Now that the holidays are (just barely!) over, it’s time to look toward the new year, and spend some time imagining, dreaming, and setting goals + resolutions for 2018.

I’ll be honest: I have big goals this year and a lot to accomplish in the next few months. What determines my eventual success will be my ability to envision what I want, and then outlining a clear way to take action toward those goals.

Intention setting is important any time of year to help us be clear on our goals and set a trajectory for our lives. But often we spend time in the dreaming phase, and forget to take time to reflect on what we’ve already accomplished, and how we are going to accomplish our goals.

Reflecting on what’s gone well before is important for helping us set the tone for our new goals. First of all, it helps us see that we actually did accomplish some things in the past year. Maybe we didn’t get the million dollar raise we were hoping for, but we did organize the basement, take that fun vacation, and complete a major project at work. These are all things to celebrate.

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle that is modern life, we forget to celebrate the small victories. Or we do, but then those victories get swept away in laundry, carpools, and bills. Revisiting our past successes helps us create a mindset where we believe we are capable of accomplishing things and having success.  It creates a positive frame of mind for us to start contemplating our future goals.

When we dream it’s important to really let ourselves imagine what we really want. Sometimes we are held back by what we think is “realistic” or achievable. We believe that if we reach too high we will just be disappointed.

And I totally understand this. I used to be here, too, and worried that to really voice my dreams and aspirations would just invite in the inevitable disappointment that would follow.

But how disappointing is that?!

Allowing ourselves to explore our wildest dreams can also help us clarify why exactly we want those things. Dreaming of living on the beach in Hawaii? Why? Do you love the ocean? Do you desire more freedom and less structure?

Perhaps moving to Hawaii isn’t in the cards right now, but you can make travel to the ocean a priority, or find other ways to create more freedom in your current life. It may not be beach life, but it can help you partially fulfill these dreams. If you never acknowledge these desires, it’s hard to work with them.

Finally, we have to create actionable steps that will help us achieve our goals. It’s not enough to say we want to lose 10 lbs. How are you going to do it?

Maybe step 1 is joining the gym. Step 2 might be finding a workout buddy. Step 3 is uploading a pump up mix on your phone or ipod. Step 4 is creating accountability–a sticker chart (yes this works for adults too!) or a daily check in with a partner. Step 5 is to change your diet….etc.

You see how breaking things down into actionable steps actually makes it sound much more doable? When we only have big goals, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But reminding ourselves that we’ve achieved great things before, and then breaking those goals down into smaller steps makes us feel like we have the roadmap to succeed.

We still have to stick to the roadmap, but at least we know how to get there. Plus, you can cross things off as you go along, so even if you haven’t lost the 10 lbs yet, you can see that you’ve made progress. It’s easy to get discouraged when we don’t see progress right away, but listing out your steps helps you see the progress you have made, even if it’s not obvious.

So take some time and reflect and plan. Here’s a pdf workbook you can use to do this–it’s my gift to you!

Grab some tea, find a cozy nook, and sit down to reflect on 2017, dream about 2018, and plan out how you’re going to shine this year.

Best wishes for a happy new year!

xo