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The beginning of the year makes most people feel like they need to re-evaluate their life! This week, my friend started a social media post that encouraged us to look back at our entire year and talk about the highlights of our personal life and biz life. To my surprise, this one post gave me so much energy!
I started to list off all of the things I did over the course of one year. (Then I went back and read it and thought... DAMN, girl! You totally killed it!)
Here's what I wrote:
The more my friends celebrated my success with me (and added their own), I realized that I'd also went to a women's event in Atlanta, GA, where I also had a family trip to the CoCa Cola Museum and visited the aquarium. I went to Mardi Gras for the first time and stood my my best friend as she married the man of her dreams. (That was all icing on the #girlboss cake.)
I was shocked by how much I personally did in one year. (I mean, it's just 12 months... Seriously, where did I find the time?)
So, let's get to the nitty gritty...
How do you create a year that brings to you health, wealth and super rich relationships with people around you?
Here are my 10 things to do before the new year begins to make next year your best year yet.
Decide what's important to you
Knowing what's important to you will help tremendously in being about to focus on what you need (and what you need to get rid of) in your life.
As we become more and more connected on the internet, we are able to see others living out their best lives. We sit back (with glass of red wine in hand, cell phone in the others) scrolling through images and videos of our friends and family traveling, getting job promotions, becoming physically fit, financially stable and building families. It's very easy to wonder why you're not enjoying the same quality of life or accomplishing the same things.
Deciding what's important to you will put you in the position to always make the best choice for you in each moment. Additionally, it will help guide you (through non-stop ads and social media #FOMO) in the right direction. Rather than chasing after every shiny object, you'll have a better handle on what you want out of life.
Create A Vision Board
I've created a vision board every year since 2015. After seeing tremendous growth in my life, I couldn't imagine starting a year without it. A vision board is a visual representation of everything you want to accomplish in your life.
My favorite way to create a vision board is getting together a small group of friends, a lot of wine and a few small bites and hosting a vision board party. Vision board parties are a way to bring together your best friends, share your vision with them and to learn from them as you build your vision boards together.
Start A Side Hustle (Or Start Taking Your Side Hustle Seriously)
I recommend that everyone have a side hustle - something that is their own to grow, build and nurture through the years. Not only is a side hustle a great way to create a new source of income for yourself and make an impact on the world, but you can also create a space for you to continue learning and grow your expertise in any industry you want.
If you already have a side hustle that you're not taking very seriously at the moment, maybe it's time to pick it back up and create an action plan.
Get your money right
No matter how deep of a hole you're in or how long you've been avoiding your student loan payments, you can start getting your money right at any time - and in any way you want.
I've spent the past few years focusing on different areas of my money, depending on which was most important for me at the time. At first, my main focus was making more money. Once I had enough money coming in, I wasted to create a budget and understand where my money was going. In the process of creating a budget, I started to save money. After that long process, I finally had the strength to ask the real questions about my out of control student loan debt and start making payments towards them.
When I first began my journey, I didn't have two pennies to rub together but over time, as I got a higher paying job and finally had enough cash to pay my bills, I was able to focus on other things like saving and investing.
Before you start the year, take some time to find out where you are in your money journey - and what will move the needle for you.
Find a mentor
Mentors can make the difference between trying to figure out life yourself (banging your head up against the wall), to having all of the answers at your fingertips when you need them. I've made it my mission in life to keep my eyes open for new potential mentors AND to always help out other women by mentoring constantly in my free time.
Pro tip: Look for mentors for all areas of you life. I have work mentors, professional mentors, entrepreneurship mentors, as well as relationship mentors and general life mentors to give me all the tips I need to navigate this things called life.
Find an accountability partner
Your accountability partner is a person that makes sure you're working your way towards your goals. I have monthly calls with my accountability partner to talk about what progress I've made on my goals and set new goals for the upcoming month. This ensures hat I'm always working towards those goals and making a conscious effort to reach those goals.
You can find an accountability partner anywhere, including meetup groups, your current friends groups and online communities like Facebook groups where you can meetup with people and talk about the goals you want to accomplish.
Plan at least one trip.
This past year, I traveled to New Orleans to experience Mardi Gras with one of my best friends to for her bachelorette party. While it can get pretty expensive to travel to a new place and try out all the local must-do's, we found lots of ways to make it accessible to everyone. First, instead of taking a plane that would've cost us $600 each, we all took the train. It took 24 hours for the entire trip, but saved us $350 each! (Pro tip: We made it even more cost effective my hitting up the Total Wines and stocking up on alcohol before the trip - and bringing flasks!)
We stayed in an Airbnb, which cost us about $30 a night, once we split it five ways for all the ladies on the trip and we had an entire house to ourselves for all the debauchery we desired! (Side note: If you haven't used Airbnb before, click here for $40 towards your trip!)
Rather than getting a car (which would've definitely drove the price even higher) we opted to take Uber everywhere and split the bill for each ride.
Taking a trip with friends gives you an opportunity to deepen your relationships, visit somewhere new and create new memories with the people you love. #WorthIt
Spend time with friends and family
Your life will only be as rich as your relationships (and no amount of money will be able to tell you otherwise). Community is what makes life worth living (period). Stop what you're doing and call up your family and friends - make sure that in the upcoming months you have time allotted on your schedule to pay them a visit or chat on the phone.
A few years ago, a friend of mine called me randomly on a whim and I forced him to meet with me to talk in person since we hadn't seen each other in a while. The next day I learned he'd been in a terrible accident late that night and passed away. I felt at peace knowing that I was able to see him and have a great memory of our friendship to hold on to. I'm not always morbid, but when I am it's for good reason. Make sure you see your friends - we shouldn't be only seeing friends and family in person at weddings and funerals #DoBetter. (Okay, I'm off my soapbox. #IPromise)
Make time for self care
With an ever-growing culture of creation and focus on monetary success, it can be very easy to stop paying attention to taking care of yourself, but I want to encourage you to place a focus on making time for you. Get a massage, get your hair done, take a day off just because - reclaim your time... because no one else will do that for you.
Start journaling.
I recommend journaling to all of my goal-getting friends because being about to journal about your goals helps you clear your head.
Every time I journal, it's a free form, no time limit brain dump. I can get all of my emotions out into the open (knowing that my faithful journal will not share my deepest, darkest secrets). I can brainstorm about things I want to do in my biz or in my personal life. Your journal is your safe space to focus on yourself. (Where else can you really do that these days?)
Journaling, even if it's just for 5 minutes a day, is a great habit to pick up in the new year.
Each new year is an opportunity to set new goals, reach new heights and become the best possible version of yourself. You get the choice in who you want to become. #ChooseWisely
xoxo
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