To start the year with a clear vision of the intentions and goals you want to set for 2020, I’m sharing simple ways to kick off the next 366 (hello, leap year) days with a positive mindset.
1. Change your morning routine
ENERGY FLOWS WHERE FOCUS GOES. What do you want to energize this year? A better job, relationship, health, home? Anything is possible IF you are willing to focus on what you want and take action toward it.
Activity: Spend the first 10 minutes of your day deciding where you want to focus your energy. Not on Instagram.
2. Download a mindfulness app
Challenge yourself to spend every day in January completing a 5-10 minute meditation. I love the Happy Not Perfect App (Founder Poppy Jamie spoke at the 2019 Girl Up Leadership Summit: UK!) which has a five-minute brain workout that will help you BURN away worries, write a grateful diary, set goals, AND focus on self-compassion—seven neuroscience-backed steps completed in five minutes.
Activity: Download Happy Not Perfect for iPhone/Android.
3. Move your body
Forget about signing up for a gym membership you might not even use post-January. Turn on Lizzo or your song of choice and MOVE your body every morning for a hit of feel-good endorphins. Even if you start off in a bad mood, still give it a try—I promise you after one or two songs, you’ll be feeling, as Lizzo would say, “Good as hell.”
Activity: Turn on Lizzo (or your favorite feel-good song) and shake it out.
4. Manifest
We can’t create what we want if we don’t know what we want. Write a list of 10 goals to manifest and put it in a place you look at regularly, like on the fridge or wardrobe, so you can keep your goals in sight.
Activity: Write down 10 goals you wish to manifest this year and stick it on your mirror/wardrobe/fridge.
5. Boundaries
Write a list of boundaries you will not tolerate being crossed this year and stick them on your mirror. Protect your energy for the projects and people who deserve it. It’s a finite resource—share wisely.
Activity: Write a list of things you will not tolerate this year.
6. Values
Our destiny is based on the decisions we make … and we make decisions based on what we value most. Write a list of things you most value in life. Love? Contribution? Success? Adventure? Make these your screensaver, and the next time you’re asked to make a decision, look at your values and see if it aligns. Getting into the habit of making decisions based on whether they align with your values will cause a lot less stress and create a much more harmonious life.
Activity: Decide your top 10 values and save as your screensaver.
7. Simplify your life
Let’s not take the last decade’s clutter and complications into 2020. By minimizing small decisions, we save our brainpower for the big ones. My tip is to start with something like your wardrobe. Think of how many successful people you see with a signature “uniform.” Follow suit: downsize and simplify.
Activity: Get spring cleaning … what clutter can you get rid of this year?
