Living Your Best Life

I like to take the last week of each year, and start thinking about the new year. While I’m more of a creative type, my analytical skills love to examine the past year, what I’ve done, and where I want to go. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but the benefits are huge. You wouldn’t go on a trip without packing, host a dinner party without planning a menu, or meet with a client without doing some research. The same holds true for living your best life.

You can’t live your best life without thinking about what that means to you.

Commit to living your best life.

I find it fascinating that a lot of people don’t actually take the time to think about what they truly want out of life. These same people will plan for everything else, but when it comes to life, they just let it unfold. “It will all work out,” I’ve heard people say. And my favorite, “Whatever is suppose to happen will happen.”

Some people don’t like making New Year’s resolutions, while other people write pages and pages of resolutions. I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I admit, I like to think about what I want to do, write it down, and figure out how to achieve it.

I don’t know if this is the “best” way, but it’s the best way for me.

I don’t think resolutions should be about what isn’t working, but more about what can be fine tuned. For me, the new year is a new beginning. And with it, a chance to maybe, just maybe, find something that can work a little better.

Research shows, and I’m sure we can all agree, that most resolutions don’t work. You don’t have to be an expert to figure out why they don’t work. It’s simple. People don’t identify HOW they’re going to achieve whatever it is they want to achieve. It’s kind of like baking a cake without having a recipe to follow. As we’ve all heard before, “a goal without a plan is a wish.”

If you’re like me, and you do make a few resolutions, take the time to think about HOW you’re going to make them happen.

Then do it.

Here are my resolutions for 2016:

Get up at 7:00AM: This might not sound very impressive, but if I could get out of bed each day at this time, the benefits would be huge. I absolutely despise rushing, and I almost always rush in the morning. It’s not a great way for me to start my day. Every morning I say, “I need to get up earlier.” Literally, every morning. I have images of me sipping hot tea by the fire, alone, but it never happens. Until now. I’m committed to setting my alarm clock to go off at 6:45AM, which gives me a little grace period. I’m also going to try to go to bed each night by 10:30PM. Period. I’m going to put my phone on airplane mode, snuggle up with a good book, and fall into a deep sleep. I’m not stupid, I know it’s going to SUCK at first.
Week Night Dinner: Organization is my friend here, and I can use a little more organization. There’s nothing like looking at the clock at 5:00PM, opening the refrigerator, and seeing there isn’t anything for dinner. Week nights are hard when you have busy kids, and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have busy kids. It’s important to me that we eat dinner as a family, each night during the week. It’s not going to magically happen. I’ve got to plan. Sunday, after breakfast, I’m going to take a little time to plan our menu for the week. I know other people who swear by this. In fact, if I ask my family what they want to eat, maybe they’ll be more willing to actually eat what I make.
Manage My Time: Time is our most precious commodity, and I want to manage my time a little better. We all have activities, responsibilities, and commitments we HAVE to do, but that doesn’t mean we can’t find time to do what we WANT to do. I’m going to say “no” to everything I don’t want or have to do, and schedule the things that are important to me. Exercise, yoga classes, more writing time, lunch with a friend. Managing my time will help me to fit it all in. Including lazy downtime.

I’m committed to making these changes that can positively impact my daily life. I encourage you to think through your own life, and figure out where you can fine tune some things for yourself. Don’t forget to share, I’d love to hear what you’re doing.

Find meaning each day,