This month’s theme is ‘Jump In January’, and we’re all about creating room for ourselves to learn new things, reach greater heights and approach new challenges with excitement. 

January is a great opportunity to refresh, reset and readjust. And we’ve prepared some pointers on how you can achieve just that:

> Reflect

There’s a great quote: 

Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. 

The start of a new year is a great opportunity to reflect on your previous year – what went wrong? What went right? What you would do differently? What you would like to improve on? 

Making informed changes based on your past actions, challenges and beliefs is called personal growth. It’s the absolute best way to move into the new year as a stronger and more open-minded version of yourself.

> Simplify

Take a look at your physical environment. 

Physical clutter can lead to mental clutter, and there’s nothing worse than feeling overwhelmed, overcrowded and uncomfortable. Take the words of Marie Kondo and remove anything that no longer sparks joy for you. Your surrounds have a profound impact on your mood, and you’ll find that a clearer desk or more organised wardrobe will impart more clarity, help you make decisions and become more efficient.

> Create

Creating goals is probably something you’ve heard before, and probably not something you want to hear again. But goals are a valuable development tool, and help you stay accountable for the things you really want to work on, or achieve.

Unlike the old ‘New Year’s Resolution’ fad, which will usually persist a whole two days into January, goals can start small. Maybe you want to read one book a month, or meal prep twice a week for work, or learn how to meditate. 

The best to create your goals is to start big, and break the action into smaller, more achievable, and timely steps. You’ll probably never speak fluent French if ‘learn French’ is your goal. Instead, ‘sign up for French lessons’, ‘learn to introduce myself in French’ or ‘watch one French movie a week’ are all small steps to get you well on your way!

We’ll be touching on goal-setting very soon in our first guest blog of the year.

> Project

My absolute favourite quote is by Maya Angelou:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Make more time to do things for others without expecting something in return. 

At the end of the day, we all want to be around people who make us feel good. Why not be that person for someone else?

> Challenge 

Do something that scares you. 

Ok, don’t go base jumping or big wave surfing if you don’t know how. 

Challenging yourself to leave your comfort zone is one of the biggest forms of self-growth. The most effective way to overcome your fears’ or discomforts is to face them head on. 

“Exposure is hands down the most successful way to deal with phobias, anxiety disorders, and everyday fears of any sort,” says neuroscientist Philippe Goldin. “Simply repeatedly exposing ourselves to the thing we’re afraid of — ideally in a positive way — gradually brings down the physiologic fear response until it’s gone, or at least manageable.”

It’s not exactly the easiest or most comfortable thing, but the sense of accomplishment you’ll feel is worth every penny.