As the year draws to a close and whenever the arrival of a new year is around the corner, it is only natural that we begin to reflect on ways to live life to the fullest. Are you preparing, or are you playing? Some of us are preparing for next year, while others are tapping out for the year: where are you on your journey?
7 ideas to make this your best year ever
Here are seven ways to have your best year ever in 2023:
- Create your list of 100 dreams
You have to actually write them down. There is so much power in putting pen to paper and calling out your goals and desires. There are 12 different areas of dreams:
- Physical
- Emotional
- Intellectual
- Spiritual
- Psychological
- Material
- Professional
- Financial
- Creative
- Adventure
- Legacy
- Character
If 100 dreams sound like a lot, start by writing down 6-8 dreams in each of the 12 areas. You will reach 100 in no time.
- Focus
Keep your focus on the main goal. When we know where it is that we are trying to go, that is the only way we can get there. It can be so easy to get “shiny object syndrome” and get distracted with new thoughts or ideas. When we don’t have a good plan for what we are trying to do, every opportunity seems like a good one. And any idea is a good idea on its own, but it might not fit your plan or your life right now. If we allow ourselves to continuously get distracted, we can easily end up doing nothing and making zero progress.
- Build better habits
We have to create good habits. If you show someone the current habits you have, they can see what your life is going to be like a year from now or two years from now. Your habits determine whether you succeed or fail. What are your habits setting you up for?
Say what you mean to say
Why is it so hard for us to have uncomfortable conversations? How would your life look differently if you weren’t so afraid to tell the people in your life the good, the bad, and the ugly? If you weren’t so scared to tell them how much you love them or that you are upset with them and it hurts you when they say or do certain things, you would. The most important thing in all relationships is communication. It’s easy for us to talk to other friends about someone else and what we want or need from them; what would it take for you to have an open dialogue and better communicate with those people directly?
- Celebrate your wins
It’s the end of the year, and we are planning for next year, but we often get so caught up in looking forward that we disregard how far we’ve come in this past year. What are your favorite wins this year? What are you proud of yourself for doing, or maybe even not doing, this year?
- Embrace your future self
Be honest with yourself about who you are, what you want, and where you want to be. We all fall into the “should” trap. But what do YOU desire? Don’t fall into the trap of trying to please someone else or doing what you “think” you’re supposed to do. How do you want your life to look next year?
- Ask for help
It’s okay, even recommended to ask for help – someone has already been where you want to be. Hire a coach; find a mentor.
Conclusion; Living life to the fullest
We know what we need to do to get to where we want to be or be the person we want to be, but a lot of those things aren’t what we want to do because they’re not necessarily the easiest or most fun. Do them anyway. Nothing changes if nothing changes.
Create a victory vault for each year. Start collecting your wins as you go so that you have something to look back on.