2020 Vision To Start The New Year!

Sorry, we couldn’t pass on the pun!

New Year’s Eve is almost here and for many, this means making lists of resolutions to keep in 2020. This year, before making a long to-do list, start with a vision of what you want the year to be instead.

Prioritize

Take some time to reflect over the past year(s) and think about what you’d like the new year to be like. What changes would you like to see and what would you keep the same?

There are many areas to consider: health, family, friends, academics and extra-curriculars (for students), hobbies and skill-building for the future and so on. Hot tip: focus on the areas that are most important to you and where you want to see change. Getting more active and healthy may be more critical than joining a book club so you can read more books (though that might be easier!).

As you prioritize, ideally you will find that you are focusing on just a few areas – and that’s a good thing. Starting the year with an overlong to-do list is daunting and it is probably not likely you will get them all done by year-end, so stick to the high-priority items that you know will make the biggest impact for you.

Visualize

Visualization is a common technique to give form for concepts and ideas. Along with writing down what you want to do, having visuals makes them easier to remember too. We’re recommend this simple, tangible and actionable approach.

• • Write down your priorities. For example, it may be “learn to play guitar”, “get more active and healthy” and “get better at writing”.
  • For each priority, find (or draw, which might be even more fun) an image – someone playing a guitar, someone playing basketball, a book you admire.
  • Put these images in your journal so you can get a quick visual reminder of what you are aiming to do this year.

By the way, if you’re not already keeping a journal, now’s a good time to start one. Even if you don’t write in it everyday, it makes it much easier to track your progress.

Itemize

Now that you have a “vision” of what you want to do based on your priorities, you can now get to the next level of detail and create specific goals.

For example, you might want to aim for a goal of running a 5K race if getting more active is part of your vision. It is important that the goals are achievable within the time-frame of the year and are within your reach. They could stretch your abilities a bit as long as they are doable. Once you have a goal identified for each of your priorities, write them down in your journal!

For both adults and kids, research has shown that all these steps will make it more likely that the goals are achieved, so put in the time – for yourself, and while guiding your younger child.

Historically, people have been making new year’s resolutions for centuries. A new year is a new beginning and brings with it tremendous possibilities. If you’re short on time and busy with end-of-year festivities, here’s our very short guide to help your reflect and refresh yourself now – and maybe work on the goals later!

Best wishes for the new year and the new decade in 2020 from the gang at Meemli!