Make 2019 Your BEST Year!

For me, the end of the year and the beginning of the year are immensely important — it’s a sacred time for reflection, processing, thinking, and also planning, visualizing, vision-boarding, and strategizing.

I closed out the year this 2018 by heading to Multiversity 1440 and treating myself to a few days of quiet reflection and planning. It was pretty incredible. I partook in yoga, qigong, hiking, ate local, organic, and healthy meals, made new friends, and really set myself up for the start of a pretty magical year. I closed out the year with my family and opened the new year by going on an epic hike with my niece (pics below!).

As I reflected, journaled, studied patterns, I kept asking myself, “What am I going to share with my community to help them also start the year off on the strongest note? Where they start the year feeling energized, invigorated, and FIRED UP.”

The following fifteen practices are what resulted from that careful reflection. I’m so excited to be sharing with you, and know that if you commit to doing these things for the entirety of 2019, your life will be extraordinary.

15 Practices for An Extraordinary 2019 — PART I

1. Step Into Your Power — As you step into 2019, I want to invite you to step into the most powerful version of you. No more apologizing for your light or for your dark. Listen to this song and have it on repeat. You as a whole human being — with your triumphs, your trials, your happiness and your sorrows — you are whole, you are worthy, you are powerful. Make this year the year that you commit to stepping into your power and to no longer turn down the volume or shrink down to make others “more comfortable.” This world needs you to be at your best, at your brightest. You can’t be a good copy of someone else, the only one you can be a great one of is YOU, so be great. Don’t shy away from or back down from what it means for you to shine your light. Exercise self-agency and get in the driver’s seat of your own life. No more sitting on the sidelines as life is passing you by. NO. This year you RISE.

2. Choose Positivity and Joy — I need you to choose positivity and joy every day of your life in 2019. And that’s the thing, it’s a choice. You have to keep choosing joy and positivity again and again. Being a cynic is the easy way out. It’s lazy. It’s not creative. It adds no value. However, choosing joy and positivity, regardless of what’s happening in your life, now that is courageous, bold, an act of rebellion against the smaller, scared parts of our human nature. This year, make joy a priority every day and see your life transform.

3. Be Courageous — This year, be courageous. Do the right thing even though it’s hard. Speak up for your colleague when no one else will. Treat everyone you encounter, whether janitor or executive, with kindness and respect. Speak your truth. Live your life in integrity to yourself. This I learned from my dad. He would say, “When I go to sleep at night and my head hits that pillow, I know that I’ve been true to myself, I know I’ve done the right thing, I know I haven’t taken the easy way out.” Take my dad’s advice, and be courageous in your life.

4. Be the Boldest, Brightest, Badassiest Version of YOU — Speaking about being courageous, have the courage to be the boldest, brightest, badassiest version of yourself for you. Stop being what everyone wants you to be. Listen to the song that emanates from your heart — only you can be that unique expression of yourself. Stop hiding your gifts, your voice, your smile, your passions. Allow yourself to be YOU.

In studies of the biggest regrets of the dying, one of the top five regrets was not being an authentic expression of oneself. Don’t let this be you. Don’t allow one more day, week, month, year, go by making yourself wrong. Saying no to who you really want to be during your time here on earth. Don’t live a life of regrets, it’s not worth it. Be courageous. Take the path least traveled. Dance to the song that plays inside your chest, and that only you can share with this world.

5. Say No to Perfection, Yes to Imperfect and Courageous Action — So many people become frozen by the idea of perfection. Things have to be just right for you to do that thing that you’ve been dying to do for years. NO!! Start today. Right now. Take one step. Even if it’s tiny. Even if it sucks. Even if you “fail.” Don’t be paralyzed by perfection, nothing will move your life forward like taking bold, courageous action. So, start today.

6. Have the Audacity to Dream BIG — You know I’m not the coach that’s going to tell you to sit back and relax and take it slow. Nope! I want you to dream big, to have the audacity to imagine the most exciting version of who you can become. There is no playing small here, no settling, no “well, that’s good enough.” No! My belief is that life is meant to be grand, exciting, fun, full of growth, and the only person who can make that version of your life happen is you.

I’m sorry to break it to you, but there are people less trained, talented, and with less connections than you that are making it happen. They are hungry. They are ambitious. They are taking bold, courageous action on their big dreams. They’re not letting excuses hold them back. What about you? Are you stepping up, are you allowing yourself to actually want all that you want? Are you waking up excited for the grand vision of your life that you are working on day after day? If not, isn’t today a great day to start?

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Powerful stuff, right?!

We’ll continue with practices 7–15 next week! I didn’t want to overwhelm you with all fifteen practices (although if you really can’t wait to hear all fifteen you can just go to my video where I cover all of them!), and I want to invite you to reflect on these first six practices over the next week.

Try on courage. Step into your power. Choose joy. Start dreaming big again. Take bold, courageous action, and be the brightest and strongest expression of your authentic self. If you do these things, I can promise you you’ll be off to a pretty amazing year!
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Catch you next week!