Feeling inspired to start 2014 out right? You should be! The La Familia Nuestra Energy calendar indicates that January 1-4th of 2014 is Direction energy. In Direction, it’s all about setting your goals and intentions for the future. It’s a fantastic time to make plans.

There is something very inspiring about the beginning of the year. I have had some challenges the past couple of weeks. Nothing major, but just one of those times when all the little things add up together to make life challenging. (I know you’ve been there!)

Liam got a cold right when my family arrived to visit, plus he’s teething. These things have caused his sleep to be very restless, when previously he was sleeping through the night consistently. He’s cranky during the day because his running nose and cough is bothering him. I was sad when my full house full of family members I love and don’t see often, suddenly felt empty and quiet when they all left. Then, Richard and I caught the cold and we aren’t sleeping well.. I could go on, but I’ll stop complaining now!

With all these little annoyances going on, it was easy for me to feel fed up with life, and lacking enthusiasm. I wasn’t even well enough to stay up till 12 on New Years Eve, a first for me! But then on New Years Day I began to feel a new sense of enthusiasm. I set about making my goals and vision board for 2014. As I dreamed big about what I want to create in my life for myself and my family; I got excited again. I started to look beyond the day to day challenges of life, and see the bigger picture of why I am here on Planet Earth, what my life purpose is about and what joy I can create.

Sometimes it’s not the process that matters, but how the process makes you feel inside. Setting goals in of itself doesn’t do much unless you feel excited and energized by those goals and use that energy to project you forward to a more joyful and abundant life. If you have been feeling a little down in the dumps lately (Holiday season will bring out the emotional rollercoaster more than any other time!) then I encourage you to TAKE ACTION. You may think you don’t need to set goals, or meditate or say affirmations because it doesn’t make any difference to your life. I encourage you to reconsider.

The mere action of setting goals for your future will cause you to feel and act differently. You will feel more positive and excited about your life. You will come back to your true inner feelings. You will remember who you really are; a soul with a life purpose. How you FEEL inside is the most important factor to your success. When you feel positive about yourself and your life, you will get positive results. When you feel unhappy with yourself and your life, then you will not get the results you desire. So it makes sense that any process or practice that causes you to feel positive is absolutely essential to your success.

In the last issue of Spirit Connections, I shared my yearly practice of setting goals and creating a vision board. You can read that article HERE on our Blog if you missed it. In this article, I’d like to share some additional tips on How to Set your Goals for the New Year. Let’s make 2014 your best year ever!

1. Set Goals based on your Heart’s Desires

This is the time to get in touch with what you really, really want. Look within and bring to your mind and heart all those things you have been dreaming of. It is important to set goals based on what you truly desire as opposed to what you think you “should” be doing, what you have always done, or what others want you to do.

Be sincere with yourself and take a look at what you truly desire for your life. It may mean that you need to meditate for a while in order to get in touch with your true inner feelings; especially if you are not used to looking within in this way. It also may not come to you in one day. You may decide to take the entire month of January to tune in and observe yourself and clarify what you truly desire.

If you’re unsure if a goal is your true heart’s desire ask yourself “is this what I want? Is this what I really, really want? “

2. Think BIG

You can’t reach big goals unless you set them! Move past your self-imposed limitations, and dream of what your life would be like if you had all the time, money and resources you could ever need at your disposal. On New Years Day, I was channel surfing and came upon HGTV. (A channel dedicated to home improvement and renovation shows for our non-US readers!) They had an hour long show dedicated to showcasing a brand new home they are giving away in a contest. Along with the home, yard and car, you receive $250,000 cash.

I started to dream of what I would do if someone handed me $250,000 cash tomorrow. It would take away all of my excuses. I would still want to do my spiritual work and be of service to clients. I would still want to travel. I would just have the means and resources to do it without any time delay.

Imagine what you would do with your life if you had no limitations. When you do this exercise, you will discover what you really want to do . Once you have done your dreaming and visioning of your BIG goals, write them down and create a Big Picture Vision Board. You may not be able to achieve all these big dreams and goals this month or even this year, but you WILL be able to achieve them as long as you stay tuned in to your big picture and bring these goals and dreams consistently to your consciousness.

The reason many people stay stuck in their lives and never achieve their dreams is that they don’t believe they can ever make those dreams possible.
Practices such as vision boards, reading your goals out loud and affirmations serve the purpose of bringing your dreams into your awareness, which is essential.

3. Remind yourself of your goals often

The reason some people never stick to their New Years resolutions or goals is that they set the goal on New Years day and then promptly forget about it! Setting your goal is just the first step. You must recommit yourself to your goals each day. There will be times when you fall off the wagon, and that’s fine and understandable. Just pick yourself up, regroup and start again.

You will need to have a daily practice of reminding yourself of your goals in order to achieve them. This is essential. Our lives are so busy and full it is too easy for life to get in the way of your good intentions to achieve a goal. You need to review your goals daily in order to set your energy to the direction you desire to go. If you don’t choose your life’s direction, more organized/manipulative souls will choose your direction for you.

There are many ways of reminding yourself of your goals daily, and I encourage you to choose the method that feels best to you. You can:

  •  Write your goals out daily.
  •  Read over your goals daily. (out loud is best!)
  •  Have a vision board of your goals that you see at least daily.
  •  Visualize yourself achieving and living the goals.
  •  Repeat positive affirmations to yourself in the present tense that you have achieved the goal.

4. State your goals in the present tense.

Whichever method you choose to attune your energy to manifesting your goals, be sure to state the goals in the present tense, as if it is already happening NOW. This is the key to attuning your energy to attracting these goals into your life.

5. Notice the opportunities that cross your path to make your goals a reality.

When you remind yourself of your goals often, you will become aware of opportunities that cross your path that make it simple to reach your goals. One of Richard’s goals for 2013 was to buy a camper. Because he had set this goal, when he was browsing craigslist a couple of months ago he had the inspiration to look for any advertisements of campers for sale. He found a great deal on one and purchased it quickly.
If he hadn’t been attuned to the idea of buying a camper, he would never have found the advertisement.

You can do this too! Decide what you want, do your daily practice and when the opportunity arises, grab it!