I guarantee if you’re socializing over the holiday break you’ll get asked about your New Year’s Resolutions. It’s something that always crops up in conversation whether you like it or not. But it is actually a good time to think about what you want to accomplish in 2019, and set some achievable goals.
Setting goals is about challenging yourself to reach higher and go further, and expand on what you already know. Setting goals can also push you out of your comfort zone. For example, it’s easy to say ‘I want to get fit’ but a lot more specific, and ultimately more satisfying, to set a 2 month goal of doing a couch to 5K.
Now you’re in the mindset let’s look at some broad options for the kind of goals you might want to set yourself for next year. Bear in mind these can be absolutely anything you want, and the following are purely suggestions to get your creativity flowing.
1. New Places
If you love traveling, then be sure to include some goals around this for 2019. What places do you want to visit and what do you want to do when you get there? Do you want to travel by yourself, with friends or with family?
Many people automatically go back to the same destination year after year because it’s ‘safe’ and ‘easy’, or their friends will be there. Break out of the mold and make new memories, by going somewhere completely different and exotic! The world is a big place, and waiting for you to discover it.
2. New Faces
Meeting new people is a great goal because it can impact your social life, as well as your work life. While it’s easy to say ‘join a club’ or ‘socialize with colleagues’ these options might not be appealing, or you may feel too conspicuous. Your goal setting may need to be more about being open to opportunities next year, or making more of an effort to accept social invitations when they arise.
Even being more active on Facebook can put you on people’s radars, and give you more visibility about events that are taking place in your community.
3. New Activities
If you’re stuck in a rut or plain bored, then plan to do some new activities in 2019. These don’t have to be outrageous or even scary, just things that you haven’t done before. Check out your local events page for what’s happening next year and start jotting down things you’d like to do.
Perhaps it’s a band you’ve never seen live, a play that’s coming to town, a new restaurant that’s opened up or a clothes store that you’ve been wanting to try. Sometimes a small change can unwittingly give you confidence to implement a larger change later down the track.
4. New Health
I mentioned couch to 5K earlier as being a great fitness goal to have, but getting your overall health in order could definitely be a good goal too. Whether this is aiming to cut out (or cut back on) added sugar, to drink more water or eat more vegetables, you’re on the right track to a healthier you!
The key is not to think of new health habits as a ‘diet’ as we all know diets are like most New Year’s Resolutions – destined to fail. If you make your health the goal rather than weight loss then you’re more likely to make a change that sticks for the long term.
5. New Attitude
If you feel like you never have any time for yourself, then make ‘more me time’ a goal for next year. You might decide to do a personal retreat involving meditation and yoga to reconnect with yourself. Perhaps you might like to do some independent travel without your partner and family or simply take some time out once a week to read a good book or have a digital detox.
The beauty of ‘me time’ is that you can do whatever takes your fancy and makes you happy, even if it’s spending the morning shopping online for a new outfit. You don’t need to make excuses to anyone for needing personal space, and you don’t need to feel guilty.
6. New Finances
Debts weighing on your mind? Wishing you had more money? Planning to fix your finances in the new year is an excellent goal, and one that will serve you well for future years to come. Often we don’t need to make drastic changes to improve our financial situation.
It could be deciding to pay off credit card debt, or setting up an automatic payment for an emergency savings account. Canceling cable and turning off appliances when not in use, could be your goal if you want to save money on your monthly utility bills.
7. New Environment
Doing what we can for the environment is a worthy goal for 2019, whether it’s recycling more, studiously avoiding plastic bags or getting passionate about cleaning up the ocean. But don’t forget about your own personal environment. This may need a shake up if you’re living with too much clutter, outdated furniture or a toxic color palette.
If redecorating and swapping out furniture all sounds too hard then maybe it’s time to make ‘moving house’ your goal for 2019 and have a complete change of environment and location all in one go. Often people cling to familiar surroundings out of fear rather than necessity. But when you’ve taken the leap you may wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
Now you’ve got some ideas to start your goal setting, why not try creating your own list before the new year begins? That way, if anyone asks about your plans for 2019 you’ll be right on top of it!
