7 AMAZING Tips for the BEST YEAR EVER!
These 7 tips are sure to make each year the best year ever no matter when you start them.
Begin Today
I know New Year’s Day just makes sense to start working on your new goals. It’s a fresh and new beginning and if that’s when you decide to start, great! If not, there’s absolutely no need to worry because each new day is also completely fresh. The point is that you start and that you keep actively working to make your life better.
Incorporating these 7 tips into your plan will lead to tremendous success in accomplishing whatever it is that you hope to accomplish. Make this year (whenever you want it to start) the BEST YET!
1. Establish Your Why
Having a clear and meaningful reason for setting goals is crucial for staying motivated and committed to achieving them. Without a strong “why,” it can be easy to lose sight of the purpose behind the goal and become disheartened or discouraged.
Let’s use weight loss as our example, since this is a common goal. Try starting with the basic question of why and get under the surface to dig a little deeper. Here is an example of what that might look like:
- What is my goal? To lose weight
- How much weight do I want to lose? 25 pounds
- What will losing this weight contribute to my overall wellness? It will help me feel better, more energized and also feel more confident with my appearance.
- Why are those things important to me? So I can have more energy to be the wife, mother, and overall person that I want to be and to not spend unnecessary time on worrying about how I look.
- How will this goal benefit others? I will have more energy to focus on quality time with my family and to accomplish other goals that I am working towards.
Whatever your goals are, ask questions that will lead to intentional goal setting. Your why is a key component of helping you to stay on top of your efforts and serves as a reminder of the reason you decided to begin in the first place.
Another tip to strengthen your resolve to continue with what you set out to do is to replace the term “goal” with “promise“. One thing I will always remember from my childhood is my mother’s reminder that you should never break a promise. Make a promise to yourself that you will follow through.
2. Find Your People That Will Help You Grow
This may feel like an easy one to skip. Don’t!
Starting something new or just having a goal can be tricky to achieve when you are trying to do it alone. Don’t get me wrong – I think we are all capable of accomplishing things without all the fanfare or someone holding our hand.
But, how much more likely will you be to stick with something when you have someone there for support, accountability and encouragement and to share your progress with? Having someone who is aware of what you are working towards helps tremendously with accountability.
One of the best people to have on your side when you want to do big things is your spouse; the person who is by your side through life. Sometimes life can do a number on our relationship with our spouses if we aren’t actively working to strengthen it. Lovingly pushing each other to become better is a great way to keep the promises you both made to love, cherish and support one another.
- A great way to continually make your marriage a priority is to make time for it. Click here for a great idea on A YEAR OF DATES WITH YOUR SPOUSE. I just know that it can strengthen your relationship in ways that you may not even imagine!
Whether it’s your spouse, another family member, friend, etc., find your person…or people. More than likely you will be a huge help for them as well!
3. Nourish Your Body
Properly nourishing our bodies increases our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual capabilities. Every aspect of your wellness depends on making good nutritional decisions that will allow everything to function the way they are designed to function.
Get away from the mindset of counting calories, and instead, look at the nutrients (proteins, vitamins, minerals) each food provides for your body. There is so much more light coming out about proper nutrition. You will thank yourself if you take the time to learn more about what you are consuming. Pick one or two things to implement and then add from there as you feel comfortable.
A couple of ways I suggest to start:
- Look at ingredient labels! This cannot be overstated. Avoid long lists of ingredients, especially ones that that are not real food ingredients.
- Learn about the benefits of foods and which ones to include in your diet and what to avoid. Determine what you can add or adjust to improve your diet rather than looking at it in terms of what you need to give up.
4. Establish Your Exercise Routine
Sticking to an exercise routine is key to more than just fitness. Of course, that aspect of it is a big one, but on top of that, you also gain greater self-confidence, self-discipline, focus, and overall positivity! Make. Consistent. Exercise. A priority.
Try not to get caught up in just the weight loss aspect of exercise. Instead, pay attention to building strength, stamina, energy and the benefits mentioned above. Choose a style of exercise that you can look forward to while still providing a challenge.
5. Limit Your Screen Time
This one feels pretty obvious, yet, it is typically the easiest for many to get sucked into. Do you honestly know how much time you are spending in front of a screen? Think about all the things you could accomplish if you were to limit your screen time.
For example, you could:
- Get something done around your house
- Be present with your family or other important people in your life
- Get a few more pages read of a book
- Pick up a new hobby or skill, or improve an already developed skill or talent.
- Get to bed earlier!
I often fall into justification of my screen time with the fact that the majority of it is used with reading and learning new things or finding recipes for the family. Screen time CAN be productive, however, it can fit within a reasonable and set time frame. Do yourself a favor and make screen time an exception, rather than the go-to with free time.
6. Serve Others
One of the greatest things we can do for ourselves is to reach out to others. Service is a great way to not only lift another but to help us to find greater joy in life. Any time I have taken time to help another, I always feel better. If you want to have a great day, a great month, a great year…make service a part of it!
For ideas of opportunities to serve in your area or even remote service ideas check out justserve.org. You can also find ways to serve in your community by going to different organizations and checking on needs from them.
7. Be Mindful
The benefits of mindfulness go very much hand in hand with those of nutrition and fitness. It’s essentially another piece to the puzzle to create overall wellness and greater joy in life.
Mindfulness provides greater capability to navigate through this chaotic world in which it is easy to become discouraged. Prioritizing time to focus on positivity is nourishing to the soul and recenters you, allowing you to reevaluate where you are in life and with your goals.
Make sure each day includes an uplifting activity. Here is a list of suggestions:
- Meditation
- Prayer
- Study in scriptures or uplifting book of choice
- Breathing Exercises
- Gratitude Journal
- Listening to music that uplifts you
- Get out in Nature
Go and get started!
When your goal is to work towards making your life great, now is always the right time to start!
For your best year, establish your why, find your people, nourish your body, establish your exercise routine, limit your screen time, serve others, and be mindful.
Be ready for life to knock you down some and get you off track and promise yourself that you will get back on track to making it the best year yet!
