I am one of those crazy A-type personalities that likes to get things done and do them right but without too many rules or specifics. I don’t know if there are other people like that but that is who I am.
I love goals but I hate making spreadsheets and charts. I don’t live in the details. I dance in the dream and I work hard at the things I want.
Guess what?
It usually works out. I give my tenacious and stubborn persistence all the credit.
But goals, yearly goals can be hard because they are pretty specific right?
I mean, I’m sure following the rules might help me reach goals. But sometimes I don’t even know exactly what to name my goals.
A New View of Yearly Goals
I was listening to this Young Adult trilogy while I was cleaning houses (my day job). In the first book we find out that each year the Grandfather asks his grandsons three big questions.
What will you create this year?
What will you invest in?
What will you cultivate?
That really struck me. Those questions bring goals to life. Those questions could really help me create goals this year!
I mean, I have always believed in the idea that you have to keep growing and learning your whole life. If we aren’t growing we are dead!
But at the same time, years sometimes pass and you feel like you were just in the hamster wheel, working hard and getting nowhere.
I really hate that feeling!
But I think that if I asked myself those three questions each year I would never feel like I wasted time.
Each year would see real growth. I would learn something, improve at something, and build something meaningful.
Imagine how much you could learn if you focused on one new thing a year! How could you grow if you really invested your time and energy? And what would you create?
Let’s talk about these three questions and how they can help you plan your goals this year. Together we can get inspired and start working on our yearly goals!
What Will You Create This Year?
When was the last time you created something? Are you a creative person? Have you made time for a creative hobby recently?
Maybe you feel like you don’t have time to enjoy being creative or you just aren’t naturally drawn to creativity.
It’s okay not to be crafty. A lot of people aren’t crafty. But there are so many ways to be creative!
You can do something crafty like sewing, making jewelry, woodworking, or knitting. You can create art through painting, drawing, and sculpture.
But you can also get creativity into your life by learning an instrument, doing photography, dancing, and writing.
When you take the time to be creative you help yourself relieve stress, unwind, and enter a state of flow that helps the brain problem solve.
You can work through strong emotions in a healthy way while being creative.
And last but not least, if you try something new you might just find something you’re passionate about!
Play around with creative hobbies this year. Creativity is a big key to leading a happy simple life.
What Will You Invest in This Year?
Are you an investor?
That’s a trick question. You may think that you aren’t an investor if you know nothing about the stock market.
But that’s not true.
We all invest in things. We invest in our homes, our cars, our careers and businesses, our families, and our health.
When we are talking about investing in something we are not just talking about money. We invest in things with money of course. But we also invest in things with our time, attention, and energy!
So what are you going to invest in this year?
Maybe you could invest in your health. After all, your health is the best investment you will ever make! You can’t do anything without it. Will you give more time, energy, and even money to eating healthy and being active this year?
Or you might want to invest in a side hustle. Is there something you are passionate about? Can that thing you love help other people? When you find the intersection of your passion and how it can help people you have found the best way to serve others!
You may also choose to invest in saving for a home, finding out how to declutter your home so you enjoy it more, growing your family, or improving skills for your career.
What can you invest in this year that will make a big impact in the quality of your life?
What Will You Cultivate This Year?
And that brings us to the last question. What will you cultivate this year?
Is there anything about your life you would like to improve? Are there qualities or habits that you can cultivate to make your life easier? What kinds of things can you cultivate to bring you closer to your goals?
You may, for example, want to cultivate a simpler way of life with the minimalist lifestyle. Could you learn to shop less and focus more on experiences? That would help you cultivate the mindset that leads to a simpler way of life.
Or maybe you have noticed something that is lacking or substandard in your life. Do you want to cultivate better listening skills instead of looking at your phone all the time? Or maybe you want to improve your relationship so it can weather the stressful times more easily?
You can cultivate anything that you think will improve your life, so what will you cultivate this year?
You Can Achieve Your Yearly Goals
I know that those three questions were very inspiring to me. I hope they can help you improve your life and go for your goals this year and every year.
With a simple life you can focus on the things that matter the most to you and the things that may have seemed like far off dreams can become a reality.
Just remember you are not frozen in time. You are not on a hamster wheel going nowhere. And most of all you have choices and the ability to make your life what you want it to be.
Make every year count! Keep making and achieving those yearly goals and keep growing.
About the Author: Jessalynn Jones loves to write about simple living. Her blog Doable Simplicity is focused on ways to make minimalism fit your life so that it can help you reach your biggest goals!
