It is the middle of December, it gets darker every day and has been wet for days. The most wonderful time of the year seems to be rushing by with lightning speed, where I had sworn myself to enjoy it more this year. If you are like me, this time of year often comes with anticipated dread of rushing to get everything done and organized before the holidays; parties, that many of us have to attend through work, or our partners’ workplaces or children’s holiday recitals and concerts; planning of the meals for the holidays itself; finding the perfect gifts. It all can be very joyful and stressful at the same time. So, how to slay your goals and follow your dreams during this busy time of year?
Making time to create a plan for the holiday season or let alone the New Year may seem to be the furthest from your mind. However, this is all I have been thinking about lately.
- What if I planned out the month of December and got my A-game on? Would I feel more relaxed?
- What if I reviewed this past year and set goals for the next one now? Would this give me a head start to slaying my goals or even those “dreaded” resolutions?
In German, we have a saying “Gut geplant ist halb gewonnen” which translates approximately to: “Good planning is halfway to success”. And this is exactly how I think we can achieve our biggest dreams: Dream Big – Plan Carefully – Act Inspired – Live your dreams!
With this post, I wanted to give you an update or glimpse “behind the scenes” of what I’m up to, how I plan my goals, slay them and what’s in store for you:
Holiday Season
Our daughter is three years old now and it is a lot of fun to explore the holiday season and traditions with her. I am more in tune with the holiday spirit than I have been for many, many years. We have two advent calendars in our house: One hand-made one that we fill each year with little more or less healthy surprises and a playmobile-calendar one from grandma. The house is decorated in a most simplistic fashion, we light candles for dinner, sing holiday songs and read Christmas stories before bed. Experiencing this season through our daughter’s eyes makes the magic alive again. We rarely watch TV, but I think a short and traditional Christmas movie would be so much fun.
I realize now, it is up to us to make the holiday season magical. We just need to stop and do it, even if it is in baby steps. Baby steps will lead to tiny improvements, but improvements they are none the less. Enjoy.
Riding
Did I ever mention that I have been leasing a horse since the end of September? For a monthly fee, I see “my” horse Nina once or twice per week and get to ride her or work with her. When I have time, I try to help out with paddock chores. I keep telling myself, if I really want to live the horsey dream, I better not complain about doing chores. Riding is just the icing on the cake. Since the days have gotten darker in November, I have been riding every Sunday. I am so blessed to have found this family who welcomes me with open arms, shares their knowledge about horses and letting me lease Nina.
Nina, a most gorgeous black Canadian mare, is just the perfect amount of sweet and bossy/stubborn. She is challenging me, which ultimately makes me a better horsewoman. She is not particularly cuddly, but I cuddle her none the less, which she gracefully endures. Every time I am around her, I fill my bucket with so much joy and happiness. That gives me a lot of energy for other areas in my life, like my family, this blog and work.
Blogging
I have been feeling stuck lately. I am working on regularly creating meaningful content (1x/week), feeding my social media channels and driving traffic to my page, because what is a blog without an audience?
I set myself monthly and weekly goals in my bullet journal, but as I am still a rookie it is a lot to take in. Utilizing my journal helps a lot with following through with my tasks that bring me closer to my dream. However, working full time, with a considerable daily commute, family life and learning how to successfully blog, has led to feeling overwhelmed. To be honest, it did not come as a surprise to me that I feel stuck. This is part of the process of learning, growing while being challenged.
How did I get unstuck? I sat myself down and brainstormed content ideas for the rest of the year, the New Year and the direction I would like to take with this blog: inspiring you to live your dreams and achieve your goals by providing a system that keeps you organized while nurturing a positive mindset.
For December, I would like to share with you:
- How to review your past year and why I think you should do it
- How to plan the end of the year with daily logs and mini challenges
- How to set your goals for the year ahead and stay on track; and
- Ideas for New Year resolutions you will want to keep
Stay tuned!
Reading
Before I started out with West Coast Dreaming at the end of May, I had been reading lots of happy-sappy novels, just to have something heart-warming to think about before falling asleep. It was my crutch to not fall into despair. Lately, I feel I don’t need this crutch so much anymore. I still like to read these types of books from time to time, but it is not quintessential to my survival anymore. Yes, yes, I exaggerate (a lot) here.
Nowadays I find myself reading E squared, by the hilarious Pam Grout which gives you 9 Do-it-Yourself Energy Experiments that prove your thoughts create your reality.
So far I have completed two of the nine experiments and… they work! I was blown away, by how they work. I kind of knew, yet doubted it. If this of any interest of you I can share my experiences in more detail.
Music
I have turned to my all-time favourite songs, songs that I would describe as powerful and that fill me with positive energy. If you are imagining that your body is just energy vibrating on a certain frequency, then music does affect and influence you. I can feel my body and mind responding to the music.
When I am writing, or when alone in the car, I turn to them.They make everything flow easier and I imagine how things around me begin to flow. I leave most mainstream music behind – even though there is nothing wrong with it – and turn to my oldies but goldies, my favourite Hans Zimmer soundtracks and the occasional Dutch or Finnish Symphonic Metal band. Guilty!
Bullet Journal
As some of the more seasoned Bullet Journalers among you might have noticed, I am still a novice to this amazing system. I came across bullet journaling almost by accident when I started this blog and felt the need to jot down notes, achievements, and to-dos. I am amazed by how quickly you can progress with your journal and how it improves my happiness and goal slaying ability. Hahaha, this almost sounds like it should be the name of a superpower: Goal slaying ability.
With the end of the year close by, I am wondering if I should start a new book or keep going in the one that I currently have. This is where I am at: my current journal where I plan my months, weeks and days, take notes during my e-courses and sketch out post ideas. There are two more journals that I use to show you the “how-to” Bullet Journaling and “how-to” creating intricate tangle patterns. If I do start the new journal, the current one will become solely dedicated to keeping track of ideas for West Coast Dreaming. What do you think?
That was it. Now you know what I’m up to and how I slay my goals this December. Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Your West Coast Dreamer, Nikola
