Quiet

Hello World:

It’s the end of the month. The new year is a little less new. Maybe you’ve been working towards accomplishing your goals. Maybe you’ve gotten sidetracked. Either way, it’s ok. There’s more time. But here’s a big question.

Have you taken time for quiet?

I’m not necessarily talking about stark silence. But have you taken time to sit and just be? Think about your breathing? Focus on the moment?

Or have you been so caught up in the new year, your new goals, the hustle and bustle that comes back into swing after the holidays?

If you’ve been taking time for quiet, that’s great. But if you haven’t, I really recommend doing so.

Just sit for a minute and take a deep breath. Hold it. Release it. Focus on being in the moment. Not on your to do list or your schedule for the day or anything else. Just focus on the moment.

It’s something I love to do because it grounds me. It brings me back into the moment and reminds me that nothing is so big or so scary that I can’t handle it. It helps to remind me that everything will be ok.

Embrace the quiet.

BrittanyM

Some Words of Encouragement

At this point we’re a couple of weeks into the new year. Maybe it’s going well. Maybe you’re off to a rough start. Maybe you just have the blahs.

Here are some things you should remember.

You’re awesome.

You are going to bring something great to the world.

There is a plan in place for you even if you can’t see it yet.

Just take it one step at a time.

There is beauty in the little things. If you have the opportunity, take the time to watch the sun rise. Or set. It’s worth it.

To the world you might be just one person. To one person, you are the world.

Everything will be ok in the end.

Have a great week!

BrittanyM

An Idea for the New Year

I’ve posted a lot about the new year recently. This is in part because it is the new year and now is the time to post. It is also in part because I am really excited for this year. This is the first calendar year in roughly 18 years where I don’t have school, and I feel that I have more time to actively pursue the things I’m interested in. This is exciting for me, to feel like I have time. I haven’t felt that way in a long time.

I’ve also posted a lot lately about how people start the new year. Some people make resolutions. Some people don’t. Some people have rituals. Some people don’t. Some of these I’ve shared with you. Some of them I haven’t. Here’s what I want to share with you today.

I read a blog post. I know. I probably read a lot of blog posts. The truth though is that I don’t read as many blog posts as you might think. There are a couple of blogs that really make me happy and then there’s all the random stuff I read while I’m on Pinterest. I’m getting distracted though.

Anyways, to get back on track, I read a blog post by Maxie McCoy. You can read it here. Maxie wrote a great post on three ways to get ready for the new year, and I really loved it. Given my sunny outlook on the new year, I adopted one of these ideas. Maxie wrote about choosing a word to define your year. This was something that I wanted to do as soon as I read it, but I thought it would be difficult because it was something I had never done before. How does one narrow it down to basically one word to define what they want their entire year to be like?

Fun fact: It wasn’t that hard at all. It didn’t take me long at all to realize that I wanted my word of 2016 to be open. I want to be open this year. I want to be open to adventure. I want to be open to change. I want to be open to new ideas and new experiences. I want to be open to everything this year holds. I don’t really know what all that is yet; this year is only 4 days old. But I know that I want to be open to it and see how the year unfolds.

What are your thoughts on having a word to define your year? Or is there another idea of Maxie’s that you really like? Or do you have your own traditions that you start the new year with? Let me know!

BrittanyM

Welcome to 2016

Hello World!

Yesterday I posted about goals and resolutions I have for 2016, and today 2016 is here. I have to admit that I’m off to a slow start with those goals. I didn’t meet my active minutes goal for the day. I haven’t really come close to beginning to meet any of my goals. I did however start a new book which means I’m working towards my goal of reading at least 3 books a month.

The point of this post isn’t to reflect on the barely there progress I’ve made on my goals, especially since the year has barely started. What I wanted to talk about was how people feel about New Year’s and goal setting at this time of year in general.

I am a firm believer in setting New Year’s goals. I am not always able to follow through on them. Sometimes my goals are too lofty. Sometimes I’m just unmotivated. This year I came up with a number of goals that I would like to follow through on, and the ones I thought I would struggle with more I tried to set under reasonable terms (healthy lunches vs healthy meals period, exercise 3 times a week instead of every day.)

So that’s me. Then yesterday I read a lot of HelloGiggles articles. This is nothing new. I generally read at least a couple a day. The ones I read yesterday talked about New Years and resolutions. They were interesting. They stuck with me. And if you aren’t reading HelloGiggles articles I highly recommend them. I learn things. I think about things. They make me smile. They are a bright spot in my daily internet usage.

The first article I read talked about Elizabeth Gilbert and her New Year’s ritual. She writes down everything she wants to leave behind in the old year and welcome into her life in the new year, and then she burns the paper and scatters the ashes in the nearest body of water.

I thought that this was a really interesting tradition and a great way to ring in the new year. I am all about bringing great things into the new year with me and leaving the old behind. I think everyone should have that mindset and implement it however they see best. (I’m klutzy so generally I don’t do things that involve fire. Maybe there can be a ceremonial shredding or sending things off into the world with balloons instead.)

The other article I read talked about why the author doesn’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. She compares it to going on a journey, and how you’re walking on a flat road all year. Then comes January 1 and you decide to tackle a giant hill. Only you aren’t prepared. She argues that it’s better to be on a gentle incline all the time, with smaller highs and lows, than to try to climb this big mountain.

This was a mindset that made a lot of sense to me. I am a firm believer in setting goals come January first, but I also set goals for August. Or November. Or for next week. I look for clean slates to set goals all the time, and I think everyone should. Goals can be set all the time, and people should embrace setting them whenever the time seems right. There is no right or wrong time to set goals, only what’s right for you.

What are your thoughts on resolutions and New Year’s? Let me know in the comments!

BrittanyM

Welcome 2014!

It is official. 2013 has ended and 2014 is here, bringing with it a fresh slate and the possibility to do anything. Personally, I think that’s pretty exciting. 2014 is a little bit of a big year for me if for no other reason than I’m going to graduate college and start the next chapter of my life, whatever that may be. The official plans for life after graduation are still in the works, but somehow I know it’s all going to come together. The chapter of my life that has been college has been pretty wonderful so far. That isn’t to say that there haven’t been both highs and lows, but college has been good, and I’m interested and excited to see what comes when my undergraduate career is over.

Today was a very good first day of the year. I had lunch with my very best friend (she’s been my best friend since kindergarten) and we swapped presents. She got me a wonderful stuffed Minion which talks and lights up when you squeeze it, which might seem like a weird present, but I really really love the Minions. And everyone seems to be slowly realizing this and gifting me with wonderful and (almost) always different minions.

And of course, I have to mention the fact that tomorrow and Friday we are supposed to get a lot of snow. Those of you who read my blog regularly have probably gathered that I really like the snow, so long as I don’t really have to go out in the snow. Now, I do love to do things like go tubing and walking around in it for a little bit isn’t bad. But being out in the freezing cold for a really long time, that is not my idea of fun. But I do love how the snow makes everything pretty and picture perfect. Normally when it snows I’m at school which is nice because sometimes classes get cancelled, and up at UCONN we get more snow than the shore usually does. But with this storm it’s predicted that the shore (which is where I am now) will get a lot of snow, so I’m pretty excited about that. Everything will be pretty, and I won’t have to go anywhere. I can just stay inside and appreciate the snow for what it is.

I hope that you all are having just as wonderful a start to 2014 as I am!

BrittanyM