Every year I see gyms and commercials banking on the New Year’s Resolutions that end up falling away by mid-February. I’ve been there! I’ve tried setting health goals for myself, trying new hobbies, and making the whole year about 1 resolution that in the moment sounded like a good idea. And every year…I failed or just simply forgot about it with all the things happening in my life.

365 days is a LONG time to make a commitment to one thing. There are 365 opportunities for your circumstances, goals, and life to shift drastically causing your priorities to shift as well.

That is when I started creating a theme for the year. With 1 word, I could feel inspired and anchored in how I wanted to feel that year allowing my goals to fluctuate and change with my ever-changing self. These words and themes became the umbrella casting protection over my dreams and desires. I could never fail because it was a state of mine that I could embody in each moment and take realistic action throughout the whole year…not just January 1st.

How to dream up your theme:

1. Reflect and Celebrate

   1. Look back on your previous year and look at what you accomplished. What can be celebrated? Why was that important to you? What did you do to succeed? How did you feel in those moments? Celebrate and take the win so that you can learn from your strengths and not only focus on what didn’t serve you.

2. Explore your core values

   1. Knowing your core values allows you to recognize when you are off your aligned path. It also allows you to draw deeper into words, feelings, and themes that resonate with you on a personal level. Go back to a list of 5 core values that are non-negotiables for you. Journal and reflect as to why those are your values. Notice what type of words and language pop up describing your moral code.

3. Decide what you want:

   1. How do you know what you are supposed to do if you don’t know what you want? Decide what exactly you’d like to welcome in for the near year. Be really specific. The universe can’t help you out if you are vague. Work with visualizing yourself in the exact place that you want to be 1 year from now. Who do you see? Where are you? What are the tastes and smells? How does your body feel? See it and feel it. Decide and confirm that is your state of mind in which you desire.

4. How do you want to feel?

   1. Once you have explore what you want in the next year…decide your emotional destination. Not only the tangibles, but the intangibles that go along with it. What feelings do you want to experience in the next year and why are they important to you?

5. Pick 1 word and try it on

   1. Narrow down to your top 10, top 5, and then your top pick. Try it on for one day. Write it on a sticky note and put it on your bathroom mirror. Write it in your planner. Journal about it. Do some goal setting and intention setting using it as a mantra. Does it land in your body? Try it on like a pair of pants until the ONE fits.

6. Define your theme word in your own words

   1. Once you have chosen your theme, define it. What does it mean for it to be the “Year of _______” How can you set your goals to align with this theme? What type of actions embody this word?

7. Each month goal map and desire map based on your theme

   1. Every week or every month- reevaluate where you are. What goals need to be priority. What actions and agreements can you take to make the goals happen? Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic(and risky), and Timely) goals in each category that aligns with your values. For example: Professional, Personal, Spiritual, Health, Financial…you name it!) For each category may need different shifts in your energy and focus. Bring it back to your emotional destination and theme. Decide how you CAN feel the way you want to feel in this year.

8. Love on your Theme

   1. All year live the #yearof and love on yourself. Love your theme. Celebrate the small and big wins. Learn the lessons from the obstacles or when you feel stuck. Know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be in this process. Find the love.