Happy New Year Florida: 4 Structures to Thrive
Welcome to 2018!
I left New York on a Friday. The sun came up over all the buildings as an orange glow. I had all kinds of feels about it. All the people I was going to miss seeing, all the entertaining train rides and all the flights of steps I had to walk to pack my car were behind me as I drove over the George Washington bridge. The car was so packed full of my stuff that I couldn't see out the side window. I sat in the car seat and totally felt like all my stuff ate my car!
This isn't going to work!
I squished a lot of things in the car but I had to let go a few things before I went on my way. I drove a little over 5 hours to go surprise visit my family near DC. We ate endless amounts of delicious homemade sweets, talked till all hours of the night and simply enjoyed sitting with each other. That grandma had 6 christmas trees in various places around the house. I made it my mission to go touch each one at least once.
After a short visit with the gran, I drove another few hours to my mom's farm. I love my mom. It is always a pleasure to see her and my step dad. It was chilly so I was more and more excited to get to the warm of Florida. Just in time too according to all my friends. The temperature for New Years hit a crazy low. Even in Florida is was chilly (according to the Floridians). For me it was heaven.
I swam, I rode, I ran. It was a glorious way to enter 2018.
This is going to be an amazing year, for all of us! For me creating my 2018 meant doing something drastic. You don't have to move across the country to build your life the way you want it, but to make 2018 the way you want, you are going to have to do something different than you were doing in 2017. Resolutions aren't enough. It's time to get yourself some structures in place to build yourself in the 4 areas of your life: Mind, Body, Relationships, Money.
Here are the top 4 structures I am putting in place for 2018 in my new home.
Meditation morning and night. It is really good for grounding and focus of the mind to have stillness. In our busy world of smart phones, 1000's of channels on tv and busy people, it is necessary to force yourself to unplug and be still.
Daily Movement. There is no reason you have to run an Ironman with me (unless you want to =-)), but it's important to a fulfilled life to move your body every single day. If thats a walk in the morning, a dance break at noon or a kick ass boxing class at night, find something that fires you up and go do it with gusto.
Date night. For any relationship to grow it requires time and effort. That means all the people that are important to you need your time and attention. The people you need to address: Self, significant other, source. That means you need to schedule these at least once a month, and it can look like anything that works for your life, your partner and your beliefs. For me it looks like a bubble bath date with myself, a painting date in the park with my significant other, and spirit sunday mediation. What might you enjoy doing with your important relationships? Remember the key here is to cultivate a relationship with yourself, your love and your power center so you always have a strong foundation to build the rest of your life.
Savings Bucket. To have a life you are excited about requires freedom around all parts of you including your money. Having a buffer in case of emergencies is a powerful way to give yourself freedom around your finances. Every month put something into your savings bucket. I have my "bucket" in a different bank so I don't see it everyday. I named it the "oh shit bucket" and every month I put at least $50 into the bucket. Before you realize it you'll have a nice amount saved in your savings bucket just in case, but you have to start now and be consistent about it.
A new year can be really exciting because it's a new start, a new book that you get to start from scratch. Remember it's the little things you do everyday that have a big impact on the life you want to build. Start with these 4 structures and watch what you can build in your life.