Finding a place to start for any self-improvement project is the hardest part, so for The Romeo Project I’ve been reading around the subject of happiness and self-improvement for the past few months.
In the texts (you can check them all out so far here) there were a lot of common themes. Whether it's books about Happiness, Managing Depression, or why your Twenties matter these were the sort of themes that emerged – living with authenticity, self-belief, stop saying ‘if only’, de-clutter, don’t expect praise or appreciation, appreciate the little things, practice mindfulness…
The Ten Resolutions I've picked combine a number of the recurring themes from the self-help literature. But they also were the themes that felt relevant to me. My Ten Resolutions allow me to explore recovery as much as happiness. It was important for me to find a balance between pursuing happiness and learning to move out of the shadow of my depression, and I think these Resolutions achieve this.The Resolutions will guide me for the year, and each month I’ll examine one resolution in depth with a series of tasks built around that resolution.
Take a look at the breakdown of my year below:
January – Be Authentic
Evaluating who I am as a person and as a blogger as I make my Life Handbook.
February – Self Care is Not Selfish
Practising self care to build up my defenses will help me throughout the year in times of need.
March – Embrace your Past
In order to move forward it’s important to admit where you’ve come from.
April – Be Free
Free yourself from any fears, the past, and my often neurotic schedule.
May – Don’t Rush
Be happy with where you are now.
June – Appreciate the Journey
Living in the present and appreciating the little things.
July – Accept Responsibility
My life is in my own hands and I can create my own destiny.
August – Don’t Feed the Negativity
Looking at CBT and rational thinking, all in an effort to tackle my negative thinking.
September – Create New Things
Whether it’s creating physical things or memories, I want to embrace my creative side.
October – Believe in Yourself
Taking steps towards fulfilling my goals and wishes.
November will be a month of Reflection. I'll be looking at how well the project has been going and what's worked, as well as continuing to live by my resolutions.
December will focus on building new resolutions for the next year. Taking what I've learned over the ten months of tasks and what emerged from November's reflections, I'll be plotting out how to bring The Romeo Project into 2017.Phew! It's definitely going to be a busy year ahead. But I'm taking it one month at a time. And first up is Be Authentic, perhaps one of the vaguest but most overused words when it comes to self-help literature. I'm going to be figuring out my values, my goals and dreams and using these to create a Life Handbook and a Vision Board. Perfect for the first month of The Romeo Project!
What are your New Year's Resolutions?
