by everything that has happened this year.
However, the one thing I do believe wholeheartedly that this past year has not taken away from us, and cannot take away from us, is our determination to continue to see better days.
Despite the crappy year there is a lot to be grateful for. In the midst of all the chaos and uncertainty that we have all experienced, I have created a list of 7 things to do to be prepared for the new year. Why? Well because no matter how crappy a situation may currently be, there is always something positive to look forward to.
Walking into the new year I want growth and mindset to be type of energy that I bring. Which of course means that I want this for you as well!
It’s so easy to just slip into the mindset that nothing can change until the current state of our world changes, but I strongly disagree. I believe that true change starts from within. So. let’s not end this year, nor start the new year on the wrong foot. End it strong and start the next year strong by doing these 7 things now, so that you are ready to go as soon as January 1st comes round the corner!
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1. Create new goals
It’s so hard to navigate through a year when you don’t have any goals to help hold yourself accountable for making positive changes. This year I made a commitment to creating monthly goals that I could build upon every week until I reached the results that I wanted. Next year, I’m making a commitment to set all my goals at the start so that I can spend the entire year working towards them.
Setting and creating goals are an essential part of personal development. We only get better, make necessary changes, and ultimately transform ourselves when we have something meaningful to work towards. If we are working towards something bigger but we do not have a clear vision of what that “bigger aspect” is, then we are just working to simply be working.
However, when we are very clear about what it is that we want and are striving for, we are much more motivated to put in the hard work needed to achieve it. Your motivation is energy that speaks volumes about how meaningful your goals are to you. The more energy, or motivation, you may feel towards your goals, the more likely you are to reach them in the end.
Also, don’t forget that no meaningful goal is ever achieved without the necessary habits in place to help you get there. Habits are the key to achieving your goals because ultimately, they are the engine in your car that is going to make you go. Your habits are a reflection of the kind of routine that you follow daily, and the actions that you do throughout the day that help propel you forward.
If you don’t have effective habits in place to help you maintain your motivation, achieving your goals will be extremely challenging. Be open and accepting of the challenge. Get clear about what it is that you really want then create goals that can help you get there.
2. Do some reflection
One of the best pieces of advice that I have ever gotten in my young adulthood was to never enter a new year without first engaging in some much-needed reflection. When the end of the year rolls around we get so anxious to start the new year that we don’t bother to take the time to self-evaluate and reflect.
Trust me, I’ve been here many times before! There is nothing more freeing and inspiring than leaving behind a crappy year and putting all your focus and attention into the new year. However, when we rob ourselves of the opportunity to engage in self-reflection, we are limiting our potential to grow from our experiences. Our past does not define us but it plays such a crucial role in the type of person we grow into.
Our past influences our behavior patterns, the trigger of specific emotions, the way we interact with others, the type of goals we create, and even how to move through our day-to-day life. In order to grow from who you were, into who you want to be, you have to address everything that you experienced in the past first, and understand how it’s influencing you in the present.
This is the hardest part about engaging in reflection because no one wants to bring up experiences from the past and acknowledge how it has impacted us in the present. Whether it is good or bad. We’d all much rather just focus on everything that is happening in the here and now.
While this most certainly is not a bad thing, it’s still important to reflect on everything. Reflection gives you the opportunity to clean out your heart and mind and create space for more of the things that you want to embrace in life.
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3. Organize your mind
Over here on the blog we love to talk about mindfulness! Mindfulness is such a powerful tool and it really does impact various areas of our lives. Mindfulness not only has a direct impact on our mental health, but it also influences our spiritual, emotional, and in some cases our physical health.
This is because when we engage in mindfulness, we are teaching ourselves how to increase our awareness. Having an increase in awareness allows you to better organize your mind. There is so much information that we are taking in every single minute of the day. For a lot of us this is mindless and non-educational information that we are absorbing, and it’s doing absolutely nothing beneficial for our minds except distracting us.
While a mindless distraction is ok every now and then, when preparing for the new year you want to enter it with a mind that is full. You don’t want to continue to carry an excessive amount of stress or anxiety with you, while also trying to work towards goals that are going to propel you to the best version of yourself.
You have to shed some weight. The best way to go about doing so is by organizing your mind! What is most important to you as you enter the new year? What is going to be of the highest priority? You need to have a clear understanding of these things and what they look like for you when you do get to the end of that journey.
The only way you can paint a very clear and vivid picture of what this exactly looks like, is by creating the space in your mind to hold that vision tight. Mindfulness is a great skill that can teach you how to organize your mind.
Mindfulness will teach you the skill of removing the clutter and going from having a full mind to a mind that is full. You will learn how to move from disorganization, uncertainty, and confusion, to organization, certainty, and clarity. Ultimately this will help you start the new year knowing exactly what you intend to work towards, instead of constantly shifting your focus because you’re still confused about what direction you want to take your life.
4. Assemble your team
This is a big one! Every year I feel like we have the opportunity to welcome new people into our life, assign certain people the privilege of being a part of our immediate circle, as well as see who can really stand the test of time and those who just can’t hang. When we are brave enough to push people, who claim to always be in our corner to the limit, we really do get to see who will make or break the cut.
Doing so makes it is so much easier to assemble your team for the new year. You do not want to bring the energy of people who do not have good intentions for you into the new year. You want people who are going to bring positive, motivating, inspiring, and empowering energy! Get rid of the bad apples and keep the good ones.
The type of team that you bring with you into the new year is going to have a major impact on everything that you set out to achieve. This is because they are going to be your immediate circle of trust, and they are going to be along with you every step of the way on your journey. They are going to see you fail forward, succeed, make mistakes, question your ability to do something, while also pushing you do operate in your full potential.
Therefore, it’s extremely important that your team is able to do just that. No one likes to embark on a deeply meaningful journey alone. We all want someone to walk through the fire with us, no matter how hard it may be, and to reassure us of our “why”. Your team is a direct reflection of who you are as a person, and the type of energy you personally bring.
As the year comes to an end, take the time to either assemble or re-assemble your team so that this is one less thing you have to try to figure out at the beginning of the year. Instead, you have your goals, you have your team, and once January 1st comes around you can hit the ground running!
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5. Spend some time relaxing
If there is anything that we all deserve when the end of the year rolls around, it’s to take a break. Especially us women! We spend all year doing what needs to be done in order to provide for our families, take care of ourselves to the best of our ability, and take care of others, all while trying to build the life that we so desperately desire. While the hard work and dedication eventually pays off, sometimes the pay off is just not enough.
Sometimes we need a little bit more than just a spa day treatment, a back massage, or some alone time meditating. Sometimes all we really need is time to just relax and do absolutely nothing remotely productive.
While meditating, exercising, journaling, going to therapy, and doing many other things are very helpful for our own personal development, they still require energy. Energy is required for anything that we do, and the amount that we tend to put out will vary based on the type of activity that we are engaging in.
In order to best preserve and extend our energy we need to make sure that we are holding ourselves in a space where we do not put out much energy to simply restore ourselves. Sometimes the best approach to doing so is to just relax and do absolutely nothing until the time calls for it.
So as the year ends, don’t be afraid to literally just kick back, relax, and push off everything else outside of that moment for another day or two.
6. Create necessary boundaries
You also want to enter the new year with healthy boundaries in place. Boundaries can be very intimidating, but they are extremely essential for our own peace and happiness. Something that I have learned this year, that has been a running theme in my circle of trust, and the one thing that I am bringing with me into the new year, is that you have to protect your peace.
You have to protect the space that you occupy and how you choose to fill it when you allow people to enter it. This is because so much of our energy is shared with others, and we feed off of that energy. Sometimes it’s not always a healthy exchange. Sometimes it can be very toxic and hurtful and self-defeating. The way we protect our peace is by creating boundaries with others.
Create boundaries with your family members, your friends, your immediate circle, your employees, your significant other…everyone. You have to have boundaries in place that not only clearly lets others know what lines to not cross, but can also be clear indicators for you about when you need to step away and collect yourself.
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7. Adopt a positive mindset
Finally, adopt a positive mindset. I truly do believe that our thoughts are manifested into the life that we live.
Nothing we have, nothing we do, and nothing we open ourselves to receive comes from a random point in time or action. It all starts with what we allow ourselves to think about and manifest. It’s all about your repetitive thinking. What thoughts are constantly floating around in your mind?
Those thoughts have power. All your thoughts have power. The good and the bad. The more positive you allow your mind to be, the more positive thoughts you welcome into your space, the more likely you are to manifest great things for yourself.
If there is anything that I want to highly encourage you to carry with you into the new year, it’s to commit to a positive mindset. Do this so that you can start the year with a clear vision and a focused mind, and carry that positivity with you throughout the year.
And with that love bugs, Happy New Year!
How are you preparing for the new year?
-Xo
Kimora