I read somewhere, conveniently just before the New Year that said the lines, “It takes 21 days to create a new habit.”

Like I often do, I found this one statement instigating so much thought from me that I wrote it down on a notecard in some of the sloppiest handwriting I have ever used and taped it to the window sill right above the laptop that I spend about 5.8379 hours a day working at and subsequently I spent a good 2.9381 hours a day looking at those word…

IT TAKES 21 DAYS TO CREAT A NEW HABIT!

You start to think…

21 days really isn’t that long… it’s ONLY 3 weeks…

3 weeks isn’t even a whole month…

*insert a scoffing-in-my-head noise here*

That’s a pretty simple time period to change your life.. each month plus an extra “month” of sorts… you could change a lot about a person for the better.

While in the middle of thinking all of this, I had the realization that,

Wait a minute… 21 days?! I tried to tell myself that I would only get Dutch Bros [Oregon cultural coffee phenom] on Monday’s and Friday’s… I almost caved on TUESDAY and definitely did on Wednesday… TWICE!

Here’s the thing.

Thinking about making a change seems like such an easy thing to do, so easy! Thinking about changing yourself for your future self, your future family, etc. is easy because honestly, it’s all daydreaming. Don’t believe me?

The definition of “daydreaming” is “a pleasant visionary, usually wishful creation of the imagination.” That is exactly what happens when we think of goals, when we think of what we want our future to be. No one ever thinks of their future and thinks of bad things happening to them! We always look to the future with hope, as if it is promising us bigger and better things.

The thing is, the future doesn’t owe us anything. Our past, doesn’t owe us anything.

This is the cold hard truth that I think too many people learn the hard way, I know that I have. Moving into the future, we’ve got to look at where we want to be in 10 years, in 5 years, in 1 year, in 6 months, and in 21 days.

In an effort to help everyone reach their goals for 2017 I decided to help you all with some sheets because goals are just daydreams until you start to write them down.

How to start your 2017 off with a promise for the future:

Envelope #1: Ten Year Goal

On a piece of paper, write down the following:

1. Where do I see my career/schooling in 2027?
2. Where do I see my health in 2027?
3. Where do I see my mental wellness in 2027?
4. Where will my hobbies, extracurricular activities, etc. have taken me by 2027?

Fold it and seal it up tight! Write “Open December 31st, 2022” on the outside of it and then place it in a safekeeping box (we will discuss this in a future blog post).

Envelope #2: Five Year Goal

Think about what you wrote down for your ten year goal, in half the time it takes to get there, where do you see yourself being? Write down the following:

1. Where do I see my career/schooling in 2022?
2. Where do I see my health in 2022?
3. Where do I see my mental wellness in 2027?
4. Where will my hobbies, extracurricular activities, etc. have taken me by 2022?

Then you have to write yourself a reward, because, well, why else would we work so hard?

“If I make at least one of these goals I will go to Hawaii with my sister for a spring break.” Or fill it in with something super exciting like that!

Envelope #3: One Year Goal

What do you want to achieve for 2017? This is such a big year! It’s huge! Why? Well, because you are going to MAKE it huge! That’s why! To make this goal, it’s going to be a lot easier. You’re going to be significantly more focused.

1. I want to …

My goal? I want to make a new, small goal, every 7 days to keep for 21 days to create a year of good habits.

Week 1 = no soda.