Set healthy goals for 2021

December 27, 2020

Good morning friends!  Christmas 2020 is a wrap.  I hope you enjoyed plenty of time with your family, friends and the day.  Life is truly a gift.  I’m grateful for each new sunrise.  The Holidays bring amazing memories filled with joy.  This time of year often holds sorrow for many people, including myself.  I learned at a young age these celebrations are best spent with the people we love.  This mindset has been reinforced in me over the years.  Now we’re a mire four days away from beginning a New Year.  I hope and pray 2021is filled with better days for everyone.  We definitely need lots more positivity in our lives.  Do your best to keep fear out of your thoughts.  It continues to be pushed on us from all sorts of media sources.  January 1^st offers each of us a fresh reset with life.  Every morning when we awaken to the day, we have that same opportunity.  Let’s fill it with fabulous ideas, amazing goals or open attitudes, that we create.  We each have the ability to make our dreams become reality.  The opportunities can be endless if we believe in ourselves.  What do you what to do to make them happen?  Hard work is typically needed to achieve our desires.  The benefits are worth every moment of effort we put forth.

Today, right now, is a perfect opportunity to set new goals for the coming year.  Don’t wait!  There’s no better time to seize the present!  If you tell yourself, “I’ll do it later,” it just never seems to happen.  I have witnessed this phenomenon a time or two during my life.  I suggest you take a few minutes, think what you want to accomplish and set your goals before January begins.  Don’t be afraid or reluctant.  Fear, especially the perceived variety, has a way of creating hesitation or procrastination.  It has the ability to paralyze us.  It can cloud our judgement, delay decisions, impede progress or simply stop us cold in our tracks.  It’s easy to be negative, complain about everything or making each day a chore and unfulfilling.  Putting so much effort into a defeatist or cynical attitude is nonproductive.  When you live your life with that type of mentality, you often bypass pathways to success.  This type of mindset takes little effort, but can create the most stress.  You blame others for what you don’t have or for your failures.  This may seem like the simple solution.  Why is it, you ask?  Well, if you watch the news every day and believe all the “fear” based propaganda they’re selling, it’s easy to adopt that type of sad mentality.  Don’t allow yourself to adopt the “victim” role.  Seek knowledge, truth and educate yourself from reliable sources.   

Setting goals, without fear, provides incentive to achieve what you desire.  I understand how thoughts can sometimes intimidate or control our actions.  I’ve had my share of bouts with insecurity and self-esteem issues.  It can be an intense struggle to overcome.  The ability to succeed weakens with each negative thought.  If you need assistance, please seek it out.  I’m here and available as a source of inspiration.   If you have the strength and mental fortitude, boost yourself by taking action.  Clear your mind of, “I can’t.”  You are your primary limitation, so don’t hold yourself back.  If you tell your mind, “I can”, it will believe you.  Trust in your own power and energy.  Each step you take forward brings you closer to achieving your dream.  

Goals can be related to whatever you deem most important to you.  They can be simple or intricate, easy or difficult.  You might want to improve your health.  This can be accomplished in various forms.  It can start by introducing a healthier diet.  Reducing or eliminating processed foods, sugar or caffeine from your meals is always good place to start.  Beginning an exercise program is always beneficial.  These two parts of the health puzzle work very well together.   Ending addictions, especially tobacco or drugs, are wise achievements to seek.  Your goals, or long range plans, can be related to career, self-improvement, travel, relationships or anything fun or work based.  This is all about you and what you want to achieve, short or long term.  Being motivated and actually putting forth effort requires discipline.  Once you get started, maintain your energy level to succeed.  Be determined to make positive change(s) in your life.  We are rolling off a year filled with chaos, anxiety, stress, challenges and more.  Now is the perfect time to be a better version of you.  

What are some fun and simple ways to set a few and begin goals for 2021?  Do you have a past practice or favorite method to get yourself moving?  If so, then you’re ahead of the game.  I have a few ideas, suggestions and recommendations to assist with the process to get started.  Feel free to utilize any, all or seek out others.  Either way, let’s get moving forward.  Begin by writing your goals, including dreams, passions or things you want to achieve, down on paper.  That’s right, I said, “Grab a pen or pencil and physically write those ideas.”  When you take the time to use this method, it makes them real.  It engraves them into your mind.  Researchers indicate this creates better retention.  It provides for increased success in achieving what you want to accomplish.   You can arrange them in order of importance or how you want them accomplished during the course of the time.  This really is up to you.  There is no right or wrong way to do this.  Once your list is complete, recite it out loud several times.  Check your list frequently, make adjustments as needed and keep moving forward to achieving your dreams.  Effort is needed, because they don’t just magically happen.

Creating a vision board is a fabulous method to visually set your goals into action.  I’ve done a few of these over the years, usually in conjunction with my written list.  It’s a fun way to bring your dreams to life.  The board can be as large or small as you wish.  Again, there is no right or wrong way to do this.  Make it a fun project.  Invite some friends or family members to join you.  Gather magazines or wherever you find photos or picture you can cut and paste together.  The idea is to match your goal(s) to a picture(s) and arrange them on your vision board.   When it’s completed, keep it someplace where you see it every day.  Typically, seeing it each morning is a great way to keep them fresh in your mind.  This helps to keep you focused and working toward what you want.  Each time you see them, it reaffirms the ideas and desires in your mind.  It also provides extra motivation and drive to get your day started.       

Journaling is a great way to open your thoughts and mind.  It allows you an avenue to express your inner most thoughts and expressions.  For some individuals, it is an excellent way to keep thoughts flowing on a daily basis.  Writing your thoughts on paper helps you release negative energy and can provide stress release.  This activity can stimulate your mind and creativity.  I have utilized journaling with many benefits.  It has the ability to become a meditative experience.  It can be done at any time of day and works best for you.  I have found I am much more open and creative in the early morning.  At night, before bed, works to clear your mind before sleep.  You can discover what works best for you.  Just write.  These are your own personal inner thoughts.  They don’t need to be shared.  This activity can provide deeper insight into your own personality.  It can bring new goals into focus.  It can also become a daily activity for clearing your mind.  Writing increases your insight of past events or a vision of future successes.  It keeps your mind, body and spirt energized.

Shared visions are always fun to work on with someone you love, a work partner or friend.  You may want to create something, improve a relationship, start a family, build a business, conquer an ambition, travel or seek adventure.  Dreams, when shared together, conjure a fabulous and amazing process to bring life to action.  Having someone who seeks the same passion provides inspiration, motivation and a shared desire to make it real.  There are no limits to what two motivated and dedicated people can accomplish.  Find yourself a “friend” with a shared vision of the future, and build a new reality.

There are so many other ideas or methods, that are great ways to get your goals set for 2021.  Imagine the possibilities.  Don’t surrender to a life without dreams or passion.  We each possess the ability to seek out, work hard and achieve the life we want or desire.  Having a plan and setting it into motion is just the beginning.  Set aside time each day to focus your efforts on making it reality.  Don’t falter or stop.  Believe in yourself and what you can accomplish.  Work toward the ideas, goals, passions or dreams you want to achieve for yourself.  There is no right house, no right car or no right life.  It’s all about what is best for you.  You can be the creator of a better life.  Being positive, displaying a strong mental outlook and showing mindfulness takes daily effort.  It might seem like hard work when you first begin.  Once you put forth a little effort at the start, it will all fall into place.  Take the time to incorporate these practices into your daily rituals.  They will become daily habits.  These abilities become part of your life.  It’s up to each of us to maintain our own happiness and quality of our lives.  Daily mindfulness to our needs builds our self-respect, integrity and self-love.  It makes us better individuals, which translates into better people of the world.  Don’t wait.  Let’s make our lives and world better with the coming of 2021.  Set healthy goals for life, relationships and love.

Please tune in and join me again next Sunday for more!  The healthy life puzzle is always in rotation.  Let’s be healthy and strong mentally, physically and spiritually!

Thanks for your love and support!  Embrace Life!  Be sure to get outside and enjoy nature!