Here we are. You made it. Welcome to 2020. That year you thought would never come, couldn't come soon enough or that'd never last. We're already a week in, and yet, many of us are still living life in the rearview, holding onto doubts, pains, and hiccups of the past.
Can we just be real for a minute? We gotta knock that off. The future is bright and your life can be bold. It's time to kick 2019 to the past, purge ourselves of bad habits, and charge into the path ahead.
Here's how...
1) Review tech specs
Spotify, health apps, screentime...there are countless tools at your disposal that'll chalk up precisely how and where you spent your time and energy in the past. Review them wisely and see if they measure up to how you'd like to spend your days. If things aren't stacking up, change them. Take more steps, switch up your playlists for something more cheerful, blaze new trails.
2) Rid your life of negativity
We just posted a piece last week about the kinds of people you do and do not need in your life. Trade negative for positive. Read it here.
3) Take a dry month
More and more people are getting in on the chance to abstain from alcohol for certain months of the year. Be it November (going into the holidays) or January (rolling out of the holidays) or any month that makes sense for you, give your mind and body a chance to cleanse itself and see things more clearly.
4) Donate your clutter
Marie Kondo your pad. Be ruthless. Look around and decide which belongings and memorabilia in your life bring joy and which just take up space. Truth is, our physical belongings also occupy mental space -- that precious brainpower that allows us to plan, deliver on, and navigate everyday life. If you look back on 2019 or ahead to 2020 and notice it's surrounded by a lot of stuff, pack it up and give it away to someone in need.
5) Unplug, unsubscribe, un-stream
Stop living life in an "always-on" posture. Hide your phone for the day. Turn off your router. Cancel a streaming service. All of these convenient entertainment options are also cleverly disguised distractions. The more you let them dictate your free time, the less control you have of your future. Take back the reigns. Consider making Saturdays a phone-free day for starters and see where you go from there.
6) Pick a monthly mantra
2019 didn't go quite as planned? Same here. It happens to all of us. But there's hope for the new year. And rather than placing all your eggs in one epic basket of a resolution or physical transformation goal, consider drafting a mantra for each month. Develop a creed to live by 30 days at a time.
- "Be more kind"
- "Stop freaking cussing"
- "Only real foods"
- "But first, sleep"
- "Active every day"
7) Cleanse your social media
The vast majority of us are following or getting followed by people and brands we don't have true relationships with. And it adds up when we scroll and scour relatively pointless media and communities that lack true connections. So, drumroll, delete people. Unfollow toxic accounts. Stop watching people who tick you off. Free yourself from what doesn't benefit you.
It's easier than you think.
8) Review your bank statements
This one's going to hurt. Where's your money been this past year? How often did you really eat out? How much did you truly save?
So much of the stress and pressures in life are tied to finances. If you can honestly review the statements from your last year and courageously recommit yourself to your priorities this year, you'll be much better off. Where will you allocate your resources this year? Where will you stop letting dollars slide? The choice is yours.
2020 is a fresh start. Live like it.
