Hi This is Asa. During my journaling workshop in Kigali, we have created wish list for the next year.
We’ve spent two months to create the wish list, which really was a good moment to reflect on previous year and look forward to new year that just started.
In this article, I am sharing the benefit of creating wish list. You don’t need to wait until next year to come, but start making a list any time to make your life a little more fun and exciting!
December & January workshop : Making wish list
During December & January workshop, we used our time to reflect on what we want to do next year. Our target was to list 100 things that we wish to accomplish in the coming year.
To fill up the 100 list, you really need to think about all the small happiness which you can have in your daily life. To achieve 100 in 365, the wishes need to be nice and small that you can accomplish one or two in a week.
In the beginning, everyone was a bit confused/overwhelmed with the long list, but as the reflection goes on, some managed to fill in all the list, some made it up to 70, or 50.
If you are interested in joining the journaling workshop, please also check this post!
Journaling workshop and why it is important for you – Minimalish Journal (happy-morning.com)
Benefit of wish list : To have clear vision for new year
We really enjoyed doing this activity around the end of the year / the beginning of the year. By doing this activity, you would go through all parts of your life. Your family goals, your personal goals, your career goal etc…
And it allowed us to refocus on the things we want to do, in every part of our life. Without this reflection time, you tend to get too busy with work or house chores and forget about some of your personal goals.
End of the year & beginning of the year is always the best timing for self-reflection.
BUT, if you are reading this article in the middle of the year, that is also fine. Sit down, and take a moment to go through all parts of your life, and re-concentrate on what you wish and what you want, not what you should or what you have to do.
Benefit of wish list : To remind yourself of your wishes
We used two months to finalize our wish list 2022. By taking enough time, I think all the participants got familiar with this list.
Problem with huge “new year resolution” that people tend to come up with on New Year’s Eve is that you make a resolution, but forget it after a couple of weeks. Who has this issue, every year?
We’ve spent so much time on the list that I hope most of the participants still have the paper at their hand, that they can go back and tick things off.
The key to stick to your goals is that you check them again and again, because we all forget what we had put on the list.
I keep reminding the community to review the list & add whatever comes in your mind, even if it is middle of the year, and to try to accomplish one or two in the following weeks!
Benefit of wish list : To enjoy 365 days, the mundane everyday life
The reason I decided to create “the list of 100 things I wish to do in 2022” is simple. I wanted everyone to enjoy the everyday life.
If you are to put up one HUGE goal for a year (which tends to be the case with new year’s resolution), you feel like you are working on a HUGE project. And the result is either I did it, or I gave up…, and the latter one is often the case for many of us.
I especially like the idea of thinking about the year to come without necessarily setting lofty unattainable resolutions but small goals that can be achieved everyday.
Feedback from 4th workshop participants
Our wish list consists of all the small things that make you happy, which are not SUPER difficult to accomplish. Some example from my wish list are; “Bake muffins with kid” or “Explore new restaurant”, and “Have ladies night out”
Those are quite easy to accomplish if you have the intention, and ticking off the list also makes you happy.
Already someone ticked off their wish within the year!
One interesting thing which happened in December is that, one friend already ticked off one item from her list within the day!
During the workshop, she had written “Go to gym” as one of her wishes. And feeling very motivated for the coming year, she actually went to the gym on that same day!
Every one has many small wishes in the corner of your brain, but they get forgotten or overlooked in the busy days. But writing them down as a list, and seeing them again and again on the paper, there are more likely to be well treated and make your mundane days a happier one.
Once again, you don’t need to wait until next year to come. We sill have more months and days in this year too, so let’s grab a pen and paper, and start making your own wish list!
