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The last few years have been rough for me.
Last year I lost my older brother, lost a few friends, had back surgery, began to see my parents decline with dementia, obtained a new boss at work (much adjustment), began and ended a romantic relationship, and saw many celebrities that I grew up with pass away.
This year I had to place my mother in a nursing home due to Alzheimer’s disease, I’m watching my father lose his mind to dementia and am caring for him, I lost my full-time job, I moved, I lost a few more friends and a few more childhood celebrities.
Change is hard. Loss is hard. 💔
But we are to be grateful in the bad times and the good times.
I’m finding my self being grateful for having this time to care for my parents without the responsibility of a full-time job. 🙏🏻
I’m grateful for being smart enough in the past to get my finances in order. 🙏🏻
I’m grateful for the many good people that are a part of my life to help me along these turbulent waters (including a new romantic relationship). 🙏🏻
I’m grateful that I had the foresight to start my virtual assistant business as my Plan B back in 2014. 🙏🏻
None of this has been easy. But change never is.
The funny thing about success in life is that it’s simple, it’s just not easy.
You must make sacrifices.
You must make tough decisions.
You must work really hard. You must fail at times.
But the hope is that in the end, it’s all worth it. ✨
Even though we never know what the future holds, it’s still a good idea to plan ahead. 📅
So, I’ve made this list for myself for the new year as I ponder what really matters and how to make the best year yet.
It’s just as important to stop certain behaviors to be successful as it is to start or continue doing certain things.
This will change your mindset and free up time and energy for habits that lead to success. 🗝️
My Stop, Start, or Continue List…
| Stop Doing | Start or Continue Doing |
| Complaining | Be grateful |
| Worrying | Plan and implement |
| Procrastinating | Set goals and take action |
| Being irritable | Improve communication skills |
| Giving in to anxiety | Exercise and meditate |
| Being guarded | Share more from my heart |
| Being judgmental and critical | Be encouraging, kind, and forgiving |
| Being negative | Look for the positives and the opportunities |
| Ignore others and their problems | Look for ways to reach out and add value |
| Accept the status quo | Look for ways to grow both personally and professionally |
| Trying to change people that don’t want to | Support others in learning when they want to |
| Stay stuck in my comfort zone | Challenge myself |
| Hang on to past hurts and failures | Focus on life’s possibilities |
| Multi-tasking | Focus on one project/person at a time |
Make this your best year yet!
With a full year ahead of us, have you decided what you’re going to do differently to ensure that 2018 is your best year yet?
We all have a desire to live a more successful, fulfilling and happy life, yet so many people fail to do anything about it.
Surprisingly, only about 30% of people actually set goals at the start of the year! 😮
Even more concerning is that most of the ones that do, fail to stick to their goals due to a lack of meaning or clear direction. 😟
This contrasts with the fact that 82% of people agree that setting goals and sticking to them correlates with levels of success and happiness. 😕
You deserve to start living the life that you want to live and make it your best year yet. 🤩
Not just for you but for those around you. Think of how differently you will interact with the world if you could wake up excited every day and pursue your passions. 😁
How much longer are you going to wait? 🤔
Download my free goal setting worksheet below and start planning your goals for making next year your best year yet! 🥳
Get my free SMART Goals worksheet here:
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”
~ Frederick Douglass