2022 is the year of Manifestation. It’s the year when hard-work and patience meet consistency and dedication. This is why I’ve decided to take the month of January to reflect on who I want to become, and where I want to go in life. In order to do this, my plan is to be as goal-oriented as possible. There’s something profoundly powerful about goal-setting. The feeling of writing down an objective and crossing it off once you’ve achieved it is top-tier, to say the least. But although the New Year is a time when most people set new intentions and aims, studies have found that 80% of New Year’s Resolutions fail by February. EIGHTY PERCENT! This speaks on the fact that it’s not just setting goals/resolutions that’s a problem for most, but rather KEEPING those resolutions. Today, we’ll briefly investigate five ways to successfully oversee the intentions that we set at the beginning of this new year of manifestation: 2022.

The first step towards keeping your New Year’s resolutions is to make S.M.A.R.T goals. I talked about this briefly in my “How to Break Bad Habits in 4 Simple Steps” article (which you should totally read before this), but nevertheless, S.M.A.R.T goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. They take into consideration what you want, why you want it, when you want it by, and how you’ll achieve the said goal. Whether your goal is better health, more wealth, a happier life, to travel more, to quit smoking… whatever the case is, you must first recognize what you want before you go for it. This means that you must have a vivid and clear image of what you want. You should also make sure that you’re not overestimating your ability to reach the said goal, so it’s important that you make them realistic and timely. In order to make sure you’re making progress towards your goal(s), I recommend keeping a daily journal that measures and tracks your progress every single day. This will not only keep you inspired, it will also show you how far you’ve come and how much more you have to go.

There’s a fabulous quote by John Maxwell that reads, “You’ll never change your life until you change something that you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” I love this quote because it relates perfectly to the last point I made about journaling daily to track your progress; but also because it emphasizes the importance of daily habits in evoking change. One of the main reasons most New Year’s resolutions fail is because people aren’t consistent enough. They start off strong with these huge goals in mind, only to realize that they cannot keep up with that momentum daily – which ultimately leads to them giving up altogether. Part of setting S.M.A.R.T goals is picking objectives that you know you can keep up with every single day. For example, a commitment to a healthier lifestyle might involve eating healthy daily or working out for a few minutes daily. A commitment towards not smoking anymore might involve saving money daily, instead of wasting that money on cigarettes, etc. Similarly, a commitment to a more peaceful life might involve meditating for at least 10 minutes daily. It’s ALL about your DAILY routine. You are essentially what you do… every single day. Especially on the days that no one is looking.

Third, and most importantly, is to expect setbacks. These could be minor or major setbacks ranging from feeling ill to having a relapse or even losing a loved one. Regardless of what the set back is, embrace it as a part of life and as a part of your journey. I know it sounds cliche, but it’s so important to be patient and kind to yourself especially when facing setbacks in life. Allocating space in your mind for setbacks will not only allow you to be kinder to yourself, but it will also help you know and understand how to adapt to many different scenarios. If you relapse and fall short of your goals, remember that lapses are part of the process of overcoming anything, including an addiction. In fact, lapses can be expected with any goal we set. This doesn’t mean we’ve failed. It means we’re working on a challenging goal. The key is simply to start again where you left off. And again – be KIND to yourself. Nobody is perfect. You might be close to perfect, but we’re humans who are bound to make mistakes. It’s okay to fall, as long as you get right back up.

My fourth piece of advice on how to keep your New Year’s Resolutions is to celebrate your wins AND your setbacks. Punishing yourself after a set back will neither help you nor motivate you, so the best thing you can do is to celebrate your setbacks as part of the plan, and embrace the fact that you’re facing a very difficult fleet that 80% of the world fails at by February. It’s also important to celebrate your victories and milestones because this encourages you to keep going. Now, I don’t mean go and buy a bottle of liquor to celebrate being one month sober. I mean find something that offers you pure bliss such as traveling, exercising, eating great food, or if you’re anything like me, blogging. Making time for the things you love – and using them as fuel for your goals – is key to avoiding burnout. This will also ensure that you keep the goal in hindsight and that you’re constantly reminded of why you started this resolution in the first place.

Fifth, and my favorite tip, is to remember that the fastest and easiest way to bring abundance and joy into your life is by acknowledging that The Universe conspires in helping you achieve EVERYTHING you set your mind to. Abundance is not something we acquire; but rather, it’s something we tune in to. There is so much beauty and goodness within you and surrounding you, and the best way to receive more of it is by first acknowledging what you’ve been blessed with. Giving is the secret of abundance: giving thanks; giving to others; giving (better) to ourselves – and it is through this skill that we attain our goals and manifest the lives that we truly desire. It is through the art of giving that we receive, because as we’ve observed through Yin and Yang in my previous two articles, balance is achieved through order and disorder. This means that yes – you’ll have set backs, yes – you might fail at first, and yes – you might be embracing this journey with nothing but faith, but nevertheless, it’s the GIVING of attention to your goals that will in turn manifest them into something beautiful and totally worth waiting/working for,

This year, I want you to challenge yourself beyond measure. Set S.M.A.R.T goals; pay more attention to your thoughts; journal down what you’re learning about yourself. Take the time out to meditate and be attune with your spirit. Listen to your inner voice and trust your intuition. But most importantly, trust in the ABUNDANCE of The Universe. There’s more than enough joy, love, wealth and health to go around for all of us. We just have to be set on achieving these values. I love you so much and I wish you a prosperous and abundant New Year.

Muah,

S. Rahaka,