10 Tips for an effective Fresh Start!

​The first month of the year often turns into a time of reflection and self-evaluation. Whether pushed by the messages of the media and pop-culture that insist on selecting the 100 most powerful people of the year, or try to highlight moments in the past year that stood out for being the most funny, or most shocking, etc., we usually find ourselves reflecting on our own accomplishments and failures as well as our own “most moments”. We review the promises we made to ourselves and possibly others a year ago, evaluate our efficacy at keeping these promises and try to assess what or who kept us from achieving our goals.

However, not so many of us take some time to truly reflect on what our goals are and how they originated.  What if instead of following popular trends and media influences that often push us in a direction of “more”, “larger”, and “faster” we took a different attitude when thinking about our goals or better yet the meaning they give to our daily lives.  What if we followed these 10 tips to more meaningful New Year Resolutions?

1. Set time aside for meditating/praying about your true values and your direction in life.
   Away from everyone else, in a quiet, place spend some time allowing yourself to relax and shut off all the outside noise, so that you can be left alone with yourself and the inner voice in you. Be mindful of your body, pace your breathing, notice your sensations and slowly switch the focus inward. Do this for 20 minutes or more.
2. Begin to contemplate the following questions: What do I value in life? (be specific: relationships and family, professional or financial success, health and fitness, knowledge, spiritual growth, etc.). Where do I feel most fulfilled? Whose company I enjoy the most and/or miss the most? What makes (would make) me feel the most accomplished and successful? What (not who) makes (would make) me feel the most connected to others and most helpful?
3. Meditate on these answers and write them down. Be aware that it may take several of these meditation sessions and you may need to revise this answers as you begin to enjoy this time of connection. These answers may help you not just “find who you are”, but “create who you want to be”.
4. Generate a short list of long term meaningful goals that may not only be rewarding when you achieve them, but will also allow you to enjoy the journey as you work toward them. 
5. Find “Rewarding Peaks” along the way (i.e., if the goal is to go back to school to start a new career, find subjects you can enjoy learning, celebrate every semester, use some of the knowledge you begin to acquire to give back to the community and help others).
6. Generate a list of short term goals that will help you get there (i.e., study for the admissions test, enroll, obtain the financial support, find the social support that can help you with encouragement and with managing your schedule).
7. For every short term goal, generate a list of steps that will take you there (i.e., to study for the admissions test:  separate realistic and effective time slots you can use to study, allocate the resources (study materials, tutoring), establish deadlines for the completion of different review sections, set the date for when you will take the test, etc.).
8. Generate a list of possible obstacles that may interfere with the steps you outlined (i.e., events in the family or at work may interfere with your meeting the review deadlines).
9.  Generate a list of alternative solutions, from most desirable to least desirable (i.e., adjusting your study time, not participating in the event, postponing the test).
10. Be courageous but be flexible, be creative, but keep it real, and be successful one step at the time.
    
    Let this new year be meaningful and purpose driven for you!

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