1. Be Present
I’ve always been a busy body. I like making plans, creating lists, having my calendar booked with events/meetings… It keeps me going, and helps me to stay motivated. Add all that plus living in the crazy city that is New York… and sometimes I’ve caught myself not making the most of the moment. I’ve found myself thinking about deadlines, emails, or things I need to cross off of my to-do list whenever I’m with friends or spending time with family. (I do this even when I’m in Yoga class!)
I really want to practice ‘being present’ this year and focusing on staying in the moment. I need to keep reminding myself to just enjoy the now. There will be plenty of time later to think about projects & tasks.
2. Stay Positive
It’s easy to get in a negative mindset sometimes. Especially if things aren’t necessarily going according to plan…things at work are off, a friendship is in disarray, your apartment was damaged due to demolition in the apt. next door…(this actually happened to me when I got back from Texas!!)
Full Story: I was exhausted after flying in last week, arrived late that night to my place, and came home to find dust everywhere. All over my floor, on my clothing, on my bedding…my apartment was in a cloud of dust! Somehow the work that they were doing next door came through to my apartment! I was so upset at first, and almost started to cry but then tried to look at the positives:
This meant that a.) my apartment would now get completely cleaned for free, b.) my dry-cleaning would be taken care of and I would have – what would feel like to me – brand new bedding and extra clean clothing, and c.) I’d get to stay with a good friend after dealing with a little bit of loneliness from having just said goodbye to my family and my love.
In every situation there is positive.
You just have to look for it!
3. Spread Love
The Beatles said it best…”All you Need is LOVE, Love is all you Need”.
Everyone is on a constant search for love, and in a world where we are constantly seeing people spread hate, I personally want to vow to make this new year a year of love and to choose to be a light in this dark world.
Whether that be by giving your time to someone that needs companionship, donating to a local shelter, sharing a meal with someone in need, or being kind to someone who is being rude to you… there are several ways to choose to spread love. And trust me, this world is aching for it.
4. Smile & Be Kind
Did you know… it’s been proven that you can boost your mood and the mood of others simply by smiling.
As a Southern girl, I’m very used to smiling at basically everyone that passes me by. I definitely blame it on growing up in Texas, where everyone is friendly and pleasant, and where the people will go out of their way to stop you and ask you how your day is.
In New York… that concept isn’t quite the same. It’s actually the complete opposite here. Although, I have found that people tend to get so surprised and happy whenever I send a simple smile their way. Or if I genuinely thank a barista for my morning latte, give my cab driver a big thank you!, or offer to help someone carry their groceries up to their apt.
It only takes a second to smile, and to show kindness to others. One small act of kindness has the power to transform the way that someone is feeling, and in exchange you could serve as a catalyst that helps to to turn someone’s bad day around.
