By Christmas has passed and you know what that means? That’s right it is time for the new year to begin! I don’t know about you but I love New Years because I love taking the time and thinking about what I want to see different this year. What do I hope to accomplish this year? How will I make the changes that I want to see? I know some of you are groaning because you make the same resolutions every year and never stick to them. Resolutions are not my thing, I set goals of things I want to do over the next year. One thing though is to look at the 4 major areas of your life to determine what kinds of changes you want to see happen this year and what goals you are going to set for yourself.
- Personal Development
- Professional Development
- Spiritual Development
- Physical Development
Starting with Personal Development let us look at what this area could cover. What are areas you would like to see yourself grow as a person? What actions can you take towards this goal? Are you going to read for 10 minutes a day? Are you going to make a point to do one thing a month to help you with personal development? I know for me, I am going to make some commitments to grow as a person. I am going to read at least one book a month that is related to personal development. I am going to make a commitment to myself to try things at least once even if they scare me. What are some things you are going to do in this area?
Professional development has many options, depending on where you are at professionally. For me, I have a goal to finish my dissertation this year. While I will not beat myself up if this does not happen because it is not all in my control I will do everything I can to make sure that this happens.
Spiritual development, this can also be many things for many people depending on what your spiritual life looks like. I know that for me as a Christian, I am going to read through my Bible this year with my church. I will continue to allow people to speak into my life regarding spiritual matters and be open for change when needed.
Physical development… Now for most people this is the resolution part of new years about losing a bunch of weight or going to the gym every day. My goals are to run the best I possibly can in my scheduled races. I have a goal to improve my time. I am going to be more consistent with my training for running and with my crossfit training. Also I am going to make a point to try activities that I have avoided (yoga class anyone?).
So with the everything, there is one major thing, I am going to try new things. I avoid things that are unfamiliar to me. I don’t like change but lately it seems as though no matter what my thoughts are on change, it is going to happen and all at once. So this next year I am going to be open to change and trying new things. As the quote in the picture says “Everything you have ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear” (George Addair)
