With the start of a New Year, it’s nice to have that fresh, clean slate to motivate us into new changes and challenges to set us up for success in the year ahead. We tell ourselves that this is going to be the best year yet, and the intention is all well and good, but we often fail to really gives ourselves the tools necessary to reach those goals.

Resolutions tend to get a bad rap. Oftentimes come January 7th, our well-meaning hopes and desires for the new year have already fallen to the wayside, and with that fallout comes an air of disappointment at not accomplishing what we had hoped. One common fallback in setting new intentions for the year ahead is that we often fail to outline in concrete terms how we’re going to reach our goals. Without that structure, our resolutions fizzle out like stale New Year's Eve champagne. Trust me on this one: I’m the queen of setting lofty goals and intentions that are so vague they can’t possibly make it out of the gate. This year, I’m approaching my clean slate with concrete intentions. Rather than resolutions, I’m establishing goals with a timeline and a set course of action for accomplishing them.

Another great way to ensure that you’ll stick to your goals is by creating some accountability. Even if you, dear readers, aren’t actively holding me accountable, just knowing that I’ve set these things free into the wild blue blogosphere is enough for me. And you better believe that at the end of this year, I’ll be sharing how those goals were met. By sharing some of my goals with you from each of the categories that I have set for myself (Business, Creative, Exercise, Personal, and Health), I’m hoping that this can help you on your own goal-setting journey. Even though we’re already into the first week of the new year, it’s never too late to set solid goals for ourselves. I recommend you cut out at least an hour of time with no distractions, put on some great focus music, pour your favorite beverage of choice, and hunker down for some quality planning. Keep in mind that goals don’t have to be huge, extravagant things. It’s more beneficial to start small and set things that you know you can and will accomplish. Successes in those things will just motivate you to bigger and better goals in the future.

Without further ado, meet my lineup of 2017 goals!

 

Business:

What: More face time in my community

How: Lead a Nutritional Seminar at Natural Grocer

When: First one by the end of February

Why: To connect with people in real life (which I LOVE), create community, and foster more relatability with future clients

 

Creative:

What: Learn more lettering and Calligraphy

How: Free Instagram challenge by @happyevercrafter

When: Starting Jan. 1 for the next 4 weeks

Why: To learn a fun, crafty, and useful new skill

 

Exercise:

What: Do more yoga

How: 31 day Yoga Revolution challenge via YouTube's Yoga with Adriene

When: January 1-31st

Why: To create a more consistent yoga practice, supplement my regular workout routine, loosen up, and stretch my body in new ways. To have a tangible focus and be able to see progress throughout the set timeline. Because I feel sooo good when I do it. 

 

Personal:

What: Start the day with focused quiet time

How: BIOY (Bible in One Year) phone App

When: Every. Single. Day.

Why: This app makes it easy, mapping out different portions of Scripture each day for the whole year. By the end of the year, it has led you through the entire Bible. This will be an ongoing goal, as I've been doing this for a while already. Starting each day with this focus, prayer, and intentional time leaves me more grounded and with a better perspective throughout the day.

 

Health:

What: Castor oil packs

How: Castor oil-soaked flannel applied to the area on and surrounding the liver

When: Every Sunday evening

Why: To give the liver a little extra love. Castor oil packs are a great, gentle liver-supportive detoxifier.

 

The great thing with a couple of these goals is that I was able to find online challenges, complete with a built-in community and accountability component to help motivate and encourage (those have been linked above should you want to check them out too). Start with things that you actually want to accomplish, not necessarily ones you just think you should, and then look for ways to build structure and accountability, set some solid timelines, and put things into play that will help you succeed.

I'd love to hear what some of your goals are and how you plan to reach them in the coming year. Let me know in the comments below, and let's cheer one another one in 2017!

May this year be the year where you really, truly accomplish those goals. I believe in you!

 

Ashley