We’re officially “Back to School”. My eldest daughter is 3 days into starting secondary school and I’ve just waved goodbye to my youngest daughter who has joined year 3. No tears, no separation anxiety, just proud that my daughters walk tall, relish being with their school friends and are eager for school-style learning.
And now I have chance to take a few deep breathes, reflect on the highs and lows of the summer holidays (highs – lots of fun, family time with the girls; lows – tried to fit in too much, so feeling quite exhausted and broke) and turning my attention to me and the future.
For parents with school age children, September feels more like the start of a new year, more so than the traditional January festivities. After a relaxed break with not much structure, having life dictated to again by school start and finish times, impending half term holidays and homework schedules , it feels like a fabulous opportunity to put yourself first and plan for the year ahead.
So I’m putting some time aside this week to plan some goals for the next 12 months. What do I want for myself and my family? In this blog, I’m going to share with you the three key questions I will be asking myself:
What changes do I want in my life?
Yes, it goes without question that I want to be fitter, thinner and prettier but then when I ask myself what changes I truly want in my life or, to put it a different way, how do I want my life to be different in, say, 12 months I can answer in a more authentic, sincere way. If I visualise myself in a year’s time what would I see differently to now – what are the things that are going to make the biggest changes: a new fitness regime? changing career direction? finding ways to live more simply? changing some relationships? more home cooked meals? finally resolving some long term issues? falling in love with a new interest or pursuit?
Once I’ve come up with my top things that I want to change, I’ll ask myself what are the first steps that I’m going to take to make these changes happen?
The key to this question is giving yourself permission to dream, visualise and plan your future so that you know what you want. And then, most importantly, taking action towards making it a reality.
What’s working well in my life?
Reflecting on what is working in your life, right now, can be a very helpful way of appreciating all the good things and ensure that you hold to them. What do you treasure and hold dear? Are these precious people, places, things, time? What do each of these give you and how can you ensure that you continue to get this?
What do I want to let go of?
Letting go of the things that are not working well for us is a healthy process. Perhaps we are holding on to unhealthy relationships, wasting time on something that we really don’t want to be doing, continuing with job situations or home life circumstances that are not doing us any good. Sometimes we hold on to negative thoughts, feelings and things due to fear – we’re not sure what will happen if we let go. The best advice I’ve ever received is to trust yourself and let go.
By asking myself these 3 questions, I intend creating a top 5 list of goals to achieve during this year. The final question that I will then ask myself is who or what is going to help me. I may turn to the abundant army of gadgets, gizmos and apps that are available nowadays (I’m loving my new FitBit Alto at the moment!). Or maybe it’s more useful to engage the wisdom, support and motivation of trusted family and friends. And for the big and more difficult to change stuff, to truly help me succeed, I will enlist the help of an expert. Experts come in all types of guises these days – whether it be a YouTube tutorial, a personal trainer, a teacher or a coach – whatever I want to change in my life, there will be an expert available, willing and able to help me to succeed.
The children will be working hard to achieve their targets at school this year and hopefully having lots of fun and learning along the way. And that is the hope for me too as I create more of the future that I want for me and my family – it beats looking into a crystal ball or pining my hopes on the lottery, any day.
For expert careers advice around returning to work after a break or changing career direction Career-Mums offers coaching and training to support you in creating your ideal working life.
Happy New Year!
Sally
