I recently asked some friends and family if they had any New Year’s Resolutions for the upcoming year, and I was hit with a mix of hunched shoulders and the words “I don’t know.” There may be so many things going through your mind—from starting a hobby to spending more time with loved ones. If you’re struggling with moving forward in the new year, here are several ideas to help you break bad habits and plan some awesome goals.
2024 is the year to . . .
Shake Your Impostor Syndrome
Have you spent the current year feeling that you’re doing something you’re not qualified enough to do? 2024 is the year to dismiss those feelings. But how do you do that?
1. You do that by first giving yourself some grace. It’s okay not to be 100% knowledgeable in what you do for a living. No one person knows every single thing.
2. It’s okay to acknowledge what you don’t know or understand. Once you realize what you don’t know or understand, try to find ways to improve (without trying to know it all).
3. It’s okay to ask for help. Even the best of us need to admit when we’ve met our match. Ask for help when you need it and win! No one said it’s only a win if you don’t need the help of others. It’s a smart win; you know enough to call on the right people to help.
Start New Traditions
One of the things I’ve been thinking about for the last few years is how to start some traditions that can stay with our family for years to come. If you’ve been wanting to start some new traditions, 2024 is the year to do it. If you have a tradition in your heart, you first need to share your idea with those it would involve. Explain to them why it’s important to you, ask for a trial run in 2024, and do it.
What’s important to you? What speaks to your values? For instance, if you’ve always felt like you want to do more during the holidays to help others, make it a family tradition to volunteer at a local shelter, food bank, or the like. This can be during the holidays or any time of the year. Once you start it, make it a plan to do it every year around the same time.
There may also be traditions your family has done for years that no longer fit who you are. You may not be alone in thinking that. If that’s the case, it may be time to make your loved ones aware that even though it started with past generations, it may be time to revise it, replace it, or even end it. 2024 is the year to be bold and do the things that really matter.
Improve Your Focus
Life can be incredibly busy with so much coming at us at once. When this happens, we can feel like we’re all over the place. We don’t know where one thing is ending and another is starting. We start here and end up over there, all the while not completing anything. We’ve got to do better in 2024, or it will be another year with little to add to our accomplishments.
Sometimes, the key to focus is to unfocus. We can be so locked in with the day-to-day that we don’t take time actually to think. Consciously schedule time every day to do nothing. When we’re in the presence of the moment, we’re in default mode with no agenda. Our brain is free-styling, allowing us to be innovative and creative in our thinking, bringing light and excitement to what’s to come. This is where the magic happens because it is here when we can make better decisions and actually come up with the plans we need to close out some of those open-ended projects that have been going on forever.
Prep for Emergencies
I know—this is one that even I say I will do every year. It may be going for me as well as it’s been going for you. How do we change that? Here are some ways:
- Take a CPR class in 2024
- Build your go-bag in the event of a natural disaster
- Wildfires have been raging lately and are becoming more of a thing. Learn how to get ready for one
- It’s also important to have that emergency fund finally caught up. Make it a point in 2024 to start allocating a certain percentage of your monthly income or a certain amount toward your emergency fund. Financial experts will tell you to have at least $1,000 saved up for an emergency. To do even better, try for at least three to six months of expenses in the event of a job loss.
Have Fun on a Budget
Ever heard the words fun and budget in the same sentence? Now you have, and you can take that thought into 2024. It’s awesome that you’ve committed to having a budget. Any financial expert will advise you to do that. But don’t let the word budget kill the fun in your life. You can have fun even while being on a budget. How, you might ask? Here are some ideas on that:
- Always check what’s happening in your community that’s low-cost or free. Things like farmer’s markets can sometimes come with free entertainment. Picnic from time to time in the park and do other fun, inexpensive things right in your community.
- Host an art night. Get a few friends and/or couples, get cheap supplies, and host an art night. To make it even more affordable, make it a potluck so that everyone participates in the cost to make it happen.
- Host a colored game night. With the same idea as an art night, host a couple’s game night where each couple should be assigned a color to wear, and they have to bring snacks of the same color.
In 2024, plan to be committed to your budget while enjoying life and having fun at the same time.
The Bottom Line
Hopefully, this got some juices flowing for how to improve your life in 2024. This upcoming year is your year to shine—in your finances and beyond. Now that we’ve got you going explore more ideas to embark on the best year of your life!
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