“Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” – Brad Paisley.

Tomorrow is the start of a new year and a new start – a fresh leaf, a blank slate. I am, like I’m sure many of you are, really excited and slightly nervous for the new year ahead. I always wonder what this next year will hold for me. Thinking back to this time last year, so much has changed. This next year I really want to try and cherish every moment because things can change so quickly, for good and bad.

The thought of the unknown and all the possibilities that 2019 could hold for me makes me feel rather anxious and when I feel anxious I make lists. Lists are my best friends and make me feel like I have my life under control – not always true but it is the thought that counts, right!

I’ve never been one to really make new years resolutions because I know that I tend to forget them or break them before the end of January. But, this year I thought I would give it a try, who knows maybe 2019 will be the year that I actually keep some of my resolutions – though to be honest I will be happy if I can just keep one!

Now let’s talk a little about what new years resolutions actually are. New years resolutions are a tradition for some people, where you make a promise to yourself to try and do something that will help to improve yourself or do nice things for other people, which starts on New Year’s Day.

Here’s a list of New Year’s resolutions that you could complete and try to achieve over the course of the year.

1. A bad habit that you want to break
2. Something that you want to work harder at
3. Something that you would like to spend more time doing
4. Food that you want to eat more or less of
5. Items you want to wear more
6. Something you want to do
7. A nice deed you would like to do for others
8. Cross an item off your bucket list
9. Go on an adventure that you have been dreaming of
10. Something that will make you happy

As I mentioned earlier the problem with New Year’s resolutions is that you often end up forgetting about them, not on purpose but just because we all often get caught up in living our day-to-day lives. Here are a few ideas of things that you could do with your resolutions to make sure that by the end of the year you have actually tried to achieve your goals.

Print them out or write them down, frame them and put them next to your bed or somewhere where you will see them every day – this will act as a constant reminder. Come up with 12 relatively easy resolutions and put a reminder on your phone for the beginning of each month. Then you can tick off one resolution every month. Set a reminder on your phone to reread them every month – this might become a bit annoying but at least once a month you will be reminded of your resolutions.

If you don’t want to make a list of your New Year’s resolutions you could either just put some time aside to think quietly about what you would like to do this coming year. Or you could make a vision board, a vision board is like a picture where you can stick images or draw things onto a piece of paper that remind of things that you want to achieve in the New Year. Vision boards are really lovely because they are something that you can just glance at and be reminded of your resolutions – they are also really fun to make!

My wish for all of you is that in the year to come you make mistakes, because making mistakes is actually a good thing. It means that are learning, trying new things, pushing and changing yourself for the better (hopefully), do things you’ve never done before and most importantly live. That is the greatest gift we have – to be alive, so go ahead and make 2016 a year to remember, full of lots of new mistakes and adventures!

Please, just remember that you need to make New Year’s resolutions that are actually attainable and you can make happen, as much as it is lovely to dream you don’t want to set yourself up for disappointment!

I hope all of you lovely readers have a safe, fun and happy New Year’s Eve that is celebrated with friends and family!

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For more articles and advice on job-readiness, read our Work-wise articles.