Goodbye 2019 — hello 2020. Are you ready to embrace a new decade?
It’s no secret: we’re on the fringes of a brand new decade. The 20s are mere weeks away, and soon, 2020 will fling its doors open ready for a new year. A fresh blank slate, with the pages yet to be written. Are you ready?
Perhaps, like some comments I’ve read on social media, it hasn’t really twigged that a new decade is around the corner. You might be too immersed in the daily minutiae of life to see the bigger picture. Or just focusing on plain old surviving. And that’s okay.
But 2020 is coming. Some of us are packing our bags for the 20s now — whether we like it or not. You may leave the metaphorical packing until the last minute, or perhaps you’re strategising; planning what you’re putting in your metaphorical suitcase now. Where are you going? What are you taking with you? And what can you leave behind?
Why is this planning important? Because if we’re not careful, we can sleepwalk through life. Life is something that happens to us and we stumble through and one day wake up and think ‘how the hell did I get here?’.
That’s why it’s important to set goals — and to review them regularly. They don’t have to be almighty, all-consuming, back-breaking goals. But hopefully they’ll be goals that both excite and stretch you in ways you never imagined.
At the time of writing, I’m 35. It’s been a defining decade, made up of career highs, plenty of travel, moving and living in London, and getting married. There’s also been some low moments; minor health scares, lost loved ones and an overall sense of unease about Brexit and anxiety around whether I’ll ever be able to buy a home where I’d like to. But all being well, I’ll be 45 when the next decade comes around. I’m determined to make this next year — and decade — count.
Every winter, a traditional time for self-reflection when the nights are drawing in, I’ll make a cup of tea, bring out a notepad and pen, and write in my journal about the year that has come to pass… asking myself some questions before I enter the coming year (you can ask them too):
Reflections on the previous 12 months
- What’s happened?
- What did I accomplish?
- What did I learn?
- Do I have any regrets?
- What made me happy?
Reflections on the year ahead
- What do I want to manifest in the coming year?
- What action(s) can I take now to move forwards?
- What do I need to leave behind? Why? How can I do that? Do I need extra support?
- What am I excited about? Why? What can I do to bring more of that energy to me?
Reflections on previous decade
- What’s happened in the past 10 years?
- How am I feeling about the previous decade?
- What did I accomplish? What am I most proud of?
- What values were important to me? How did I realise those in my life?
Reflections on the next decade
- What am I hoping to accomplish over the next 10 years?
- What do I want to bring into my life?
- What do I want to let go of?
- Whose support do I need to realise my goals?
- What qualities do I need to nurture to help me achieve my goals?
- Who else in my life do I need to bring along with me?
- Is there anywhere I would like to go to? Anything I would like to try?
- What have I wanted to do that I have been putting off?
- Which goals can I prioritise first? In 2020? Up to 2025? Then up to 2030?
If like me, you respond well to images to represent your goals, you can create an action board to focus your intentions for the year ahead — images you’ve collected and cut out and stuck to a piece of card where you leave in your home where you can see it everyday, letting it work its magic. Your brain is extremely responsive to visual stimuli and will work on a conscious and subconscious level to attract these things to you. It really works.
And remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. And goals aren’t dreamt and achieved in a day either. The goals which can bring the most satisfaction are the big, hairy ones that twist and turn and sometimes make you want to give up altogether.
Just keep going.
You won’t regret taking a bit of time to have a moment with yourself to think about the past, present and the future. Try it — and I hope you have an excellent year and decade ahead.
