You Got This!

-What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to it.-

Is it too late to say Happy New Year?? This post should have come a lot earlier but here's the thing; some of you just now started writing 2019 instead of 2018 as the year, others are still in disbelief that 2018 took a whole flight and is now gone, some just realized the fitness hype is not for this year after 2 weeks of membership, so I'll say this is coming at just the right time ;).

A New Year could bring so much pressure once the jubilation is all over cause we start to wonder if this is the year we get that job, get into school, finish school, start a business etc. It's also super hard when everyone seems to have it together. Here's a real note : No one really has it all together, trust me. Not that it's much of a comfort but we're all winging it cause although we are the authors of this thing called life, there's an ultimate editor, our Creator.

I'm guilty of having watched 2018 go by I'm not gonna lie, I feel like I should have done more. Read more books, learnt something new, networked etc BUT now I have 2019 for that and I'm just now (at the beginning of February) drawing a plan out (notice I said plan not goals. Goals were done November 2018 we don't play games here). In my defense it is my birthday month so erm yeah my year is just getting started LOL.

I'm not here to make you stick to goals you've been holding yourself to for 5 years now (guilty!). I'm only here to give you a different approach to achieving them. As humans we tend to materialize things; I want a car,  house, a partner etc . Well say it enough times, the universe will give it you but it could also cost you. You could get a car as a result of yours getting totaled and you being paralyzed so the other drivers insurance hooked you up. Now you have a car but can you drive it? I'm being  a bit extreme but I say this to say be mindful of what you ask for and how you as for it. Instead of saying I want a car, perhaps ask to be put in a position where you can afford one. Instead of asking for the 6'2, dark skinned, must have an accent 'brother' pray that you are the woman of purpose he needs. This way, you'll derive much more satisfaction in the things you receive.

The next best thing I'll encourage you to do this year and every year after this, is a way to be better. Be a better person, mother, friend, coworker, boss etc We always say we're better than the people we were yesterday but are we really? what bad habit did you drop? what new thing have you learned? Life and everything in it is a process, there's never a point of satiety and there's always more to learn. If Oprah is still learning, sis, we ain't even been to school yet, forget the degree (no not really, I worked my behind off for mine LOL)! When I say be better, I don't mean start a non profit today it could be as simple as reading meaningful books and no Danielle Steel doesn't count lol (still love her though). I'm a sucker for books. I used to read all fiction and now it's 90% mind blowing, thought provoking books. As a matter of fact I have 5 of them lined up that I have to read LOL but to date my ultimate favorite is The Alchemist. If you haven't yet read it, please do and please hit me up so we can talk about it. It's most certainly an every year read for me. I feel at different points in your life you relate to the main character differently. Learning a new skill is also a part of bettering yourself, you may have hidden talent you've never exploited be it ballroom dancing, baking, volleyball....there's something you've wanted to learn, DO IT.

Find a group of like minded individuals you can use as mentors or accountability partners. It takes a lot of practice to have a focused mind and having people who can quickly bring us back to the center is vital. In whatever it is you feel you need to tap more into this year; spirituality, professional networking, travel..find someone you vibe with and reach out every so often so your desire never fades and your curiosity fulfills itself. It's almost like how we go to church to constantly remind ourselves of whose we are and that alone pushes us through the week until the next service and so on.  Talk, learn and best of all keep notes! They're good refreshers and a great way of tracking your growth in that domain years down the line.

Lastly, remember to pause and smell the roses. I'm so mad at myself because January is done and I will never get the 31 days back but in my defense I was in the process of moving to a new apartment and was busy being worried about closet space than I was getting my life in check LOL. I'm back on track now and I'll certainly be sure to live in the moment and take the little wins in.

The more you put good practices to use the sooner they become habits. I hope 2019 brings nothing but joy you never knew you lacked and peace over your being. The goal is to live in a world that changed for the best because you were in it and it starts one person at a time.