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New Beginnings

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Let 2021 be about new beginnings in all aspects of your life.

2020 was a tough year for many of us due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I bet that many of us breathed a sigh of relief when the clock finally struck midnight on New Year’s Eve.

While a new year does not necessarily mean that all of last year’s challenges have been completely left behind, it does provide some glimmers of hope. Hope that we will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel, that things may start to return to whatever our new version of normal is going to be. Hope that we may finally get around to advancing ourselves in the ways that we had hoped to in 2020 but that were interrupted when the pandemic began.

It has been a long, hard road to get to this year, so make it worth it. Make reaching your goals a priority. Make self-care a priority. Make moving forward a priority.

It’s so easy to get stuck in old patterns and old states of mind, so prioritizing the things that are actually important to you is crucial in being able to grow as a person. Setting those priorities and intentions now will be what helps you to fully move on from all of the blockages and stress that 2020 had in your life.

You could choose to stay stagnate and to remain stuck in the rut that 2020 created, or you can choose to embrace the new beginning that was offered at the start of the year. While “new year, new you” may seem like a cliche, I think that we all deserve for that to be our reality after the trials that we all went through in 2020.

In order for that to manifest, however, you need to actively choose to make the necessary changes in your life and to let go of the things that are no longer benefiting you. Things are not going to magically change on their own – getting through that first step is all you need to start changing your life.

2021 could be just another year in your life, or it could be a new beginning. Which path it takes is entirely up to you. What will you choose?

Photo by Moritz Knöringer on Unsplash

51 Days

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With only 51 days remaining in 2019, its easy to feel like you didn’t achieve everything that you wanted this year.

You didn’t lose the weight.

You didn’t find the relationship that you were looking for.

You didn’t buy that house, or that car, or do any of the million other things that you set out to do on January 1st, 2019.

Its hard not to get caught up in what you didn’t achieve, but have you taken the time to sit down and think about all of the things that you did accomplish this year?

If you spend too much time focusing on what you didn’t do, you will drown in it. It will drag you down and prevent you from moving on, from reaching your full potential. There are always going to be things that you can’t – or simply don’t – get done, and that’s okay. You are only human, you are not perfect, and no one expects you to be. Remember that, as hard as it may be at times.

Take a few minutes every day and reflect on the things that you have done, the things that you excel at. Shifting your focus will help you to realize that you still have 51 days – 51 days to focus on yourself and get things done that mean something to you.

51 days is a lot of time – time to change habits, get important tasks done, and start living life intentionally and as you want to. It may not seem like much, but you still have 51 days.

Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash

New Years Resolutions

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Now that 2018 has finally come to a close and a new year has begun, it seems that everyone is coming up with resolutions. It always seems so easy to come up with a list of things that you want to achieve in the coming months, but sticking to those goals is really where things get challenging. In order to keep this from being yet another year where my resolutions get abandoned after the first two weeks of January, I decided to just stick with three ones that are attainable and that will bring me one step closer to where I want to be.

  1. Scheduling my days in advance – I am not good about sticking to a schedule, especially when I’m extremely busy. This year, I am going to start planning my days in advance by spending 10 minutes every night scheduling the next day in an agenda. Sticking to the schedule will be difficult in the beginning, especially when all I want to do is lay in bed and watch Netflix, but it should get easier once I get into the habit of actually doing all of the things that I want/need to get done. I will also be doing a separate one at the end of the work day to keep that as organized as possible as well.
  2. Writing for 30 minutes at least three times per week – every year I tell myself that I am going to start writing more, but it never lasts very long. This year, I am going to schedule it into my week so that I have no excuse not to do it. Just getting pen to paper (or in my case, fingers to keys) will help to get my creative juices flowing and hopefully help me to get rid of the writers block that I’ve been facing.
  3. Working out at least 4 times per week – I used to go to the gym fairly often and really enjoyed it, but since I hurt my back several years ago I have mostly avoided working out. This has not been good for my health, which is why I feel the need to stick with this resolution. I want to get off of my blood pressure medication and get down to a healthy weight, and finally stop feeling like crap all the time.

My track record for actually sticking to my New Years resolutions isn’t very good, but I am determined to start this year on a clean slate and stop getting in my own way. These three resolutions will get me closer to my goals and hopefully help me get out of the rut that I have been stuck in for the last year or so. It’s time to make some important changes in my life, and a new year is the perfect time to start!

What are your resolutions for 2019?

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Remember to Turn on the Light

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“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”

Everyone has a quote that sticks in their head, one that shifts their perspective on the world around them (even if it’s just temporarily). One of my favorites comes from my absolute favorite book series – Harry Potter. When I say that I am obsessed, don’t take that lightly. I have read each book about 30 times each (at least, that’s about when I lost count) and try to reread it at least once a year. Heck, 3 of my 5 tattoos are Harry Potter themed. 

If you couldn’t tell, I’m a little obsessed. 

Which is probably at least partially why my favorite quote is from a major character in the series – Dumbledore. When I’m having a particularly tough time, this quote reminds me that no matter how bad things may seem in the moment, there is hope. Things will get better, and that is a reminder that many of us need. 

When you find yourself surrounded by darkness, don’t let it consume you. Remember that the darkness cannot last forever, even when it seems like it will never end. Some of us have a harder time realizing this, but that doesn’t make it any less true. You just need to keep reminding yourself.

What is your favorite quote, and why?

Photo by Jessica Fadel on Unsplash

Getting Unstuck

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Have you ever reached the point in life where you realize that if you don’t actively change the way that you are moving through life that you will continue on the same wrong path forever? I don’t know about you, but I definitely have.

I’m at one of those points right now in my life – I feel stuck. I’ve always made the same decisions over and over again, and yet I’m still frustrated that I’m not where I feel like I want to be. No matter how many times I try, I’m just not able to stick to the choices that will get me there. It’s so much easier to just sit at home and hide out, watching Netflix and pretending that I’m not miserable. I’m taking the easy way out, letting life go on around me without fully participating in it.

And you know what? I’m sick of it.

I’m sick of sitting around every day, whining about my life and how stuck I feel.

I’m sick of never giving myself the chance to succeed.

I’m sick of making excuses for myself and letting everything go downhill.

I feel like I’m just sitting around, not doing anything with my life, and I have finally decided to change it.

It’s something that I have been working on, and while I’m nowhere near done, I have finally started taking the necessary steps to get my shit together and stop holding myself back. I need to start embracing change in my life instead of running away from it.

My very first step to doing that? This blog post, believe it or not. I have put off writing this for months, logging in several times a week just to stare at a blank page and try to force myself to write something. Getting it out into the world is something that I have been putting off, but no more.

No more waiting, no more wondering, no more taking the easy way out.

I am going to finally start focusing on finding my path in life and working my ass off to get to where I want to be. While that may not look like the people in my life are expecting, its time I start being true to who I really am.

I’m finally ready to get unstuck. Are you?

 

Photo by Andrea Badino on Unsplash