Realistic New Year

I was thinking about New Year's and resolutions and I came upon some interesting suggestions that I thought may be beneficial for you as well. It's important to make goals, but not necessarily those lofty ones that we so often make and break before Spring. If the resolutions we make aren't measurable or realistic, they're likely to just fade into the back of our mind with the rest of the holiday chaos. 

A woman I saw online suggested three ways to have the best year ever through making really concrete goals: 

1. Come up with ONE big year-defining event that you want. This could be running a race, climbing a mountain, going on a really big trip you've always wanted to do, writing a book, or the one I am thinking of: make cheese! The concept of choosing a BIG goal for the whole year is very appealing to me!

2. Pick SIX mini-adventures that you want to do and (very important to actually do them) put them on the calendar! Examples here could be concerts, cooking classes, spiritual retreats, hosting parties, camping, etc. I have a few concerts this year in mind that I am planning on putting on the calendar and am thinking about what other adventures would be good for us.

3. Identify FOUR winning habits you want to incorporate into your life this year. She says ONE per quarter, like come up with one such as drink 100 ounces of water a day for January-March, that way you have time to really make it a part of your routine and stick to it. Last year, I started walking inside for an hour a day and I think that's another one that is good because--again--it's measurable and doable. I am still coming up with my habits for this year, but I am very excited about this technique. It seems like a reasonable way to instill good habits!

If you try any of these or your own, let me know how it goes for you! I hope your 2026 will be filled with great memories and adventures!