And just like that, it was the start of a new year. As we come into the beginning of 2019, it’s a good time to reflect back on 2018. Do you feel satisfied with the year past? Or, are there things that you are unhappy with and would like to change? Perhaps you made some New Year’s Resolutions, or you set yourself some goals for 2019. Let’s take a moment to reflect on last year… there are several questions I’d like you to ask yourself.
- When, in 2018, were you at your most content? Think about where you were at, at this moment; where you were with your loved ones. With yourself. Spiritually. Physically. Mentally. Was that a good place? How do you think you could work towards maintaining this?
- When did you feel the most alive and energised? Is there something you need to do or change to be feeling really alive and living your life to the fullest?
- When did you feel the most discouraged and the most drained? Are there certain places, people, or things that you perhaps need to avoid this year to prevent discouragement? Sometimes, if we are with the wrong crowd or putting our energy into the wrong activities or even the wrong friendships, we end up drained and empty. Maybe there are new habits you need to create this year so that you don’t end up in this low place of exhaustion and/or discouragement.
- What did you learn about yourself in 2018? I know I learnt a lot about myself not only from experiences but also from some dear friends who are honest with me and try to help me to become a better person. There are attitudes I need to change, habits I need to break, and new habits I need to create so that I can become the person I really want to be. How about you?
- What areas of your life are you failing to thrive in? In what areas are you flourishing? If you learn to recognise these, you’ll know what you need to do to develop habits and strategies to make you succeed, rather than fail.
- What would it look like for 2019 to turn out really well for you? What needs to change this year to make it turn out well? Have you set a goal, or is there something you are working towards? Are there things that can be better this year that will really help your life improve?
- One last one for you Christians out there… What do you think God is leading you to do this year? What do you think HE wants you to change, stay consistent in, or focus on throughout 2019?
It’s been an emotional and exhausting journey, 2018. In the end, I would have described the year as ‘challenging’. Yes, there were times where I really felt like I was content and in the right place. There were times where I was in tune with God enough to know where I needed to change and what He was wanting me to do with my life. But then there were also a lot of times of discouragement, times where I failed, and there is a lot of room for improvement in 2019!
I haven’t made ‘new year’s resolutions’ this year; I was honestly never big on making those. But this past week has had me doing a lot of thinking. I’m the only one who can change my attitude, change my habits, and make things different. It’s up to me to make the most of the things I’m handed, so I’m determined to do the best I can with all the opportunities I’ve been given.
Let’s be real here. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I really don’t love life. I get depressed. I experience severe anxiety. Because of these things, I sometimes try to spend as much time not being ‘in the real world’, purely because it can feel like such an awful place. But if something’s less than ideal, shouldn’t we do what we can to make it better? I’m not about doing nothing… I’m about doing the best I can to love my people and love my life. I once told a friend what I wanted most of all; to be able to embrace life and take whatever happens with a smile, to be the bright and positive spark in people’s lives, and to be able to ‘be okay’ regardless of what happens. To hit a struggle and still smile, saying that’s okay, we can get through this! I want to be the girl who doesn’t crumble at the smallest things. To be the girl who fights to make the best of life and to keep positive through the struggles. When I told my friend this, the response I received actually surprised me. I was told ‘this person already exists and that I simply needed to create the habits to bring this person out in me’. It’s all about establising positive habits to make these changes.
You can’t just wait for things to happen. Well… you can try just waiting, but honestly, it won’t get you very far! It’s worth looking back at 2018 and seeing what positive changes you can make coming into 2019 🙂 Remember what you did well, think about what you can do better and consider the people who had a positive impact in your life (and keep them around). And don’t put it off waiting for the ‘right time’, because the time will never be ‘just right’.
Embrace life, grasp opportunities for positive changes and really live your life. Put down the phone. Close the computer. Put the iPad away, and just be. Be in the moment, be with the ones you love, and do what you can with every single day. Yes, there will be bad days, sick days, frustrating days, and rough days, and that’s okay! We don’t have to ‘do all the things’ every day! But just live, and really be. Be you, the best version of you that you can, because there is no one who can do a better job of that than you 🙂
Happy New Year everyone, I wish you blessings and joy throughout 2019. 🙂 Feel free to drop me a line via the contact form below if you want to make contact or chat; I’d love to hear from you about things you want to change or improve this year and the way you plan to go about it, or about anything at all! Inbox is always open.
~ Julie xo
[Images sourced from pexels.com, pixabay.com, and google images.]