New Years Revolution

I love Kikki K.

There. I said it.

Kristina Karlsson is a genius and she makes many a girl like me very happy. I love kikki k so much that I could easily spend every day of my life browsing the shelves of a kikki k store, imagining the perfect home office in my perfect future swedish inspired house with its perfect streamlined bright decor, packed with pretty post-it notes, fun to-do lists and an endless supply of kikki k pens.

My latest kikki k “investment” included a “Happiness Journal” in a bright, cheery yellow, with ever so delicate gold lettering. What actually drew me to the Happiness Journal is that it’s prompted me to take a new approach to New Years Resolutions this year.

This year, instead of setting a ridiculous resolution I’ll never keep (climb Mt Everest, find a cure for diabetes, bring roller blading back – Drew Barrymore and the Mighty Ducks are equally responsible for that pipe dream), I’ll set 12 little ones! One a month. And they’ll be slightly more realistic.

Predictably, January is an exercise resolution. And I’m keeping it achievable. I had a little hiatus from exercise at the end of last year….most of last year….and it’s time to get back on the wagon. Shamefully uncreative, I’m calling it Gym January (the start of each word sounds the same, get it)? I’m going to the gym twice a week in my lunch break.  Obviously most days of the week is most ideal, but nothing is the least ideal. Like we say in the world of health coaching, anything is better than nothing. I’ll be doubling the amount of exercise I did last year! I’ll leave the benefits of exercise to another post, but I’ll assure you that my exercise goal is not all in the name of vanity (though it is a bit).

Over two weeks in and I’m on target. I’ve even managed a few extra days of exercise each week. That’s the benefit of starting with a small, achievable goal. You’ll find that you’ll meet it plus some extra. Things start to gel and it flows over into other parts of your life. Of course there will be challenges, and times you’re less motivated, but starting with one small step is always the best place to start.

So what are my other 11 resolutions? The list is yet to be finalised but a few candidates are Sleep September, Money March and Meditation May (see what I did again there, the letters are the same at the start of each word, that’s word art). I won’t be in my pi’s for the whole of September, but focusing on a regular sleep routine. I’m chucking finance in there. And a little meditation – I’m talking 5 minutes a day – has oodles of proven health benefits. Volunteer work is going to be in there somewhere to, but no months start with V, so I’m a bit stumped, but I’ll get there. And I’m definitely up for suggestions – of the word art or resolution variety.

As to how it all plays out, I’ll keep you posted….on cute little post-it notes with swedish forest life on them….

Goal setting 101 – The “SMART” approach 1) Be Specific – Vague goals such as “I’m going to exercise more” won’t work. What will you do? How will you do it? When will you start? 2) Make it Measurable – Include a quantity of “how much” or “how many”, such as I will walk twice per week for 30 minutes 3) Set small, achievable, Action-oriented goals – Set goals you have control over and can change.Focus on a behaviours or an action rather than thoughts and feelings 4) Be Realistic  – No point aiming to run the half-marathon every day if for the past 6 months you’ve been hosting Will & Grace marathons on the couch 5) Have a Time Frame – Give yourself a period of time or a target date to work on your goal. A week to a month is usually a good starting point