DO YOU WANT TO BE HAPPIER? CREATE A JAR OF GOALS FOR 2016

This #MindfulMonday I wanted to tell you about my Jar of Goals. 2015 has been a truly transformational year for me. This time last year I had so many hopes and dreams. I wanted to write a book, rebrand my website, finally kick my addictions and so much more.

That is not just any old list and it’s a pretty big ask but in the years building up to 2015 I had already been making small changes which helped me to turn corners this year.

Years ago I used to say things like ah feck it I can party like a rockstar and treat myself really poorly, eat shit food, sit on the couch and feel depressed because after Christmas I’m going to turn my life around. That my friend’s is a load of bullshit and you know it!!

 

“Living a healthy and happier lifestyle is something you do 365 days a year and not just for January.”

 

Waking up January 1^st, joining the gym, cutting out all tasty food and eating bland boring seemingly healthy food (healthy food is not boring!!) will make even the toughest and most determined amongst us miserable.

The 1^st thing you need to work on is your mindset. We all want to be happier but that doesn’t come from sacrificing the things that you perceive to bring you joy. It comes from changing your habits and understanding that some of the things we have been told about being healthy are lies like:

• You will be boring
• Life will be less exciting
• Food will be horrible
• You’ll have to torture yourself with exercise you hate

This list is endless but you get my point. Simply stop doing things you don’t enjoy because you think you have too!! Find an exercise you like, get creative with food, try new things and step outside your comfort zone.

So instead of trying to overhaul your life in January try a different approach:

• Write down 12 goals on small pieces of paper
• Fold them up and put them in a small jar
• Plan on working on just one a month
• Open the jar at the end of 2016 to see what you have done

I opened my jar and although I didn’t do them all I did pretty well. I wrote a book, started a new website, gave up drinking and started being nicer to myself. The things I didn’t get to are going back in the jar with new exciting ones for 2016.

So give yourself a break this New Year and don’t be so hard on yourself. Don’t overestimate what you can do in January and underestimate what you can achieve in a year!

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Ali xx