The family and I just got back from the beach, where we spent a New Year's holiday.

 

It was lovely.

 

I look at the beach as sort of a Factory Reset. I've definitely ctrl + alt + del 'd 2019 ---  how about you?

 

This year I've got a freshman in college, a high school sophomore, and a 4th grader.

 

The only way I could ensure that all of us were together to ring in the next decade was to plan a mini-vacation so we'd all be in the same hotel room.

 

And it worked!

 

:-)

 

As you might imagine, I've always been a pretty big proponent of New Year Resolutions.

 

The resolution I made in 2008 changed the trajectory of my life forever, and for that I am truly (truly!!) thankful.

 

Sometimes an entire year resolution seems like too much to handle -- too big of a change.

 

I get that.

 

It's too much for me each year to think of something HUGE! and MOMENTOUS! and LIFE-CHANGING! every calendar year.

 

a lot of that comes from me thinking that actually life is pretty darn good and I don't need to completely overhaul anything.

 

And a lot of it comes from me being actually pretty darn lazy.

;-)

#truestory

 

I do try and have themes, though.

 

2019 I decided was the Year of Health.

 

2020 I've deemed: The Year of Slow Living -- more on this later -- for now I'm writing it down as a declarative bookmark in my brain!

:-)

 

but mostly, I try and create 30 Day Challenges for myself. When I first got started on my 30 Day Challenges, I kept them to myself -- I didn't want anyone to know what I was doing and I didn't want to be held accountable in case I failed.

 

I now have done enough that I know I will follow through so I'm not completely worried who in my life knows what I'm doing to try and better myself.

 

 30 Day Challenge Ideas

I've successfully completed this list --  but there are tons of other ideas that you probably have percolating in your brain!

 

no sugar (added sugar)
keto
vegetarian
no tv
no alcohol
no processed foods
no facebook
no politics
30 days of yoga
30 days of journaling
30 days of getting up at 5am
30 days of Intermittent Fasting
no spending money (outside of groceries & gas)

 

and for the most part they have been quite thought-provoking and insightful. I've only kept the daily yoga, the getting up at 5, intermittent fasting, and the almost-daily journaling a part of my life for the long haul, and so far have used the other challenges as a way to try and tweak my daily life.

 

Life can be unpredictable and scary.

 

There are hundreds of thousands of things that we CAN NOT CONTROL. 

But having something to work on, a project, an idea, that you CAN CONTROL provides a sense of stability and purpose in an otherwise unpredictable world.

 

Anyhow --- that's my hope, at least! :-)

 

Do You Have to Do 30 Days in a Row?

My answer to this frequently asked question is NO. You are in charge of you. If it takes 40 or 45 days to do your 30 Day Challenge, then so be it. There's no ribbon handed out, no gold medal, and there is no way you can "win" at this.

 

This is personal, and between you and yourself.

 

I want to share with you a new workbook/calendar/journal that just went "live" on Amazon that I wrote.

It is a 30 Day goal-setting/jumpstart workbook/journal that I designed to help ME and also my three daughters ---

 

I've shared it with a few friends and then they started telling me that I should find a way to put it up on Amazon. So I did!

 

It's not glossified and perfect --- I really thought I'd keep it to myself and my family, but if you think you'd find it useful, you can check it out for yourself, here:

 

Here is a direct link to Amazon.

 

The idea is pretty simple -- sometimes when we (global we! ;-) ) have an idea to change for the better, making a New Year's Resolution seems too big and long and daunting.

This is a daily journal that allows you to pick one thing for a 30 Day challenge -- and then you get to decide if you want to keep whatever it is you've been working on or not.

 

I wrote up above that this year I'd like to focus on Slow Living.

 

 

I plan on using my 30 Day Challenges as a way to Slow Down my day to day life.

 

I'm not exactly sure how the year will unfold, but I know that for me, and for my own particular brain, Going Slow and breathing deeply rather than a year of HUSTLE! is best for my health -- physical and mental health.

 

The journal and workbook is merely a tool -- if you'd like to use it, I hope you find it useful.

 

 

For now, my plan is to continue to get up at 5 every day (well probably more like 7 on the weekends.... ;-)  ), do yoga, write something for myself, and something for the internet, and take the time throughout my day to PAUSE and THINK and GO SLOW.

 

My hope for each and every one of you is that you have a happy and healthy 2020 and that all of your dreams come true.

 

xoxo,

your friendly neighbor, steph