WELCOME 2024!!🍾 Plan 2024!! ✨️

Hi loves,

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 🎄

As you all know, we are already nearing the end of the year 2023. This made me a little restless, thinking how and what to plan for the coming new year, 2024.

Social media has an overwhelming flow of contents on how to level up or prepare for this new year.

However, before following the rest of the people, I decided to reflect on my own journey. And in the process came across a way to actively and individually plan for this upcoming year to optimize our goals – Physically, Mentally and Spiritually.

BACKGROUND

December,2023 was/is hard for me. It has brought back many tears and emotions, which I thought were already dealt with – But apparently not!

After being paralyzed with sadness for days, I finally decided to do something about it!

Like I have mentioned in my blogs before – give your body, mind and soul time, to truly feel, and post that – it itself will push or guide you to find your way out.

On 24 December 2024, I came across an Instagram reel. I would have generally ignored it, but something in me was done, being a couch potato. And that reel gave the needed nudge. The message in short was –

And that jolted me back up. It was this realization, that the things, situations or emotions I am experiencing in the moment, are for this greater purpose – to better myself – to become a higher version of myself. To grow and to experience all that life on Earth possibly holds.

I do not know, if you relate to this. But at that moment, I did.

I took the initiative, got out of my dark room. And accompanied my mom to the terrace, with my journal. I hadn’t journaled for days.

Try this – Sitting in sun even for 5 minutes, can bring you out of extreme sad emotions. At least for a while. Science backs me up. Exposure to sunlight, releases a happy hormone called “Serotonin”, that boosts moods and helps in feeling calm and focused.

I did feel better, compared to the previous 23 days. I then decided to engage in self care activities, to not break the flow. Despite some relapses and sad moments throughout the day, it still turned out better than previous ones.

After a different day than previous ones, I finally wanted to get out of the rut. I found glimpses of motivation and wanted to channel more. Therefore, I did, what I had in 2021.

As you all know, my spiritual and self care journey, started in 2021. And by end of 2021, I had solid plans for the year 2022. However, somewhere down the lines I lost track. And 2022 ended with a bad note.

My 2023 started with the baggage of the past, unhealed problems / traumas, and no plans or mindsets, whatsoever. That was because, I had given myself a list of goals for the year 2022 (following the crowd & making resolutions), which were not completed. That along with gloominess of December, made me not wanna plan at all for 2023, which was wrong too. Looking back, I noticed a theme of each year –

2021 – was about finding myself.

2022 – was about new experiences.

2023 – was about living & appreciating small moments.

To get this, I sat and reflected back. I went through my photos and journals. And realized where I could improve and how to actually plan for the coming new year.

I am going to teach you to do the same.

Everyone on the internet is teaching you how to make goals, build habits, make a vision board – but very few are talking about the importance of SELF INTROSPECTION. 

MY METHOD

TO begin with, I ask you all to keep aside 30 minutes of your day. You might not need 30 minutes for this activity, however it is safe to assume that, it could need up to 30 minutes.

Let’s begin:

• Sit with your journal and old photos, or anything that could help you recollect your past year.  I had a habit of taking a snap, each day for random things, places or events, until the month of October. And that honestly helped a lot. Even a random plant pic from a day, could help me remember, where I was, what I was doing, what happened during the day,etc.
• Secondly, I want you to take a piece of paper and write down at least 2 or 3 main events, emotions or things that impacted you that respective month, for each month. You could write as many as you want.

• Now, I want you to make another list. List down few of the most important events, feelings, people, etc that have impacted you the most, taking the help of month wise dissection, you did before. Atleast 10 such pointers. It could also be a list of things you were proud to achieve, do or experience this year.
• Now, I want you to list down things, you wanted or would have wanted, to have made the previous list, but couldn’t.

You by now, would have 2 lists – List of happiness and List of Wants. (As I call them 😉).

I do not want you to jump on making resolutions now. I want you to first reflect on this year, thoroughly, one more time. What were the things or emotions or habits, that you want to take with you to the next year. And what are the things, emotions or habits you suffered with, this year and want to either get rid of or improve somehow.

After this short exercise, let’s move on to making plans.

• If making goals – short term or long term, works for you – GO AHEAD. However, if you are like me – intimidated by a TO DO list. Then let’s focus on a mindset. This is the change I brought in – unlike the start of 2022 -making some rigid plans, I gave myself the room, to first work on what mindset I would like to inculcate for the coming year.
• Based on the lists – you will know, what was the major or overall mindset you carried with you, this year. For example – I had the intention to enjoy more, find a balance between work and fun.  If you like the mindset – keep going, however if you want to change, add or improve, now is the time. For example – I would continue to keep the balance, and find opportunities to grow myself professionally, or would continue to appreciate small moments, etc. It could be one liners like : Productivity related, growth mindset, health related, money related, etc.

Now the question arises:

Q1. Would a single type of mindset suffice to get through various aspects of life?

• To answer this in short – Yes and NO. It depends on you. Personally I would want different ones for each area, but if you look at the bigger picture – it all boils down to one thing – BE A BETTER VERSION OF MYSELF. This would allow you to do things differently. Compete with your own self of 2023, to be one step ahead and grow as an individual.
• If competing sounds too mechanical for you – you can choose an overall theme like FLOW WITH THE FLOW OF LIFE, WITH INTENTION. These themes might change as the months go by and this is just to give you a PUSH and to bring you back to your intentions, when you lose track.

Q2. Whether simply writing it down, help us achieve anything?

• No, it would not. Keep reading to know, what will.

If you like, this would be the apt time to write down few resolutions – I prefer not more than 5, including all areas of life.

I would not be making resolutions this year. Instead, I would focus on other tools to keep me on the track.

HERE ARE THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

If you are making resolutions or goals for 2024 – I would recommend, plan for next 3 or max 6 months and not more. If you want to plan for the entire year, fix a date in between (sixth month) to check in and see how far you have come, or if there is any change needed in that goal you set six months before. This way if your goals don’t align to your flow or purpose or direction at any point, you wouldn’t unnecessarily continue to follow them, just for the sake of it.

Simply writing down a mindset or goals wouldn’t suffice. We can easily lose track of things we planned at the beginning of any year. How many of us really do keep track of our resolutions? Or religiously follow them. Some of them become irrelevant, a week into January.

Therefore, I urge you to not jump into yearly goals.  You can have a dream or a picture in your mind of what your life must look like one year down the line, and make a monthly or 3 monthly plans around that. It would be easier to keep track. NEW moons and Full moons are the apt time, each month to plan or reflect.

I however, do not make any rigid goals. I do make a list of things, I would want to manifest, achieve or work towards each month – but do not go ticking boxes if I did complete them or not. Along the way, some of them happen naturally, some of them I work for intentionally and many are passed on to the next month or simply become irrelevant.

To answer the earlier question – Simply writing down mindsets or goals would not suffice. You will have to actively remind yourself of it.

This is where your Vision boards, monthly check in will come into play. (Maybe another blog for vision boards.)

For example – If it was your goal or a mindset, to be more fit. Then each time, you find yourself eating junk, remind yourself of your goal. It can be done, by use of vision boards, wallpapers, daily affirmations, related content, etc. This is more about CONSISTENCY TOOLS. (will talk about in another blog, let’s focus on planning in this one.)

For example: I would plan 2024 in the following way, in relation to the lists above:

It’s better to make concise points. But it could be vague too, given you understand what it means :

For example :

1. I will continue to click pictures, almost everyday. ( is pretty clear)
2. I will make efforts to grow professionally. ( it would depend on situations : take more courses, be consistent, get internships, explore new possibilities, etc.)

Thus, any and both of these would work.

What matters the most is your intention behind each point. And that, solely, would guide you.

Once you have worked on reflecting the previous year, made your lists, decided on the mindset and put down your intentions, it’s time to let go.

You read that right. Life cannot be experienced hiding behind or sticking to certain pointers or goals. Your mindsets, intentions, wants will change, depending on where you are, and it’s your responsibility to give your life direction, allow it to change – in short do not be rigid, have room for space and uncertainty.

Let go of the fixed expectations or control from 2024, you might have based on your lists. Enter the year, with a fresh light. See what it holds for you and how your journey unfold.

These mindsets, intentions, goals are simply to bring you back, if you ever lose track or get lost. To remind you what mattered in the beginning. Keep checking in, to change, grow and adapt.

I wish you all – A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR, in advance.

26^th December, 2023 – LAST FULL MOON OF THE YEAR – can be perfect if you want to reflect back, plan ahead or simply start afresh. It was just a suggestion, as all days are equally good.

If you want to take just one thing from this blog – take the step of forming a list. Especially the list of happiness. It will help you see, how far you have come, how much you have grown, etc.

Happy planning.

Thankyou for reading.

Catch you soon….

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