AMY HANSEN

A new year is the perfect time to reconnect to your dreams and set some new goals for yourself.  Last year may not have gone as planned, but this year can be the start of something amazing.  Sometimes you just need believe it is possible.  In order to help you do so, here are four steps to dream big in the new year.

1. Permission To Dream

Give yourself permission to dream.  Schedule in time to be fully present where you visualize your future goals and dreams.  Take time to get really quiet.  You could sit in silence and close your eyes or go outside for a slow walk.  Allow your mind to wander and dream about everything you want to create and make happen your life.  Nothing is too big or too small.  Give yourself permission to let the ideas flow.

2. Journal

After you’ve taken time to dream, grab your journal and write down what came up for you.  Make notes of your ideas and future goals.  Let your creativity...

Statistics show that you’re more likely to achieve your goals and dreams when you write them down.  Speak your goals and dreams into existence by putting them down on paper.  A fun way to do this is through a dream letter.  Here is how to craft your dream letter.

Begin Dreaming

In order to get yourself in the right head space, begin by spending part of the day dreaming and goal setting.  Envision what you want this year to look like.  Take time to visualize the future.  See yourself at the end of this year and what you've made happen.

The Letter

Grab a few pieces of paper and craft a letter to yourself as if it is New Year's Eve and you’re looking back on the year.  Start by writing down what you accomplished.

Feelings

Next, include how achieving those goals made you feel.  Perhaps that’s excited and proud as you knew you could do it!  Get really energized about that feeling of successfully...

It’s so important to take time to set your intentions for the new year.  This means setting goals and getting excited about what’s to come.  Set yourself up for success in the new year by getting clear on what you want.  Here are these three areas to help you set your intention for the new year.

Goals

Start by choosing one goal for the new year.  Think about what you want to accomplish.  This could be one big goal that you’ll break down into smaller milestones.  But, imagine this time next year and decide what you want to have made happen in your life.  It could be buying a new house, losing ten pounds, launching a vlog, etc.  Perhaps it’s learning a new skill like how to speak a foreign language or starting a new hobby such as learning how to knit.  Set one goal for yourself for the new year.  You’re more likely to achieve your goal when you write it down.  Write your goal down on paper and...

At the end of the year you get to reflect back on the experiences you’ve had.  The good and the bad.  What fun adventures you had.  What you achieved or didn’t achieve.  But, also you get to see what you’ve learned.  Each year comes with new opportunities to learn and grow.  Here are five lessons from this year.

1. Life Is Uncertain

If anything, this year has taught us that life is uncertain.  You cannot predict the future.  The only thing you can do is face what happens with courage and continue putting one foot in front of the other.  Have faith and believe that there is nothing thrown at you at that you can’t handle.  The truth is, life has always been uncertain.  This year was especially proof of that.

2. Be Present

Life can change in a moment.  Nothing is guaranteed except the present.  It’s important to be present to what’s going on around you.  Be present to...

As this year winds down, it’s time to reflect.  Think back to where you were earlier this year.  If you journal, go back and see what you were writing about.  See what feelings come up and what was going on in your life.  Look through pictures from this year and recall the memories.  It’s important to reflect on what you want and don’t want to carry forward into the new year.  Grab a pen and a piece of paper.  You’re going to want to use these in order to write down your thoughts and responses as you reflect on this year.

Feelings

Remember experiences from this year.  Come up with one word that describes how you’ve felt.  This could be a feeling of success, loss, doubt, hope, etc.  Next, figure out what caused you to choose that word.  It could be due to certain events that took place.  Reflect over what has happened in your life over this year and how you’re currently feeling...

Think about the things you do for pure joy in life.  These are the activities that you can get lost in.  You become so engrossed in these activities that when you check the time, hours have passed, yet it barely feels like any time has passed at all.  Doing things for pure joy is a way to play and have fun.  It makes you feel good and reenergizes you.  Find pure joy activities that you truly enjoy, that light you up, inspire you, and ultimately make you feel more fulfilled in life.  Here are four areas you can create more pure joy in your life.

Hobbies

Hobbies are a great way to add more pure joy into your life.  Maybe you enjoy knitting, painting, or building things.  You can feel quite accomplished when you create a finished physical product with your own two hands.  Think about the last time you were so deep into project that you wouldn’t quit until you saw it through to completion.  These are the activities...

A joy list is similar to a gratitude list, but it’s more than just listing things that you’re grateful for.  While a gratitude list may include your house, spouse, or pet, a joy list will dig deeper as to why those things bring you joy.  A joy list is more descriptive and specific.  Here is how to make a joy list.

Little Things

First, focus on the little things that bring you joy.  These could include warm clean sheets out of the dryer, the feeling of bright sunshine on your skin, or crisp fall leaves beneath your feet as you walk, etc.  There are plenty of little things to be joyful about.  Find joy in the little things because big life events can be harder to come by.  It’s much easier to focus on the little things in your life that bring you joy.

Be Specific

Your joy list should be specific as to why it brings you joy.  Use descriptive words that evoke the feeling of joy.  For example, the smell of warm...

Life is full of ups and downs.  This year has been no exception.  When you’re feeling all the pain, worry, and stress, shift your focus to the positive.  You can still feel joy and sadness at the same time.  Do not dismiss the feeling of happiness just because you feel sadness.  If you’ve lost something this year and feel in despair, it’s okay to still laugh, smile, and feel a sense of joy in your life.  Both can be felt simultaneously.  If you want to get through your difficult time you must let some light in instead of holding onto the darkness.  When you choose joy, you will feel more equipped to get through the hard times.  Here is how to choose joy during hard times.

Schedule Your Joy

If it’s not scheduled, it’s not real and happening.  If you want to experience more joy in your life then you must schedule it on your calendar.  It won’t magically appear.  You must plan out...

Life is very uncertain.  Especially right now with a global pandemic.  The fear of the unknown is scary.  However, you don’t have to wallow in your fear of the unknown.  Here are five tips to help you make it through hard times.

1. Find Healthy Habits

When you experience a crisis, you begin to question a lot of your daily activities and what’s most important in your life.  Take a look at your daily life and assess what brings you joy.  Find things that remind you how important your life is.  Resolve to carry these things forward and make them habits that you include in your daily routine.  Then, let go of the habits that are not serving you.  Stick to your healthy habits and the things that make you feel good.  Your habits will provide you with a sense of certainty when everything has been turned upside down.  Your daily habits take out any decision making as you move through them without much...

If you’ve ever struggled to maintain a daily planner, it could be because you don’t feel like you have enough variety of activities going on each day to fill one out.  But, even if you feel like your days are on repeat, it’s important to have a clear view of what’s happening each day.  If you’re wanting some more variety in your life, then there are a few things you can do that will spice up your daily routine.

New

If you feel like your days are stuck on repeat then spice things up by scheduling in something new and exciting.  This could be cooking a new recipe, taking a road trip, or trying a new hobby.  Do something that’s a new adventure for you.  This will give you something to look forward to.

Sometimes the easiest way to spice up your daily routine is just to give yourself a new look.  Instead of seeing the same old you in the mirror, spice things up by doing your makeup differently.  Get a...