I get really ramped up this time of year, I love the feeling of closing out one chapter and starting a new one. Here are some things I’m doing to finish the year strong and some ideas for resolutions you can set to improve your mental health.
Debrief The Last Year
I’ve been spending a shit ton of time debriefing this last year. I think journaling about the past year is a great way to get ready to close it out and start something new. I have a whole workbook you can get for free below to reflect back on this last year and sort out what really served you and what didn’t. There are so many lessons that can be learned by reflecting back. I’ve found that when I try to ignore issues or I don’t spend time debriefing and reflecting back that the same issues will reappear until I learn the lesson. Save yourself a lot of grief and learn the lessons ASAP to get on with being the badass you’re meant to be. You can find my favorite yearend journal prompts listed below. I also included them in a workbook you can get for free by filling out the form. These are great prompts to complete before you set your goals for the upcoming year. If you’re looking for mental health resources for the holiday season check out my Holiday Mental Health Survival Guide.
I always want to remember these experiences:
My proudest accomplishments were:
My biggest lessons from this year were:
If I could change anything about this year it would be:
The biggest challenge I overcame was:
I tried these new things:
My biggest disappointment was:
The quality I appreciate most about myself is:
If the last year was a movie what kind of movie would it be?
Who would the cast be?
What would the plot be?
My happy moment theme song this year was:
My sad moment theme song this year was:
My theme song for the upcoming year will be:
This year I traveled to these places:
The people who gave me the most support were:
The relationships that taught me the most this year were:
I am thankful for these blessings I received this year:
The best books I’ve read this year were:
The best movies I saw this year were:
The best concerts I saw this year were:
I contributed to my community in these ways:
I lived in these places this year:
My favorite things about where I lived were:
I met these new people this year:
My favorite moments of this year were:
My biggest fitness accomplishment was:
My biggest career accomplishment was:
My biggest relationship accomplishment was:
My biggest mental health accomplishment was:
Wrap Up
Reflect back on your goals from the last year and wrap up anything that is partially finished. Make a plan for what you want to accomplish before 2018. Giving yourself a hard short deadline can be really motivating. Kick your ass in gear so you can accomplish whatever it was that you were wanting to accomplish this year. This is a great time of the year to go hard on your goals and see how much you can get done before the end of the year.
Smash Limiting Beliefs
The only way to get the life you want is to dream freaking big. Figure out what beliefs you’re holding onto that are limiting you (I’m not organized to work for myself, if I try something new it will fail because I have failed hard in the past, etc). Once you’ve identified the limiting beliefs that are holding you back you can be aware of how they are influencing your goal setting. You only get one life so you should dream as big as you freaking want. Figure out what you need to do to tell any voice in your head that says you can’t or you’re not good enough to kick rocks.
Set Goals That Make You Pumped
Once you’ve shut out your limiting beliefs and figured out what your ultimate dream is you can start breaking it down into smaller pieces. Your goals should be moving you towards something that makes you excited AF.
If you don’t feel lit up and ready to kill it you need to ask yourself why you want to accomplish the goal.
Sometimes we set goals that would make our spouse or family happy but it’s not really true to what we want to do. Set your goals based on what your deepest desires are for your life.
When you’re done writing them you should feel like “fuck yes” and you should be pumped to get started. If you don’t feel like that go back to the drawing board and give it another shot.
Go Big or Go Home
Every “how to set goals” article you will ever read will tell you how important it is to set realistic goals. I like to take a more swing for the fences approach. Try and set goals that will totally transform your life.
So many people waste time on New Years Resolutions that only change your life in a small way and while making a lot of small changes can have a big impact it can also suck out all your energy.
If you’re doing a bunch of small resolutions that don’t have much impact on your life it’s going to leave you feeling drained.
Prepare
Once you’ve got your goals for the next year start preparing to slay them. Get any equipment that you need to be successful and create a schedule that you can implement. Get a head start and even get started ASAP.
One of my goals for the next year is to create more video content. I spent the last few weeks researching what camera to buy and learning how to use it.
Go ahead and give yourself a jump start on whatever it is that you’re wanting to do next year.
Mental Health Resolutions
If you’re looking for some ideas for resolutions you can set to improve your mental health check out the list below.
Make a list of things you could do that you know would improve your mental health and narrow it down to your top three.
Make a plan to implement them throughout the year.
- Meditate in the morning
- Journal in the evening
- Go for a walk every day
- Spend Sundays volunteering for an organization you are passionate about
- Donate money to charity every month
- Read a book a week
- Start a blog
- Write the first draft of your book
- Create a capsule wardrobe
- Declutter a room of your house each month
- Make a new recipe every week
- Drink a fuck ton of water
- Try a new workout every week until you find something you love
- Adopt a pet
- Send your friends birthday cards in the mail
- Travel to six new places
- Create a beautiful bedroom space
- Listen to a TED talk a day
- Find a healthy snack that you love
- Go on a road trip
- Do something that scares the shit out of you
- Donate all the clothes you don’t wear regularly
- Up your salad game and start eating tons of greens
- Start a gratitude practice
- Try stream of consciousness journaling
- Spend time outside every day
- Try out bike commuting
- Try a new hobby
- Go to the doctor, dentist and eye doctor
- Keep in touch with old friends
- Make new friends
- Take a class
- Face a fear
- Go to therapy
- Visit a museum or amusement park
- Donate blood
- Start learning a new language
- Get better sleep
- Give up a bad habit
- Watch less TV
- Start saving money
- Forgive someone that hurt you
- Use affirmations
- Be on time
- Try online dating or take your significant other out on weekly dates
- Change your career
- Stop complaining
- Spend less time on social media
- Work on an art project
- Do a random act of kindness every day