The end of the year has come around again. And like every other year, I always look back to the past year and anticipate how I want next year to be. Over the past two years, I have been on a steep learning curve. I threw myself into the unknown, fell into rock bottom, and rose up again having found myself.
When you are completely cut open, there's nothing left to be scared of. You can only find what you have been looking for all along.
- Mo Seetubtim
After going through a few trials and errors, I've finally found my true calling. I've found my dreams, my life's purpose, what makes my heart sing, and most importantly, how to turn those dreams into my life's work. By discovering my authentic self and adhering to who I truly am, I find everything in life flowing naturally - a peace of mind, happiness from within, insatiable hunger for personal growth, and curiosity to explore.
2016 is going to be the year in which I fully focus on growing The Happiness Planner. We will expand our product range, develop a beautiful app, and inspire more people around the world to embrace the art of positive thinking because happiness is contagious.
On top of that, I will tick off my life-long bucket list. I'm going to do everything I have ever thought of doing, dreamed of achieving, and imagined of trying. From skydiving to bungee jumping, traveling to all the cities I've always wanted to visit, learning a third language, taking up a singing lesson, learning to cook more dishes, and inspiring people around the world to live with passion and find happiness from within.
What about you? Are you excited for 2016?
I have created some exercises and printables to help you reflect on the past year and plan for the year ahead. Please feel free to share with your friends and family.
** Simply click on link below the preview photos to download the actual files.
1. Reflect on the highs and lows of this year
There will always be highs and lows in life - happiness, sadness, joy, disappointment, anger, and stress. The key question we should ask ourselves is not "What did we lose from it?", but rather "WHAT DID WE LEARN?". The quicker we can change our mindset and shift our focus to that, the stronger and happier we become.
We were able to get those times of happiness and disappointments, because we had certain people and certain things in our lives. Looking back on those moments, what and who do you feel grateful for? What great things happened that you wish you could repeat and how could you make them happen again? Write them all down so you can start visualizing and planning for 2016 in a more meaningful way. Because after all, what we actually remember about the moments in our lives is "how we felt".
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2. Reflect on how you have been spending your time on different areas of your life.
We can't escape the fact that there are many aspects of life and sometimes it's hard to be good at everything at once. Sometimes we want one area of our life to excel and we forget to pay attention to the other areas of life. Taking a look at how we spend the only limited resource that we have - our time - can help us realize that we might have been too caught up in one area of our life and that we should start balancing better.
40 years from now when you are old - whether you've become a grandparent, traveled the world, or achieved all of the great things you set your mind to - and look back to how you have spent your time during your younger years, how would you like it to look like? Drawing a pie chart of how you picture your time being spent can help you realize what you truly want to prioritize, value, and how you want to be remembered.
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3. Envision your life 5, 3, and 1 year(s) from now.
Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in moments of fear and self-doubt. When we do that, we often forget our big dreams and forget to unleash our full potential. We might develop a habit of holding ourselves back until one day we may forget what our dreams are. Dream big because even if you don't reach your ultimate goal, at least you'll land somewhere nearby.
A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not in the branch but in its wings. Always believe in yourself.
After all...
Here are the 3 vision boards for 5, 3, and 1 year(s).
Click here to download:
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4. Think about all the things you want to achieve in 2016 and who you want to be
Now it's time to think about all the qualities you want to improve, the values you want to enhance or reinforce, and the skills you want to adopt or master. Do you want to be more organized, fearless, and confident? Do you want to engage in more social work because it is aligned with your values? Do you want to learn another language or take a cooking class because that's what you've always wanted to do but never seem to get around to it? Now is the time to write everything down on one piece of paper.
Download 2016 Vision Board printable
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5. Create an action plan
After reflecting on the past year and visualizing your life in the future, you now should have more clarity about exactly what you want to achieve in 2016. You should feel more focused and determined now that you have identified exactly what you want to happen and what you will do to make those things happen.
Download In 2016 I Will printable
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Please feel free to share this with your loved ones. This can be a great family lunch or a friends' get-together activity. If you'd like to share your experience with The Happiness Planner's community, please write to us at hello@thehappinessplanner.com.
The Happiness Planner is a planner designed to help you welcome more happiness, positivity, and joy into your life by applying the practices of positive thinking, mindfulness, gratitude, and self-development.
Follow their Instagram @HappinessPlanner for a daily dose of inspiration and check out their blog for more inspirational posts.