17 Dec What would your best year look like?
As we enter the last half of December and prepare to close out 2018, it’s a great time to reflect on the year that we are finishing and all that we have done. How do we feel? How did the year go? What were the highlights? I think it’s incredibly important to pinpoint the greatest parts of the year that has passed and to take some time to really celebrate them. It could be as big as getting married or having a baby or it could be something more simple like you tried some new healthy foods or you did a push up for the first time. Whatever makes it on your list, commemorate it and feel proud about it. Don’t diminish any of your positives.
Now lets think ahead…..maybe about 365 days from now…..Imagine that right now you are about to embark on the most incredible journey and year you have lived to date. What would that look like for you? What would it feel like for you? What would a day in the life of you look like? Whatever comes to mind, write it down. You don’t need to minimize it, you don’t need to justify it, you just need to honour it and believe that whatever it is, you deserve it and it’s possible.
The last few years, I’ve become somewhat obsessed with consuming anything and everything when it comes to personal development and up levelling my life. It really began two years ago after my fourth child was born. I was in a complete state of overwhelm and I just wanted to feel good again. I new I needed to make some changes and so I started reading books again (major long hiatus from reading after first child was born), listening to podcasts and following certain people who I found really inspiring on social media. I have learned alot from all of this, but the the messages that I hear most often is there are a few essential factors that are absolutely crucial to you achieving success with your goals while at the same time, feeling good about ourselves. No one is going to be truly be able to appreciate running their first marathon if it also meant showing up late for work and being too cranky to spend time with your family. If all our focus and energy is on perfecting the lives of our kids (ps-which is impossible) and we spend no time looking after ourselves, we aren’t going to truly ever feel our best. If we bury ourselves in our work and leave no time for family and friends, that will catch up on us too.
Balance is a tricky word when it comes to life so I try to avoid it. I don’t think a perfect work life balance exists because at certain times we are going to be pulled more in one direction then another and thats ok. What I work to strive for though is wholeness. Wholeness is the key to happiness. I think that’s worth repeating. Wholeness is the key to happiness.
I think you can interpret that in a variety of ways, but what it means to me- is that at the end of the day, wholeness is when the most important pieces of our lives have our priority and focus. We all have 24 hours a day and how we fill it is our choice. It’s incredibly easy to get pulled in a million directions and fall prey to the “I should,” when really the only should that you need to focus on is saying no more often. I looooove this quote “Whenever we say yes, there is less of us for something else. Make sure your yes is worth the less.” That always puts it in perspective for me.
If there is someone out there that you truly admire and who just appears to be killing it.. know two things. One- no one in the world is perfect.. Two- these people know how to protect their priorities.
I have compiled a list (in no particular order) of my top ten essential factors in my path to wholeness.
1- Move your body. It makes you better. It makes you stronger. It resets your soul. It cleans your energy.
2- Sleep. No one can drive a car with no gas. Get to bed. (if you have a newborn, skip this one for now).
3- Water. It cleanses, detoxifies and energizes. (Half your body weight in oz per day)
4- Eat good food. When you plan your meals, ask yourself what foods will give you energy and make you feel like superwomen/man? What foods will give me immediate satisfaction and then feel like crap after? Choose wisely.
5- Get in the habit of saying no. Write down the three things most worthy of your time. Draw a circle around it like a bubble. Protect your bubble like a lion.
6- Ask for help. In doing so, you might just give a whole circle of people around you the courage to do the same. It doesn’t matter if its something you feel you think you should be able to do on your own. What matters is the new headspace you get from delegating it.
7- Don’t take your phone to bed with you
8- Unfollow anyone on social media that makes you feel bad about yourself. Comparison is a dangerous game and unless it’s positive, you don’t need it.
9- Clean out your email inbox. It’s incredibly freeing. Unsubscribe! Life changing..not joking
10- Practice daily gratitude. It changes the way you think. It changes the way you live.
I sincerely hope that if you are reading this right now, the year ahead is going to bring you so much peace, joy and happiness. You are worth everything good that comes your way. Know that today and everyday going forward- you are awesome and the world is better with you in it.