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I am obsessed with the wheel of life and I literally audited everything in each of the categories that were important to me. I asked myself how I did in each section. What did I do well? What went poorly? What did I learn from each of my wins and failures? What lessons can I walk with into this new year? Dude. I got pretty deep. Looking at my wheel of life in an honest perspective it looks a bit deflated. Itā€™s not as well balanced as I want it to be ā€“ for one, my exercise and health is at a 4 of 10.

Life Goals Jar: The 5 Rules for This Fun and Easy DIY New Year Resolution Project

Itā€™s that time of year again… the malls are filled with Christmas tunes and lights are hanging from every window. In just a few weeks weā€™re going to be entering 2018 and 11 months later from there, weā€™re going to be saying, ā€œWow. I canā€™t believe itā€™s already November. Time flies so fast.ā€ Donā€™t we say this every year? *Raises hand* Guilty!

Reflections and Life Audit

Before we do that and we get all deep into our resolutions, I want to take a step back. This year, Iā€™ve done something Iā€™ve never done before and thatā€™s to DEEPLY reflect.

Wheel of Life Worksheet and Free Career Resources

Goal Setting Important Goals

Every year I tell myself Iā€™m going to go run a half marathon. I donā€™t know why I even sit this goal. I hate running. I put this measurement of success over my head because it sounds like a cool thing to check off the list. In 2018, Iā€™m not going to attempt to run any damn marathons.

What I am going to do instead is boulder at V6! In August 2017, I signed up for a rockclimbing membership and I absolutely love the sport. I am hovering over a V3/V4 right now but Iā€™m determined to rock the V6s by the end of 2018.

DIY Project: New Year Resolution Life Goals Jar

This year I wanted to do something new. I often just journal my New Year resolutions but I often find that list gets lost or hidden somewhere. I canā€™t even tell you where my 2017, 2016, 2015, etc. ones are. They are either in a trash bin or in one of the hundreds of journals I have laying in my closet but Iā€™m not sure which page to point to. In my process of life design. Iā€™m also in the process of office and home design. Thatā€™s why this year I decided to get a little bit crafty and artsy and design a jar filled with goals. I plan on having the jar sit on my desk so I can look through it often and see where Iā€™m at with my goals. I think being able to sift through the jar will serve as an excellent reminder of what was important to me this day, December 6, 2017.

The 5 Rules for My Life Goals Jar:

Life Goals Jar

  • I can add to it whenever I want… itā€™s going to be my jar of (future) fulfilled goals.
  • Each goal I write down has to be very important to me (not like running a damn marathon).
  • Every goal has to be a result. It canā€™t be ā€˜I am going to work out 3 times a dayā€™. Instead it has to be something like Iā€™m going to lose 10 pounds (insert current weight for reference).
  • Every goal has to be past tense.
  • Every goal remains important ā€“ do not waver or remove!

So for example, in my jar, I have a goal: I climbed a V6!

I havenā€™t actually done it yet. But I imagine when Iā€™m reading this again in 2018, Iā€™m going to be positively reinforced with the past tense statement as in, ā€œWow. This is totally achievable.ā€

This is my first time trying this technique but I think itā€™s really powerful compared to, ā€œI want to climb a V6.ā€

Also, I just cannot wait for that feeling of when I read these again on December 6, 2018 during my year-end reflections. I am so excited to grin and say, ā€œWow. I did climb a V6!ā€

So, thatā€™s the 5 rules… pretty simple, right? Letā€™s dive in and create your own!

How to Create the DIY Life Goals Jar

Life Goals Jar: The 5 Rules for This Fun and Easy DIY New Year Resolution Project

Step 1: Prepare your supplies:

  1. Jar or container: I picked up this glass one because I like the clearness but you can get creative and use any jar or container youā€™d like. I also contemplated buying a really pretty candle and reusing the jar but I figured it would take too long to empty the wax.
  2. Paper: I used cardstock paper for a bit of thickness but regular paper is fine!
  3. Scissors: Youā€™ll need scissors to cut your paper into different shapes and sizes ā€“ or keep them all consistent. Whatever you fancy!
  4. Pens: or any other writing supplies ā€“ the sky is the limit.
  5. Decorative Items (Optional): I added ribbon lace around mine but you can keep it minimal or go all out and bling it.

The point is, this is your jar so go crazy!

Step 2: Reflect + Write:

Without any judgment, write down your goals for 2018 on individual pieces of paper you cut out. Remember to follow the four rules especially #3 on making it results oriented. Here are some prompts to get you thinking:

a. On the Wheel of Life, what does a 10 out of 10 look like?
b. What do I need to accomplish to make that a reality?
c. Whatā€™s one thing I was disappointed I didnā€™t get to do last year?
d. What do I fantasize about?
e. If I couldnā€™t fail, what would I try?
f. What would get me more excited every day/week/month?

Step 3: Revisit Often:

There you have it. Told you this was an easy DIY project! But before you finish, I encourage you to pull up your calendar to pencil in when youā€™re going to revisit these goals and add to the jar. For example, I plan on visiting mine on the first of every month. By having them on my office desk, itā€™s easy enough for me to be reminded. By reflecting once a month, Iā€™ll have my goals fresh in my mind even six months later.

Life Goals Jar: The 5 Rules for This Fun and Easy DIY New Year Resolution Project

Now itā€™s your turn!

Iā€™d love to hear your top goals for 2018. Remember, sometimes itā€™s easy for us to throw away our goals or go at full speed in the month of January… but I encourage you to think back on why you wrote them down in the first place. Donā€™t give up just because something didnā€™t work out the first time you tried it. I had you write down your results instead of your actions because there are often multiple actions you can take to get a result.

Cheers to you accomplishing your wildest dreams this year!

Life Goals Jar: The 5 Rules for This Fun and Easy DIY New Year Resolution Project

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