The world is finally moving for a new year! School’s back (boo), uni is nearly back (boo boo) and a lot of New Years resolutions are long forgotten (do you even remember yours?). Time to get on track for a sweet 2016 – lets make it your year, not another year where you dream of things you wanna do or be, but you become the whole you that you were created to be!
1. Set some achievable goals
Make some academic, make some dream based and make some relationship based. Make no more than 5 and write them all somewhere obvious in your room – maybe pin them to a wall or sticky note them to a mirror or next to your bed. Try something simple like “One conversation a week with a friend where I totally focus on their life and ask interested questions” or “Meet someone I’d usually just ignore at school and get to know their story once a month” for your relationship goals. Try something dangerous for your dream goals – when I was in year 10 I emailed a community radio station and asked for a radio show… we got it! In year 11 I did the same for the manager of a big radio station, didn’t get that, but got my first radio job. It seemed impossible at the time and if I didn’t try it would have been 😉
Whatever it is you want to do – change your school to make it a more loving place, have a sponsored instagram account or be Australia’s hurdling champion find some goals, even tiny ones, that can start you moving towards achieving this!
I don’t care how old you are or what life stage you’re in, if you don’t start moving on it now in some small way it will always just be a dream that you don’t achieve…
2. Busy is so boring
It seems like every time you ask someone how they’ve been they say “really busy”… that’s such a lame answer. Work out why you’re busy – are you wasting too much time procrastinating that you could be using to enjoy doing something else? Have you actually taken too much on? Find room to do things you love and catch up with people you don’t see enough.
3. Learn a new skill
In 2015 mine was cooking, I was actually forced into this one by mum. I never cared about food and definitely never had any interest in cooking it, seemed way too hard. Then I did five weeks of basic cooking classes now I car about what raw ingredients go into EVERYTHING. I love great food and I love the journey of cooking – total opposite to this time last year.
Youtube, Wikipedia, E-How – so many websites are waiting to teach you new things, for free and so easily. Write down 5 things right now that you’d love to learn.
What about how to make a big mac? How to say hello in 15 languages? How to make origami?
4. You should go and love yourself
You have what it takes – I know you do, you were created to be great. Leave notes on your mirror, in your bedroom, in your draws that reminds you that you are good enough, that you have what it takes and that there are AMAZING qualities inside you. Pinterest search some inspirational quotes that will remind you no matter who you are, what you love, what you do, where you’ve been, things you’ve done… You’re actually amazing.
5. While you’re at it, do things you love!
Last year my sister discovered she loved sewing, now she gets old clothes and makes new creations all the time. Maybe you’re a writer, a singer, a youtuber, a comedian, a make up artist, a runner… whatever it is find something you love and do it for the sake of loving it, don’t try and get anything else out of it but joy – that’s the only way for it to bring you anything worthwhile!
6. Write down great things! Dreams, memories, days…
Years ago someone shared this idea with me that every time something great happened to them in a year they’d write it down and put it in a jar, the next year we encouraged 150 teenagers at a youth camp to do it and even gave them the jar… twelve months later some of the stories we heard back were amazing.
Take this a step further – write down the great days with friends, the great achievements, the simple moments of beauty you have in 2016… put them in a jar. ALSO write down great memories you’ve had, great thoughts you’ve though, great ideas, great dreams (both in your sleep and of your future). Read them back at the end of the year – who knows what you discover about yourself.
Pro-tip: keep a journal this year – it’s amazing what writing down your experiences does.
7. Have a social media free week
In 2015 I stopped using my iPhone and traded down to a really dumb phone for about a month. It was so hard to type texts. Not being glued to notifications was awesome, I’m a massive social media junkie and going without it for four weeks always by my side was awesome.
No social media for a week will force you to do a few things the main one is find ways to fill time without having a basic go to. It’ll allow you to chat with your friends in new purposeful ways and it’ll give you a huge break and chunk of free time. It may also show you how easy it is to miss certain things.
8. Find time for silence
No music, no tv, no chatting (even on text), just you and a book or something to write on. Go sit at a park if you can and just listen. Don’t be afraid of it. Sit for at least 10mins once a week and just think about things. Anything.
9. Decide what your story is!
This is so huge, in fact I’m doing a video on this as we speak. Who are you? What do you believe in? What do you stand for? Do you have proof of this? Would your closest friends and family think this about you? What about the people who just brush past you at school? What about people who don’t like you? Everything you do should support this story of who you say you are, or at least not take away from it. I’ve made mistakes with this many times in the past – standing for one thing but living another, mistakes are fine but we have to be ready to correct them.