New Year themes and self-motivation

Now that the fireworks have faded and the hype of the New Year has passed, the responsibility is on us to keep ourselves inspired throughout 2013. Yes, the fresh new energy of a New Year is surely enough to motivate one to new altitudes. But, for how lon

Here's how you should begin: Dump your list of resolutions! Yes, that’s right. DUMP it. It can be a bit daunting though; heading into the Chinese Year of the Snake without any set goals to actually concentrate on.

But, instead of the usual check list of determinations, some strongly recommend the idea of having themes that guide you forward every year. Choosing themes is a great way of creating that forward drive without beating yourself up over ticking off boxes.

By choosing New Year Themes you can consciously influence every little choice you make in 2013 in the direction you want to go. Willpower is required, but it is a far more relaxed and yet powerful way of transforming this year into your best one yet.

Some of our themes here at FAnews vary from Presence, Kindness and Wellbeing.

Presence: Being present at all times. You should focus on the now, and live every moment without tomorrow’s worries, or yesterdays’ regrets.

Kindness: Be kind to your fellow human beings. Kindness is known as a virtue, and recognized as a value in many cultures and religions.

Wellbeing: Body before business. We love our occupations, and so we can get carried away with the next thing on the To Do list, and forgetting to take care of ourselves.

Furthermore, one should keep their theme manageable, clear, simple and detailed. Also, take responsibility on whether you succeed or fail. Try to keep a journal on your progress and ensure that each day you take small steps towards realising your objectives.

Once a person has established their themes, they can start working towards keeping themselves motivated on their way forward.

A couple of things should be kept in mind when one wants to keep the self-motivation like challenging yourself and to be positive. When challenges are set, we have a natural tendency to want to complete them. So, by setting personal challenges for yourself you can actually achieve more.

Staying positive is a mindset when it comes to living according to themes. And, to stay positive you need to focus on positivity… and spreading that positivity.

The problem, however, is that a person can only stay motivated for a couple of days or weeks at best before their motivation flickers faintly like a flame dying in the wind.A very important way to preserve ones motivation as you aspire to reach your goals is through a systematic way to refuel you tank when you feel like you might be running low.

If your tank is running on low, try and find a mentor who can help inspire you or take a break to recharge those batteries. Get enough sleep and very importantly, reward yourself for challenges in which you succeed. Also, fuel that passion of yours, whether in your private life or career wise.

With all this said, what are your themes for 2013? Whether it is personal development tobecome the person you truly desire to be, or a financial theme to save, invest or to get out of debt.

You can choose to focus on time management, relationships, fun, family, time management, contribution or the development of your skills.

The choice is yours. Get off your butt, out of that slump and stop self-sabotaging. Some small steps, baby ones in fact, can get you started.

Clarissa Venter
Journalist: FAnews