The perfect time to start new traditions and goals for 2021 is before the new year
Don’t wait ’till the 1st day of January! I believe that the days before a new year is the ideal time to start new traditions and goals. Now hear me out.
New Traditions
The week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is a time where there is a lull in people’s lives. I challenge you to use this time to gear up for the start of the New Year or simply create something to look forward to every year in between the holiday festivities.
Below is a list of traditions to start between December 25th – January 1st:
- Start a ‘good memory’ jar
This is something I have been doing for the past few years and I love it! Get a clean glass jar (I usually decorate the jar with ribbon), sticky notes and a pen. For the next year, write down every experience that made you happy/joyful/prideful/(insert positive emotion here). They can be something simple like a compliment you received that day or as big as presenting a stellar pitch at your work. I put the dates on them too for reference.
Fold up the sticky note and put it in the jar. At the end of the year, dump out all the sticky notes and read all the wonderful things that occurred!
- Write down goals if you haven’t already!
Take some time and brainstorm some goals you’d like to achieve. If you don’t know where to start, list some characteristics of who you want to become. From there, back track to narrow down specific goals. If you’re still stuck, google ‘new year goals’ to research some ideas.
- Read something to set your intentions for the new year
Depending on what direction you want to go with the new year, a good start is to envelope yourself with the energy and vibes of whatever you want to accomplish. Want to workout more? Read some blogs or stories of people that underwent the same journey. Do you want to practice more gratitude? Listen to the advice and ways to practice on Youtube or on a podcast. Start surrounding yourself with that energy now to really pump yourself up!
- Write a letter to your past self explaining how much you’ve grown this past year
This is a great tool to look back at your year to see areas of strength and weakness. Use it to fine tune your goals and intentions for the new year.
- Write a letter to your future self on all that you will accomplish this upcoming year
When writing this letter, use the present tense! This is basically the Law of Attraction scripting technique but looking over the span of an entire year. The benefits of doing this is attracting the life you want to live and convincing yourself that you are capable and will achieve your goal. Even if you don’t believe in what you are writing, still follow through and write it! Be as detailed as possible and don’t hold back. The power is in the action of seeing it in black and white on the page.
- Draw or write a poem that encapsulates the past 365 days
A fun creative project that can be saved and added to a collection that can grow every year.
- Drive somewhere or take a walk to reflect
My personal favorite, this is easy to do and helps refresh the mind.
- Cook a staple meal or learn to recreate your favorite take out dish
If you have a favorite childhood dish, this could be the time to relive those early memories. Bust out that old recipe or look through Pinterest to find the secrets in creating that dish you always use Uber Eats for!
- Mail handwritten/ hand drawn cards to friends and family
There is no better surprise after a day at work to come home to a mailbox with a letter. Spread some love and let the people you care about know that you’re thinking of them!
- Watch your favorite movie while eating your favorite cookies with your favorite person
This can be modified to any type of favorite. Just make sure it involves at least three favorite things!
Year after you, you can change thes up or stay consistant. Changing it up is fun, but having a consistant plan alaso allows for fun anticipation on what you know is going to come.
New Goals
We brainstorm and plan new goals and ambitions a few weeks before New Year’s Day. While this is an important step, I don’t think it’s necessarily wise to wait until the 1st. If the goal is unrealistic or not feasible with your lifestyle, you eventually give up on the goal sometime during the first few weeks and immediately lose the desire to start new good habits. The momentum to start anew was with the build up of the New Year. Now that it has past, the desire to begin a new system is so much harder to reclaim. Then you become one of the millions that start a goal at the new year and never finish. This potentially leads to a whole year of missing out on bettering your life all because the goal you were chasing was poorly executed or unattainable.
I reccomend trying out a goal BEFORE January 1st. This enables you to test it out and see if you’re planning the actions approriately.
Example: if your goal is to read 1 book/month and you plan on reading 20 minutes before bed every night, start implementing it into your routine NOW! If before bed is unreasonable due to working late/inconsistent hours, at least you know this before you start trying to cement this into your routine during your New year New You phase. Now you can tweak the goal to read during your lunch break/with morning coffee/audio book on a commute or by changing your goal all together.
‘New You’ doesn’t have to wait for a date
There is a huge hype with the new year to transform yourself into a better version of yourself. The saying ‘new year, new you’ has a nice ring to it, and it is motivating having the whole world starting their own goal setting journey with you. HOWEVER, don’t let this be the only time that you allow yourself to start something new. I advocate for starting new traditions and goals before the new year, but if you want to start on May 3rd, go for it! There is no better time to start bettering yourself than the present. The second best time is tomorrow. Go out there and conquer your goals and ambitions, your future self will thank you, your past self is motivating you and present self is cheering you on.
Are you starting any new goals or traditions this year? Have any tips for beginning? Let me know, I’d love to hear from you.
