It is JANUARY 2019. This is when anyone who made New Year's Resolutions is still going strong and the YMCA parking lot is FULL at 5am. TODAY is always a good day to take control of your life...noone knows how much time they get in this glorious life we have. I shared about Mark Maron and his line to that end at Valpo Modern Moms. Although humorous, it helps to distill how we spend our time on a daily basis, I want to be INTENTIONAL about my life. My mom died when I was 13, so I learned the hard way time is fleeting. I think I do a good job of living in the moment and taking the adventures of life like a firehouse to the face. New weeks, months and years are an awesome time for me to give a thought to what I want from my life. How about you?
I spoke at Valpo Modern Moms yesterday about "New Year, New You" and I am sharing a lot of that information in my United Methodist Women's Circle (small group), the Esther Circle, tonight. I figured the information and options for approaching any change you wish to make this year could be more broadly useful...not because noone else covered the ubiquitous concept of New Year Resolutions, but because there are so many and it might be nice to have them all in one place. AND this information is good and useful any month of the year. Let me know in the comments what interested you, or not, and I will send prayers and good vibes in your direction!First, you may be in one of three categories: Desiring Change in your life, Satisfied with everything in your life as is, or TRIAGE...(degrees of urgency)just trying to survive with no energy for planning something better at this moment. If you are Satisfied, may you enjoy the thoughts here and be stirred anyways! If you are in Triage or Desiring Change, the rest is for you!
My audience at Valpo Modern Moms is often in TRIAGE if they have small children at home.
Having a new baby or very young children automatically puts you in Triage. Being a single parent, struggling financially, looking for employment, struggling though illness (your own or close to you) all may put you in Triage. If you want to garner some control in your life even still, opt for simple and attainable ideas to serve you and stabilize instead of conquer.
One of my favorite FB pages "Words to Sweat By" posted this article on self care in lieu of resolutions. Self care is alien to some people and second nature to others. It is crucial to living the best life you can in the moment. It is basically drink water, eat real meals (hopefully healthy). It is avoid negative people, take your time, say no, ask for help. It is stand up for yourself, say kind things to yourself, recognize this tis merely a season in your life and you can persevere.
Author Rachel Hollis has a "Five to Thrive" list she starts with. I have applied to my life with good results: 1) drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water daily. 2) Get up one hour earlier and spend that time on YOU...excercies, work on your goals, take care of yourself. 3) Write a list of 10 things you are Grateful for. Additionally per her book Girl Wash Your Face I write 10 goals for my life as if they have already happened. Your brain tries to help you accomplish them! 4) Drop one food category for 30 days that does' serve you well (Diet Coke, Sweets, French Fries, maybe mayonnaise? LOL) and 5) Move your Body AKA exercise for 30 minutes per day. Learn more about Five to Thrive & Daily 10 Goals from Rachel Hollis here.
Again, for those of you wanting less, consider selecting a word or phrase for your year to be touchstone for where you want your focus to be. This works into any plan...I even have a phrase, "Travel Light' in addition to my "19 for 2019" List because it distills what I want from my days no matter where I may be in my other goals. 'Travel Light' speaks to my physical need to carry a lighter purse to help my back issues. It is also relevant to speaking gentler to my children and to myself. 'Travel Light' reminds me to buy less, eat less, high less, and demand less. Word of the Year website here.
There is a beautiful and gentle custom "I Purpose to..." Worksheet from Ann Voskamp you can sign up for here. It is a peaceful hybrid between resolutions and only a word or phrase.
What about Travel? For many of us, travel is a daunting concept requiring more money than we have. Consider "Armchair Travel". Select a location you wish to visit and learn everything you can about it. There are free language apps, recipes, maps, and travel videos. Who knows, if you dedicate a year to really digging into the location you may find a way to really travel there! There are many passport subscriptions services for children where they get to learn about various places, this may even be an all family event for the year.
Consider exploring the town you already live in. If there is a University nearby, start following them on social media and get to any open events on campus. Our local Valparaiso University had many community oriented events springing from their Institute for Leadership and Service. I have taken my elementary school children along to see Dr, Martin Luther King Day speakers, Beat Poets, Environmental workshops and more. While they didn't love everything, it sure beast having them stare at a screen like zombies. One of the events even motivated my oldest daughter to look into community gardens isn a way to donate to our local food pantry.
Any time we take a different path, risk getting lost or looking foolish to go somewhere new our brain builds new pathways that make us feel excited and more alive. No matter where you are this new year, I invite you to choose simple ways of getting more from your daily life....it makes everything, especially YOU, so much better!
(Don't forget to share these ideas with your social circle...it can be wonderful and satisfying to make these plans together!)
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