In the spirit of the New Year, I thought I’d take the time to start the next chapter of HH Communication Services. For me, I get the itch to start something new and/or close out the old around September, which coincides with a new school year. However, this year I found myself getting excited to return to a focus on my freelance business in December. I harnessed the excitement and deadlines of Christmas to complete a redesign on my website. I am very happy with the way it turned out, and it meant I took on new challenges to do so. Now I feel ready to dream bigger, offering more services (voice overs and more creative writing) and launching some projects I’ve been thinking about for a couple of years.

The value of accomplishing something new

Nothing can compare with launching yourself into a challenging project that forces to learn new things as you go, and then completing it. The sense of accomplishment tends to bolster self-esteem, and I know that I certainly feel like I am more ready and more courageous to take the next step in my business journey. While the world is making New Year’s resolutions, most of which will be broken within a week or two, I am simply resolving to dream bigger, and then to go out after those dreams.

Start dreaming

Is there something you’ve always wanted to do in your business or personal life but have never really gotten around to it? Don’t be afraid to dream big. And write it down! It can often help to write down your vision, no matter how pie-in-the-sky or unachieveable it may feel to you. When you write it down you create a source that you can go back to and read in the future. If it’s not attainable right now, it might be later. Writing down your goals and dreams, whether for your business or your personal life have been shown to help people actually attain those goals.

Identify your obstacles

What has held you back from taking steps toward attaining your goals or realizing your dreams? The easiest way to identify your obstacles is to ask yourself why you haven’t done it yet and see what your answers (excuses?) are. Your obstacles may be quite legitimate or more excuses to cover up our own personal issues. Obstacles can also be exterior (that is, things that are outside of ourselves) or interior (eg, fear of failure, fear of success, lac of organization). But even an external obstacle can be tackled. For example, if you find you require a new skill in order to get ahead in your field, you can save up and take a course to acquire that skill. Internal obstacles are often a little more difficult to overcome. Find someone you can trust—someone who is an encourager—and show them your written vision/dream/goals. Often how we see ourselves is different from how others see us. This person can help show you your strengths and give you advice on how to harness those strengths to reach your goal.

Baby steps

What if you identified something smaller than your dream—a smaller task or a more realistic project you could take on, and then just did it? Think about how that would make you feel. Perhaps it’s starting to journal or blog regularly, or maybe you’re ready to take a course to learn  a new skill. Once you’ve identified it, the next part is both easy and difficult: do it! Have you ever built up a task in your head so much that you don’t even want to start, only to find that once you do start, it’s no big deal? For me, it’s with filing away paperwork. I spend days, and even weeks putting it off and stressing about it, only to find that once I start it’s done in 10 minutes. And you know what? I feel so much better when it’s done.

Your turn

I encourage you to think on them and answer them for yourself, and then… do it!

• What is something you’ve always wanted to do but have never really gotten around to?
• What are some of the obstacles to attaining your dream? What has held you back? Once you’ve identified some external and internal obstacles you can develop a plan to overcome them.
• Perhaps your dream is rather large and it’s not the right timing to pursue it yet. Think of something smaller—perhaps a step on the way to that large project, or even something unrelated. What is something new you can start today that will give you a sense of accomplishment?
• Do it. Just step out and “get ‘er done”!

Step out in faith

While this may be easier for those who have faith in a higher power, I urge you to step out in 2016 and harness the inspiration of the New Year to try something new, start a project you’ve always wanted to do, and see where that takes you.

Remember, it is often we who limit ourselves.

So, what are you going to start this year? Share your story below!

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)