The period after the festivities of Christmas and before the new year is a good time to reflect on the past year and start to look forward to the forthcoming one. Did you set any goals, or new year’s resolutions last January? How did you do? Did you achieve everything you set out to do? Working towards goals and achieving them can be good for our wellbeing, if done in the right way.
Taking a little time to think back to any goals you set at the beginning of the year and assessing how you did is time well spent. Celebrate your achievements where you succeeded. It can be very easy to tick a goal off and move on without a further thought. Going to the trouble of writing down your achievements for the year though can reveal just how much you have achieved and can motivate you to keep moving forward.
Sometimes we don’t reach our goals and targets for whatever reason. Maybe the goal was not realistic, meaningful, or framed well in the first place, or maybe your good intentions got railroaded by ill health or life circumstances. Try not to beat yourself up about goals you didn’t achieve, but instead look to learn from the experience. Maybe the goal needs to be reframed into more positive language or into something more realistic, or even something that it truly meaningful for you and not another.
It is also worth looking at how your goals work together. Are they collectively balanced? Do they promote balance in your life? Do they align with your values and purpose? Are they providing some space for some joy? The problem with goals is they can lead to just doing, doing, doing which can have a negative impact on our wellbeing.
Why not consider at least one goal this year that promotes ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’ to promote a better balance in your life? If you’ve found any of the suggested nature connection activities in my previous blogs enjoyable, why not make it into one of your new year’s resolutions to do the activity on a regular basis to promote your own wellbeing? Whatever new year’s resolutions or goals you choose for yourself, I wish you a happy, nature connected and peaceful new year.
'Don’t work so hard that you forget to enjoy your life.' – Akiroq Brost
'To live a more balanced life, glance at the past, live in the present and focus on the future.' – Todd Stocker
Comments