A New Approach

Each year I look forward to the start of a new year I feel like it’s the time when the slate gets wiped clean and possibilities are endless. I’m especially looking forward to this year because the passed year has been one of  the hardest years of my life. I received a major life altering surgery and recently had to have an emergency surgery. My body, mind and spirit have been challenged and pushed more this year than ever. As a result, I’ve decided I’m not going to refer to my goals and resolutions for this new year as such instead, I would prefer to call them mindset changes and habit forming. Classifying them this way seems more approachable and achievable to me. I feel that whenever anybody sets out to accomplish something new it’s at great motivation to have like a mindset, mantra or even a symbol in mind. A vision board might be something to help aid this. I appropriately have chosen to use “rise of the Phoenix.” I think the Phoenix being a mythical bird that rises out of its own ashes and is renewed in freshness and youth aptly portrays where I am (recovering) and where I want to be (thriving).

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My mindset and habit forming agenda for this year is focused around thriving in all aspects of life. Personally the biggest obstacle I face is how I use my time. I want to optimize my time by multi-tasking more (i.e. working out while watching Netflix) and eliminate wasted time habits (watching Netflix and not accomplishing anything). I also, want to compartmentalize my time with things that are really important but don’t necessarily take precedent when I’m busy like working out, meal prepping or doing something creative. These things need to be a higher priority for me in my daily life because they feed my mind, body and spirit. I’ve decided to carve out 1hr. – 30 minute daily blocks for these. The mindset and habit forming here is to be consistent no matter how I feel or if I don’t think I have time I’m taking time to move, prep and create. I feel like efficient time management is such a big task and can affect so many aspects of my life positively that I’m not focusing on anything else.

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Please comment below about what you’re hoping to accomplish this new year or if you have any tips about what works for you. Let’s support each other!

April’s Mantra – Enjoy the Ride

It’s true what they say the older you get the faster time goes by. Over Easter weekend when my nephews and niece were hunting for eggs I thought to myself, I’m glad that I’m present and I need to cherish this. I’m a big planner and I don’t really make room to be spontaneous and because of that sometimes I lose out. I have to say that being a planner has a lot of benefits of its own. Then this past weekend I had a medical scare with one of my parents. Everything in the end turned out to be fine but again, I thought to myself I need to savor my relationships by being in the moment and just going with the flow. I don’t want to look back on life and say that I was too busy working or planning this or that. I want to be a person who sees people for who they truly are and is able to embrace/celebrate them in the moment. I’m choosing to focus on this now more than ever so, I’ve decided that this month’s mantra should be “enjoy the ride.” I’m personally practicing not taking everything so seriously! I’m changing my perspective because things could be a lot worse . I’m blessed and my family is here and I’m choosing to enjoy life now, not whenever its most convenient. I’m the driver of my own destiny and I  choose to enjoy the ride. I hope that you will do the same for yourself with the people you cherish.

March Mantra -Never Stop Growing

Spring is approaching and I cannot stop thinking about growth. New things springing up and coming about because of the changing of the season. At this time of year I feel like I’m coming out of hibernation. I start venturing out simply because it’s warmer. The spring season in my mind is like the second chapter to my year and new opportunities and ideas flourish at this time. In light of the new spring season ushering in growth I’ve decided that March’s mantra should be “never stop growing!” I pride myself on being a life-learner. I absolutely positively love to learn and try new things. In fact, this month I enrolled in a tap-dancing class! It’s always been one of my dreams and now I’m doing it. I’m also planning trips to new places and seeking out new experiences. I’m excited about what’s happening in my life and I attribute it solely to the fact that I remain curious about life and continue to grow and challenge myself. If you’re in a funk or are feeling uninspired, I encourage you to go somewhere new, read a book or take a class. I can tell you firsthand that these things will help you grow if you’re open to them.

Live with Passion – February’s Mantra

January was the start of a lot of new things for me so by the time February rolled around I was in need of a real boost.  Instead of finding it elsewhere I found exactly the self encouragement I needed in a book. The past couple weeks I’ve been reading a great book called In the Company of Women by Grace Bonney. It’s a book that features over 100 women who are makers, artists and entrepreneurs graciously giving inspiration and advice. As I read each story I began to draw from the strength of each woman. It became as if  the women in the book were collectively whispering words of encouragement directly to me. Every page turn brought me closer to hearing their voices say don’t give up and all your hard work will pay off! I have been so moved by these women that they’ve become the inspiration behind  my February mantra “live with passion.” I associate the month of February with love so, I’m sharing my passions whether they be big or small. I hope you’ll join me in this! If you’re looking for an aha moment you’ll definitely find it in this book.