A little delayed but, Happy New Year!

Around this time last year I wrote a Goal Setting post with all my exciting plans for 2015.

And what a year 2015 was — I learnt how to swim, it was my first year racing triathlon and I created Live Loosley. Whirlwind! I’ve literally intimidated myself for setting 2016 goals… I haven’t a clue what to aim for that could top last year.

Even though I’m not big on setting New Year’s Resolutions or the whole ‘new year, new you’ thing, I do feel the need to roughly map out my year so I have an idea of the months to come… what races/travels/experiences spark my interest and how I can make the most of a refreshed holiday allowance at work.

So far, my 2016 plans are very up in the air… and I’m not going to lie, it makes me a little uneasy! I’m a planner… I love plans… yet, I have no set plans.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to write about as my first post of the year… I felt an obligation to write something about goal setting and plans for 2016 but I’m still working mine out and it’s OK if you are too. Goals can be set anytime of the year and should be readjusted as you learn more about achieving them.

This weekend I thought to myself, how about setting an affirmation? And it’s really helped me come to terms with my current ‘no plan’ status.

What is an affirmation?

An affirmation is a carefully considered message created to help you stay focused on changing a negative belief or focusing more on a positive belief.

We all hold negative beliefs about ourselves… the idea of employing an affirmation is to change your belief and empower yourself in a changed experience.

How to set an Effective affirmation

1. Reflect.

Understand the positive beliefs you want to place focus on or the negative beliefs you want to change. Common negative beliefs often involve self image and self confidence.

2. Write.

Write down your beliefs, good and bad! For the bad, write the contrast (the opposite is the affirmation). So if your negative belief is “I’m not very confident” than write down “I’m really confident”.

3. Repeat.

Say your affirmation aloud and write it down where you’ll see it often. Perhaps even incorporate it into your vision map if you have one!

My affirmation

I am confident. I am calm. I am focused.

I am confident — I tend to worry to much about what other people think and end up self conscious, closed off and a little anxious. I need to trust myself more and stop measuring my value by comparing myself to other people.

I am calm — I get anxious thinking about all the ‘what ifs’ and I can get stressed out as a result. It is often wasted energy being stressed about something you cannot change. I need to remind myself of this often.

I am focused — This is a positive trait I have that I want to keep in the forefront of my intentions.

Try it!