Got a dream? A big, slightly scary dream that fills you with equal parts excitement and fear? You're completely forgiven if you don't, as right now, with the excitement of the New Year there is rather a lot of hype around the latest diets, health plans, make-overs and the like. Dreams mostly don't get a mention.

Instead at this time of year, we are inundated with articles, posts and advertisements promising that if we just follow a certain program, or steps we will change our life, and will look and feel fabulous too!

But what about those dreams? Where do they come into it?

Sure, as the articles and advertisements promise, we might think we’d be happier if we were 2 kilos’ (5 pounds) lighter, or if we were fitter, slimmer, taller, more tanned, better organised… you know the type of thing.

But, would we really be happier?

When we examine what we are really seeking, what we have been dreaming about, so often it’s about feeling better in ourselves, feeling aligned with a purpose. Feeling good about ourselves because we are amazing. We believe this will occur when we meet these external goals. And it might. But it might not too. Instead, being happy with ourselves as we are should be what we aim for.

Resolutions revisited

This time last year I quietly took myself off for an hour or so, dreamt a little, and thought deeply about what I wanted for 2016. And then I wrote out my new year's actions and goals.

For the first time ever.

That's right, never before had I given the whole new year thing much thought, and certainly had never written any goals or actions down. But for 2016 I did and being an organised type, there were six (6) goals, broken into three (3) themes.

The three themes were Soul, Mind, and Body.

Be true to myself
Live the bigger life
Practice positivity
Daily meditation
Daily exercise
Choose the healthy option

Self-love is the starting place for the best new year’s resolutions.

Clearly, a big part of the whole focus of the year was on being myself, but the best version of myself; a healthy, happy, and positive version of me. The key was to be ME, and be that me wholeheartedly, completely, and authentically.

Identify your dreams and desires

As part of being truly aligned to myself, I needed to consider my dreams and visions. From there, I could then identify what made me happy, and what I wanted more of from life. By identifying all the things I wanted in my life (my dreams), I could then plan to achieve them (take action). I know, this sounds pretty obvious!

Learning to love ourselves fully, entails learning self-acceptance. My New Year’s dreams and wishes were about honouring myself. Knowing myself better, and coming to love and accept myself for who I am. The good bits and the less good bits. Acknowledging what I desired more of;

time for reflection.
meaningful time with my kids.
gratitude for the blessings in my life.
time for self-care without mummy-guilt.

Make a dream reality

Underlying all of this was a desire to grow (live the bigger life). I also wanted to DO something different with my life.

I wanted to contribute and find a career I was passionate about; where I could really help people and make a difference.

I was also seeking to do something to honour my stillborn son. I had undertaken volunteer work, I’d explored starting a charity, and had considered a multitude of other options. But nothing felt quite right.

I recalled my long-held dream, from more than a decade earlier; I'd wanted to be a life coach. But with getting married, my corporate career and then having children, that dream had been placed on the back-burner. But now, the desire to be a life coach embedded itself, and evolved into a new, better idea; I could coach other parents who had lost a baby.

And so, 2016 was the year I fulfilled that dream and made it a reality. I enrolled and completed my Life Coach course and certification with the Beautiful You Coaching Academy. And it was more transformative than I had even dared hope. It was the ultimate gift to myself whilst at the same time supporting my dream to make a difference and contribute.

And now it's 2017

Now, here we are again. It’s the start of a new year, 2017. Another chance to assess our life, dream a little about the future and determine what we want the next 12 months to entail.

Personally, my goals for 2017 are fairly similar to 2016, simply because the majority of the goals I set previously were about habits and my way of life, rather than a specific achievement. Yet my dreams have grown, and so this year, my goals are similar but a little expanded, in line with my dreams.

What are your dreams for this year?

If your dream is more about a heart-centered career that lights you up, makes a difference, and brings you joy - I’d love to support you to create that! Perhaps you'd like a new career as a life coach, or perhaps as something altogether different...

The first step is to arrange a complimentary 30-minute chat where we can talk about your dreams, and how we can work together to make them come true this year.

Book your complimentary consult