Some people believe that there is no day like January 1 for a fresh start. However, it’s not that simple, as coming up with a detailed plan for the whole year can be very challenging. To make things work more smoothly, you first have to realize where you are and what exactly you want to do with your life. Here, there are several options:
1. You have no idea about what you want to do
If this question sets your head spinning, there are several methods and techniques that can help you see into your desires. It’s no coincidence that people like to open fortune cookies on New Year’s Eve. By using this simple trick, you start thinking outside of the box and may find something you have thought about for a long time, but never placed importance on.
“In this case, certain emotional and metaphorical techniques may come in handy; for example, metaphorical cards. It works like that: you take a card and explain what thoughts it evokes in you. If it doesn’t work out, just look at it from a different angle,” shares Anastasia Prichislenko. “It’s impossible to keep silent when you find something you really want to speak about.”
Such techniques, as well as various visual exercises in which you’re asked to visualize your goals, are all based on the same principle: something you’re afraid to talk about or don’t even think about at all might pop into your mind when you least expect it to. The images on the cards and the phrases in fortune cookies can have many meanings, and everyone will see in them what they care most about.
What is also important is that when playing this game, you don’t have to make your life choices immediately. It just gives you an opportunity to notice the course your life is taking and think about what can be done about it.
2. You know exactly what you want and know that it’s real
Want to learn a foreign language? Great! But it’s not enough.
First, try to make your goals as clear as possible. It’s one thing to just learn English, and it’s another to learn English from A2 to C1 because you’re going to apply for an exchange program abroad in half a year. There is a well-known principle called SMART. This is an abbreviation that gives you the criteria to guide yourself in the setting of objectives, with its letters broadly conforming to the words Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. Use this principle to set your goals, and you’re bound to succeed.
Second, think about forming good habits. The thing is that even the most expensive language course won’t work if you don’t train regularly.
To make your new habits stick, set small tasks and squeeze them into your daily routine. For instance, if you watch your favorite TV series and take a shower before going to bed, you might try spending 15 minutes after watching TV on a language app or doing exercises from a student book. Studying for 15 minutes every day is a lot more beneficial than your promise to enroll in a cool English course taught by native speakers.
If your English level is high enough, watch TV series in the original language or watch a couple of TED videos on the metro. After a while, the habit will stick and you’ll see its benefits.
3. You know what you want, but aren’t sure if it’s real
In this case, you need a different approach. Because if you don’t believe that your goal is achievable, you won’t be able to concentrate on how to make it work.
“First and foremost, think about why you feel that way. For example, you want to earn a lot of money but somewhere deep inside, you believe in that old saying that goes like ‘honour and profit lie not in one sack’. That’s why when you decide that it would be great to earn a big sum of money, you fall into a trap. Most people don’t even think about their beliefs that much, they just set goals and never achieve them. This is a very complex problem,” explains the expert. “The task here is to find these wrong ideas and work with them.”
