I cannot believe it’s a new year already! Eeek! For me it literally only seems like yesterday that we were having New Years celebrations last year and saying good bye to 2016! For me, every year older I get is another year of ‘okay, this will be my best year ever’, but life is life, and sometimes it gets hard, things always go wrong and all of a sudden it’s December again and I am left thinking – was that my BEST year?

Don’t get me wrong, 2017 was an absolute blast for me, I advanced in my career, I travelled around Europe, I made some amazing new friends and of course I started my BLOG! But I am always left wondering, was that it? Was that the one year I will remember forever? So coming into 2018; another year older, another year further from my 18 year old self, I’m feeling a little nostalgic and wondering what I can actually do, to keep myself upbeat and ready for all the big things that I want to work towards in 2018. I’m not much of a ‘resolutions’ type of girl – does anyone really stick to those? So instead, I am looking at this as some seriously functional adulating and planning with 5 tips on how to really kick start 2018.

Review. 

When the year is over, I’m always left wondering ‘should I have done that?’, ‘did I do the right thing?’, ‘could I have done more?’ – by taking stock of what you actually have accomplished, and maybe the things you thought you would but didn’t. The important areas of your life such as family, career, financial, relationships, goals, should all be things that get assessed at the end of the year. Ask your self what you accomplished, what do you feel you should of paid more attention to. Looking back at this can give you a shiny new goal for the new year, and perhaps make you think about the things that you are and aren’t capable of this time around.

Finished what you started.

What are your 2017 left overs? Which errands, goals, or projects slipped your mind this year? Re-evaluate, are they goals you want to re-set for 2018, or are they things that were more fickle than you first anticipated. It’s okay to move on from something that doesn’t satisfy you anymore. Perhaps last year you decided you wanted to learn to paraglide, and during they year you realised you’re afraid of heights – cross it off the list. Keeping things around that make you feel like you can’t achieve them, will only stress you out. And I for one am going for a stress free 2018!

Be real.

Setting completely un-realistic goals will only lead to disappointment. Would I like to buy a house – sure, do I have any money? No. So my first goal is to pay off my debt. Big dreams are highly recommended and utterly fabulous, and we all need something to look forward to. However, your dream might come with steps, or a process; break it down into little achievements – paying off your debt, saving for a deposit, saving your repayments, that way you’ve got an achievable game plan towards accomplishing those big goals!

Focus. 

To follow those dreams, you need to make sure you’re taking the right steps – what am I doing to achieve those little milestone goals. Maybe I need to go out for breakfast less, or stop buying new clothes (I’ve picked a seriously hard goal). There will be lots of things you can do over the year to help work towards your goals and re-arrange your priorities to bring you closer to the big picture.

You do you. 

Above all, be your own number 1 priority. Put yourself at the top of the list and take care of your soul. Be sure to re focus on your self when you need it, say no to people when it doesn’t suit, and steer away from things that make your life harder, whether that’s people or places. Make 2018 (and every year on), the year of you, that’s a goal we all need!

Tell me how you’re going to try and make 2018 your best year yet!

#bestnine

On a side note, thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the love and support you have given to #prettyforplussize in 2017, I am beyond words grateful for the amazing people, businesses and opportunities that I have encountered in the last few months. I can only hope the new year will bring even more exciting things!

Love love,