2014: Why I want to make resolutions and how it could help you too...

Hey - Happy New Year!

It's been a while, I've taken a nice long blogging break and it actually felt really good! I spent some precious time with my family, eaten lots of tasty treats and threw away the guilt! I've indulged myself with books, movies, walks and baking and gotten some space from the world, somewhere I could really breath, relax and look a round me a bit, yeah - it's felt really good!

But now here we are, a brand new shiny year - how are you feeling about it?

I'm feeling pretty excited, so far it looks to be something quite big and adventurous for us, lots of change and new horizons to see and conquer. I know for a lot of people though that New Years has started to loose it's sparkle and as for resolutions, well they're a waste of time. In fact I've read lots lately about people not bothering with them, it's seems that there are a lot of you out there who think they are old fashion, pointless and something else that just serves to make you feel bad, am I right?

Well, for a brief minute, and I mean brief, I wondered if I should bother too. I have always made them and they have always ended up being something I suck at. I would make resolutions that were unrealistic for me or ones that I couldn't really comit to, I would reflect back at them and think what a waste of my time, that was until last year...

December 31st 2012 I posted my New Year resolution for the coming year feeling rather pleased about myself and this is why - I came at them from a different perspective! Nothing fancy, no magical formula, I just looked at them in a different light. I decided that if I was going to make some New Years goals that were going to be meaningful to me and actually stick then I had to make them with a view to changing how I did things, I had to approach them with a new frame of mind. Looking back I have achieved about half of them, not bad I suppose. There are ones I didn't quite get to so am going to include them again this year, fingers crossed I get to nail them all this time!

So while everyone else is giving resolutions for this coming year the cold shoulder, I'm jumping right in and making mine my bestest yet, here they are....

•  Make a tulle skirt for Miss LC (And maybe one for myself!).
• Find a weekly exercise routine I love that fits in with my schedule.
• Save 5% of my monthly income.
• Learn how to make tasty dishes and snacks with Quinoa.
• Take Miss LC to London (Hopefully for Canada Day!).
• Write, compile and publish an e-course for my blog (eekk!).
• Practice Mindfulness more when I'm feeling stressed or anxious
• Finish one book a month from my bedside stack (my hubby is rolling his eyes!).
• Learn more about Aromatherapy, Tarot Reading and Astrology!!!
• Improve my photography and writing skills by taking a course.
• Practice grace and gratitude daily.
• Find our new family home.

I have gone for twelve again (umm, sort of!), the same as last year as I like the idea of roughly being able to achieve one a month. I intend to reflect on them more this year too so by having something new to get to grips with each month keeps me on my toes and moving forward! I also like making them public, by putting them out their on my blog and allowing others to see what they are makes me feel more committed to them, I do this because it's what works for me, I believe in resolutions or something that resembles them because warms the corners of my heart to think of all the hope and possibilities that the New Year will bring and it brings some closure for the things that didn't go to plan for the year that has just passed. Having a focus stops me from entering the new year feeling miserable, dejected and fuzzy (although a bit of champagne might not help with this!)

For more ideas on how to approach resolutions and break free from being to boring or traditional with them and to stop yourself from setting ones you will easily give up on have a look at this How to make resolutions that stick  

If you're making resolutions, plans, a bucket list or even just thinking about one thing that you are going to aspire to for the coming year why not share it below too? Or maybe you truly hate them, tell me about that too!