New Year's Resolutions

Happy Sunday and welcome back to my blog!

With January coming to a close I've been thinking about the new year ahead and about resolutions. Traditionally I do not set out to complete or accomplish a list of resolutions. As many others would agree, resolutions come with a somewhat negative connotation, they go hand in hand with disappointment or failure if you do not succeed. This year I am approaching the idea of resolutions differently, instead calling them intentions.

This year my family got together for New Year's Eve and started a new tradition. We thought of our intentions, hopes and goals for the new year and created a ceremony that symbolized us releasing these intentions into the universe. We purchased wish lanterns, delicate paper lanterns with a small square of fuel, that when lit creates a tall flame that carries the lanterns up into the sky. Some of us wrote on the paper lanterns our intentions and others, like myself, made a mental checklist. Just before midnight we went down to the beach, lit our lanterns, and watched them sail up so high you would have sworn they joined the stars. We released our wishes and dreams into the world with the hope that putting it out there would be the first step in drawing them back to us. You may be familiar with the laws of attraction, what you put out into the universe is what you will attract or draw to yourself. The concept that just having positive thoughts, or intentions, is all that is needed to start the process of acquiring, accomplishing and succeeding. 

I feel that the word intentions is softer than resolutions, if I intend to do something but do not succeed, I do not feel as though I have failed. I believe that setting goals, hopes and dreams for a new year or for any new chapter in your life, is important to help you define what it is you want and to visualize what outcomes you desire. My personal list of intentions are brief, simple and achievable. Achievable may be the key word, keep your goals attainable so that you set yourself up for success.

To exemplify what I mean, here are a few of my personal intentions and how I plan to achieve them:

-Start a blog and write on a weekly basis. Well, if you are reading this, you know I have already fulfilled this desire! Strive to do what you love and what your soul yearns for, you are more likely to succeed and to check this off your list.

-Start reading again. Somewhere along the road, presumably while in University, reading became a chore and unenjoyable. I am a slow reader, I read very methodically, I savour words and soak them in and I never scan or browse written words. It can take me a long time to read a book or even an instruction manual. For all of the above reasons, coupled with life's distractions, I didn't make time to read for pleasure. I commute to work by train, one hour in each direction, and decided this was a great opportunity to take up reading. Rather than spend time perusing social media, a somewhat wasteful activity, I will read the stack of books I have been meaning to read for a long time. In the first week of this new goal I finished a 500 page novel, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, a large feat for this slow reader, and am entirely hooked and anticipating next week's book. Start small (although 500 pages felt large to me!) and work your way up, so that you feel more inspired to stay on track.

-Stress less and relax more.

Above is an image of items that I identify as stress relievers. Bubble Bath to help me unwind after a long day. A colouring book to help bring out the child in me and fill the creative void I lack in my job. And a journal to keep my thoughts, ideas and reflections organized and in one place. There are so many other options to help you stress less, relax more, and live in the moment. Be creative, have fun with it and treat yourself. The bubble bath was a new product I had wanted to try, the colouring book a gift from my mom and the journal a gift to myself, I love the quote on the cover: Hopes & Dreams (Inside)...after all that is exactly what will fill those pages!

-Get Organized. My last item is something that will be a work in progress, likely for the entire year. I wanted to take the opportunity to get really organized this year because it helps me stress less (hey, killing two birds with one stone) and makes me function at a higher level. So far, I've taken several days to work on this intention. Break it into pieces or steps, I have broken it down into rooms in my house. I started with the bathroom cupboards, than worked on our storage room and next is the computer room/den. Below is an image of my Christmas Ornaments organization extravaganza, it was a huge feat but feels so good now that it's all done. 

Find some boxes or baskets that you love from HomeSense, Superstore, or even a thrift store to display blankets and extra pillows around the house. Purchase bins or tubs to organize holiday decor and keep it labeled so you know what is inside. Find clear jars for things like pet foods, sugar and flour to display them in a cute and tidy manner. Do not take on too much at once. Do not pile it up, you will only feel overwhelmed. Take it bit by bit and know that organization is a life long project! 

I hope you can identify with something I have said and that you can apply some of these tips and ideas to your own life. Here's to a less stressful, more enjoyable and organized 2016!

Teal next time....xoxo

Kathleen