[CHAT] New Year resolutions. It's that time already?!
Every year on the 31st of December, people around the world begin to count down the last few seconds of the year that has been. The new year welcomes a time to reflect on what we’ve done in the last year and how we can improve ourselves. People begin to think about what they’d like to achieve and commit to a strange set of goals called resolutions.
But, if you’re like me, committing to New Year’s resolutions is pretty hard and change is all the more challenging. As this occasion is all about new beginnings, we can be pretty tough on ourselves when it comes to resolutions and setting goals. We really do beat ourselves up when we don’t quite reach them. But I believe that we change a bit more each day- more than we actually think.
I like to joke about how I can’t really stick to them and just go with the flow. To me, it’s about knowing what I’m comfy with, doing things at my own pace, yet still being curious to try new things. However, my past self didn’t quite understand that just yet.
Last year, I was finally coming out of a fairly dark time and was only back on my feet. Suddenly, I felt the urge to just grab life by the wrist and do all the things! I had no idea where this surge of confidence and bravado came from. Making goals and racing against time to achieve my dreams seemed to be my main priority. One moment, I felt victorious and being all ‘Carpe Diem yay!’. However, the next few moments realised that I wasn’t taking good care of myself nor being relatively empathetic to those around me.
Basically, I became rather greedy and began crashing down.
It seemed that I wanted to get from Step 1 to Step 12 but had tried to skip all the other steps in between! All of my goals seemed to be going along the road of irresponsibility. It was then that I realised that it’s ok to slow down; that self-evaluation and setting goals can come at any time.
Setting goals or resolutions can be made at pretty much any time of the year, not just New Year’s. Although it means a lot to people, it’s also seeing what it means to you. Maybe New Year’s is the best time for change and to feel empowered or maybe it’s just another day. Goals don’t have to be enormous - they come in all shapes and sizes. This could be going for a run each week, hanging out with friends and family more, or it could be planning to go on a round-the-world trip.
Whatever your resolution or goal may be, it’s all about taking it one step at a time.
**Whether you've made some awesome New Year's resolutions, thinking about setting some goals, feeling a bit stuck about change and not knowing where to start - we want to hear from you! Join us to chat about tackling these resolutions on Monday 12 January at 8pm, AEST! We'll be talking about how goals and making change start with you!***
Thanks for joining us tonight
Want to know more about setting goals and resolutions? Check these out:
* All about gratitude
* How to set goals
* How to be more mindful
* Challenging negative thinking
* Tips for getting motivated
Good night 
so many great bucket list items guys! I'm inspired 🙂
Our next question is:
What advice would you give to a friend, family member, or co-worker who wants to reach their resolution?
What advice would you give to a friend, family member, or co-worker who wants to reach their resolution?
Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going 🙂
Hahaha aw why thank you @stonepixie 
Love what you said about motivation and habit @FItzChivalry very true and something I need to remember!!
Nooo @j95 , it was me!! I just edited my own response to one of your earlier comments... Never done that before 
So Sorry for any confusion!
I was giving you a big thumbs up for all your awesome resolutions. And from your other posts straight after, i saw that you were PUMPING full of positive ideas and goals!
You sounded like you had a good handle on all of it! Success with the awesome journey!!
@verity23 thanks!! but i do tend to make big goals that I can't get very far with.
Bringing it in from 2014
We’ve learnt many things last year and we’ve decided to bring one or two things into the new year. Friends, the mistakes we’ve made, and the lessons we’ve learnt have been a common theme among us tonight! But don’t forget the good stuff! Spending time with new friends, seeing family members start school (and feeling old while doing so!) and just generally chilling out are some awesome things that we’re bringing forth.
2015: Looking forward
Good vibes right here! We’re looking forward to a lot of things in 2015. Travel, good food, job hunting, improving your personal well-being, looking out for others, getting through Year 12, meeting new people, open to new experiences, volunteering, doing more of the things we enjoy (like reading more books and gardening), as well as playing a lot of music is what we’re wanting to do!
How to achieve goals
Making some big career moves, finding a job, improving at uni, keeping yourself healthy - physically and mentally, as well as keeping your relationships positive are some of our goals. Whether this is doing some job-hunting more frequently, changing what our dream job is, doing more readings, exercising more at home (in a home gym!), and checking up on people, we’ve all got our ways in getting there!
Tips for challenging resolutions
Breaking them down into smaller steps is key to working towards more challenging resolutions. It’s also great to have short-term goals as well as focusing on the long-term. Not everything has to be one enormous project! It gives us the chance to figure out obstacles but also helping us live in the present. This way, we can view our resolutions from all different angles and follow our instincts!
Big, small, different goals
‘Impress yourself, not others’ is the motto for our goal setting and resolutions. There are going to be times when we want to do everything or compare ourselves to others. But we know that stepping back and appreciating what we’ve done so far is what matters. Setting goals can happen at any time - not just for the New Year. We’re all different with different things to work on at very different stages of our lives. However, hearing about what other people are doing gives us ideas on improving ourselves too! Carrying on goals from last year also shows our work in progress.
Bucket list time!
Looks like we’re really into travel, concert-going, and extreme sports! Some of us want to travel to New Zealand to do bungee-jumping, and re-visiting France and going on a European adventure. Others are sticking close to home, such as going to Melbourne or doing a trip around Australia. Going to more concerts is also on the bucket list! Yay for more Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift!
Giving advice to others
Keep motivated and keep it simple
Thank you to everyone for an inspiring sesh! Bye all and good night!!
