5 Essential Questions to Kickstart a Great Year!

I never particularly liked fill-in-the-blank tests when I was in school. Multiple choice was infinitely more welcome in my book. But what if there were no right or wrong answers? And the blank was entirely up to YOU? Now that’s more like it. Consider the upcoming year as that kind of fill-in-the-blank test, a clean slate with limitless possibilities ahead. And instead of memorizing the one right answer, you get to decide what goes in the underlined area to match your unique hopes, one-of-a-kind intentions, and most pressing needs/desires. Did I mention that the grade for completing this fill-in-the-blank test is an automatic A? 

If you’re anything like me, you probably haven’t given a whole lot of thought to goals or plans for the upcoming year—I mean heck, we’ve barely cleaned up all the Christmas wrapping from the Christmas morning gift feeding frenzy. We’ll be picking that up for days… but it’s never too late to start pondering all the amazing potential that awaits you and your amazing family in the months to come. Rather than mapping out a concrete list of steps to be taken—that can certainly come later—what about taking some time to dream BIG…

Consider the following questions as kindling to get the fire of your passion and motivation going. These fill-in-the-blank prompts are intended to open your mind, heart, and imagination to what’s in your cross-hairs. Often, the problem with New Year’s resolutions is that people choose things that they think will be good for them, rather than choosing the things that they truly long for. People choose diets to lose weight, but when they strive for greater self-control and self-confidence, dieting is only a part of the goal. There’s a bigger purpose to their goals. We often stifle our real dreams and consider them impossible to achieve. Then we end up half-heartedly chasing the things we have no interest in even accomplishing. 

Your brain is a supercomputer and your self-talk is the program it runs.

~Jim Kwik

What we tell ourselves becomes the roadmap our brains will follow. Looking ahead, don’t censor yourself out of fear, worry, obligation, or negativity. Spend some deep thought contemplating the prompts below. Your future is as bright as you make it. This would be also a great exercise to complete with your spouse for a date night, or bring it to the next Family Huddle and engage the whole family; Simply change the pronouns to WE statements. 

Ask yourself what good things do you see for yourself, your marriage, your family, your career? Are there big accomplishments that feel out of reach? Dump the fear and envision the possibilities. What will make this year stand out?

What would make you super grateful? Are there blessings/gifts that would provide more sustained joy and happiness, rather than fleeting pleasure in your day-to-day life? Think in terms of character strengths, habits, or qualities rather than material items.

Learning something new is proven to expand our potential as human beings. It revitalizes our spirit by challenging us and making us work even harder. What do you want to learn that will make you feel satisfied and put a smile on your face?

Think about the things you’ve done in the past that have made you happy. In family life, we often shelf activities or hobbies because life gets busy. Consider carving out a sliver of time to be more engaged. If you love photography, but don’t have much time for it as a stay-at-home mom, what about taking out books from the library that will get your mind going. Then it’s top-of-mind when you have a free moment.

As mentioned above, it’s so important to dream big. It helps us have a more positive outlook on life and infuses hope into our daily mindset. Pull out all the stops and reach for the stars without any reservation. It doesn’t mean you will achieve these things, but at least you’re honest enough to know that these things are on the agenda. Go. For. It.

And now for an amazing free gift for all of you inspiring moms and dads out there! For a brief time, we’re offering our Family Goal-Setting Guide for FREE! Claim your freebie now and enjoy an even more wonderful start to 2022!

Here’s to wonderful new beginnings and a compass that always points due north— things are certainly looking up in 2022. You’ve got this!

If your hope is to create an even more cooperative family dynamic this year—filled with more togetherness, and love, check out our family subscription box, Adventure into Character.

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