Making sure 2015 is your best year yet: Day 20 - READ and READ A LOT

Growing up my dad used to take me to the public library every couple weeks. We would walk in and instead of being able to sit near all the babysitter club books and get lost in their tales, I was forced to roam each of the aisles and select one history, geography and science book and then once those were selected I was allowed to pick something fun. I would return from those library trips lay the books in my room and stare at them with the evil eye as I held on tightly to my baby sitter club book.

I did end up having to read through all those books, which is likely why I am still such a bookworm to this day. And while I hated my dad then for robbing me of fun reading, I understand why he did it.

Reading is like writing, it is an escape, a chance not just to learn something new, but a chance to get caught up in the fairy tale of the different ways life or things could be. You feel like being rich, you read about money, you feel like being scared, you read a thriller, you feel like improving, you read some self-motivation. There is always something to get lost in, to giggle with and most importantly to curl up with.

But we all know that as busy as we get and as much as our lives are taken over by scrolling through instagram, Facebook and other media sites alike, things like reading just fall through the way side. I am guilty of it. For someone who had been away from social media for so long, joining instagram has created an obsessive habit that I am attempting to break.

So this year as we work to have our best years yet, let's pick some books, lay them by our bedsides and commit to getting lost in something phenomenal everyday even if its just for a few minutes.

I am starting with finishing off - we are all completely beside ourselves and then moving onto Gluten is my bitch. What will you begin with?

- A

Making sure 2015 is your best year yet: Day 19 - Devoting time to Learning

It could be possible that somehow I come from a long list of nerds, geeks, bookworms, Point Dexter's and others alike. But regardless of what it is, I don't care, because I LOVE LEARNING. And learning about anything and everything, be it from new cultures, to new ways the economy works. I relish at reading and discussing new things and with each new topic or piece of insight that is squeezed into this brain of mine I am turned into an eager and bright eyed child.

I can imagine what you all are thinking out there, but really learning especially as you get older, is not the same as it was when you were a kid. No one forces you to go home and do homework that they will eventually check. Instead you are given the WORLD and told that it is your OYSTER and so with that you can learn about anything and everything and at your pace with no one telling you that you have to.

ISN'T THAT EXCITING???!! I MEAN THE WORLD REALLY IS YOUR OYSTER!!!!!!!

And truth be told, before you embark on a path blinded you can LEARN about it and than decide if it is your chosen walkway. So don't you think that before you embark on your best year yet, you take some time to learn?!?!??!

I sure think so - so, what will it be? A new language, a new culture, a new technical area, a new food?? Pick one, two or a million new areas and just LEARN your way through your best year yet.

- A

Making sure 2015 is your best year yet: Day 17 and 18 - Time to reflect

Before we can really move forward, we do need to stop and just take in all that is happened, assess what we wished went different and think about how we build on how far we have come.

Time is what you need to reflect, the right kind of time. And while we may do some of our best reflection on the treadmill or our walk home, sometimes you just need to lay there on your bed like a starfish and stare up at the ceiling and think for hours on end.

I will admit, I did not spend the weekend laying like a starfish, things are just way to maniac at the moment. But what I did do was spend time with people that reflect the pathway I am headed on personally, asking millions of questions and observing. And at the end of a very long and maniac weekend, I retreated to the comfort of my bed and lay like a starfish taking it and all of 2014 in. Which was incredibly overwhelming but had to be done to ensure I am easing my way into what I know is now to come.

So in my tardiness of blog posting, I advise you all TO STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Well okay, don't lay out like a starfish at work, but spend some time today, whether its first thing in the morning or this evening and just reflect in that position that is so comfortable that getting up is nearly impossible.

Remember we have to first slow down before we speed up and fly right into our best year's yet.

- A

Making sure 2015 is your best year yet: Day 16 - CELEBRATE life

Have you started the day with a smile? Have you just stopped to think, GOOD LORD, I AM ALIVE, you know living, breathing and surrounded by at least 5 things that I am thankful for? I know I preach a lot about making time for about what seems to be a million things at this point. But the one thing I will never stop preaching about is.....
 
CELEBRATING LIFE
 
For what seemed like ages, I lay in my bed, afraid to face the day, afraid to look at the sun, afraid to just leave the confinements of what seemed like security. I was living, but afraid of admitting it. BUT NO MORE will that ever be me.
 
I walk around London with a constant smile on my face and while many a grumpy Brits may think I am an extremist, I won't shield my happiness or my celebration of life. IT IS TOO GOOD to not celebrate.
 
Wouldn't you agree?
 
SO STOP ALL THE PLANNING, ALL THE MUNDAINENESS OF THE DAY AND JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO TAKE A DANCE, SMILE OR CHAMPAGNE BREAK and dedicate it all to life :)
 
Happy Friday all you cyber people out there. Cheers to life!!
 
- A

Making sure 2015 is your best year yet: Day 15 - Love thy SELF

Come on, get up there, you know you can. Stand in front of that glorious mirror in front of you, and look yourself straight in the eye and tell yourself YOU ARE ONE AWESOME HUMAN and DAMN YOU SURE DO LOOK GOOD, and if you are feeling really adventuress give those guns a kiss or two. 

DID YOU DO IT???

Of course you didn't, well not yet at least. We are all guilty of self loathe, me included. Even when I know I am at my bestest, I will find a way to bring myself down. And it doesn't matter what anyone else says at that point because my mind has already convinced me otherwise. 

BUT NO MORE I SAY NO FREAKIN' MORE. As I dragged myself into the gym this morning I could hear the self loathe in my head and it continued all the way till I finished my morning cardio. But then something happened, as I switched to the weights. I just looked me dead straight in the eye and was like NO MORE, there is too much going on that is positive for any self loathe to be allowed YOU HEAR ME YOU CRAZY WOMAN. Seriously, it was like someone had taken over my brain. And from that point on, anytime something self loath like entered my mind, it was as if my brain took over and said nope you negative thought stop here and instead here is something positive to show you there ain't no place for you in this head of mine. And as the day progressed, the more I realized how right it was for me to just be oozing with positivity. 

I AM HAPPY DAMN IT and LIFE IS REALLY DAMN GOOD :) So I am going to remind myself of that everyday as 2015 continues to ensure I am positively present, happy and aware that I deserve another incredible year. 

Don't you think you do? I THINK YOU DO!!!! So what are you going to do? Duh, you are going to finish this blog and read the top paragraph again, but this time you will ACTUALLY DO THE EXERCISE :)

Remember you are simply amazing and beautiful all you cyber people out there. Here is to giving yourself some daily love. 

- A 

Making sure 2015 is your best year yet: Day 14 - Give back

The older I get, the more time I spend trying to figure out how I can give back to the world in any shape or form really. From volunteering in Africa, to leaving random notes on the streets for people to find, all the way to paying a bigger tip and sitting with a friend to offer some advice. 

The form does not really matter at the end of the day. It really is just about being selfless and thinking about something other than you, your busy life and what you need. 

I find giving back more gratifying than achieving my own goals. That personal impact, that ability to change someone else's fate is overwhelmingly beautiful. 

So in a time of year when we are forced to think about ourselves and what we want to achieve, it is important to also consider those around you and how you plan to impact them. And I do not mean impacting them through your achievements but rather impacting them through your actions. 

So take a breather and day off from you, and GIVE BACK!!! Leave a sweet note somewhere, call someone who needs some cheering up, skip work and volunteer, JUST DO SOMETHING!!!!! The world needs you and so does your best year yet. 

- A 

Making sure 2015 is your best year yet: Day 13 - Add some sound to the soul, MUSIC!!!!

I am music obsessed. It is a hard cold true fact about me. I am obsessed with music so much that it does not even matter what is playing, I will listen, bop my head and likely memorize the lyrics as I go along. In fact I think I can have my voice sound exactly like the vocalist (in my dreams of course). I am one of those whose brain is filled with more music lyrics than anything remotely relevant to the world. It's likely why when anything educational pops up, I JUST SAY NO, this brain has too much important stuff in it already. 

Music is the thing that gets me through everyday, every good and bad mood and every horrible or gratifying moment. It is the soundtrack to my life essentially. And it is the thing that can pull me out of any rut and have me suddenly think I am completely invincible. 

Sometimes I set my iPod to shuffle, get my walking shoes on and just take over the world, 3 minutes at a time. 

So why not set the soundtrack for your best year yet? COME ON YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. Think about your all time favourites and the songs that get you pumped up and ready to go and just let them play. Let them flow through your headset or speakers and into your best year yet. 

- A