The do's and dont's for making 2019 your best year.

Happy 2019!

January is half-way over, how are you feeling about the year so far?

Maybe you are making way on your resolutions and feeling good. Or maybe you lost the motivation and some old habits have crept back in.

Or you could even be the type of person that doesn't set goals or resolutions and you live more on auto-pilot.

This year I chose to do a little mixture of both. Sure I have big goals I want to accomplish but I am not forcing myself to any strict timeline.

See in the past I was so rigid in January, completely changing my eating, exercising more, and sticking to multiple checklists.

I still believe in that stuff and appreciate its purpose but I always lost sight of what I was working towards amidst all the lists.

I realized that life was moving by very quickly and I had a hard time appreciating the moment.

Even when I was completing a goal, surrounded by friends and doing everything "right" I was still unhappy.

I was too consumed in doing everything perfectly that I was missing everything I was working towards.

2018 was a life-changing year for me and I was more present in my life than ever before. It felt so good to just live and be happy.

So as I move forward this year, and life, I am committing to values and beliefs more so than checklists and rules.

These are the do's and dont's to making this year (and life) amazing and I hope it inspires you.

DO:

• Stay hydrated and cook for yourself and loved ones
• Get adequate sleep and prioritize rest
• Swap screen time for in-person connection
• Nurture the relationships you have in real life
• Identify the things that bring you the most happiness
• Make someone's day by being kind, it costs nothing
• Live as your authentic self
• Always be grateful for what you have
• Read one self-development book and see where it takes you
• Let go of grudges, they only weigh you down
• Judge less
• Take small steps toward your dream
• Pursue that project or hobby you keep thinking about
• Make time for fun and play

DON'T:

• Let anxiety or fear run your life, focus on the positive
• Stay in a situation or relationship that makes you unhappy
• Apologize for who you are
• Forget that human connection is way more important than social media updates
• Neglect self-care
• Burn yourself out from overworking, overexercising, and restrictive dieting
• Focus solely on your physical form, mental health is just as (or more) important
• Keep putting off your dreams, the time to start is now
• Shy away from doing things that are fun and adventurous
• Stay in what is comfortable and easy
• Spend time caring what other people think

The list seems simple right? In theory it is, but it is hard for many of us in this modern age to remember.

The constant pressure of being "on" takes us away from centering ourselves.

The moment I start worrying about the future or give myself a hard time for taking things slower, I come back to what matters.

I remember what I am grateful for in my life and I realize my dreams don't have a timeline.

I come back to my list of "DO's" everyday and connect back to the values I hold for myself.

Because if you can't appreciate what you have here and now I promise you that your goals will never be good enough.

So take some time and come up with your list to live by this year!