New year, new me? No. New year, better me.

It is 2019 and I spent the latter part of December 2018 trying to crank out one of those 2018 wrap-up posts. You know, the ones that go a little something like this – “What 2018 Taught Me”…”20 Lessons from the 18th Year of this Century”…The list goes on.

I incessantly racked my brain trying to rush to get something out because I didn’t want to be left out. What I didn’t realize was one important thing – what I learned wasn’t nearly as important as how I will use it in 2019…and beyond.

With that being said, here’s my plan for making 2019 better than my 2018.

1. Let It Go

I’ve made a purposeful decision to leave everything that caused me pain in 2018.

It might sound easier said than done – and I’m sure it is. However, I can’t move forward the way I need to if I’m always looking behind me. Think about it this way – If you’re always looking behind you, you’re bound to get hurt. You could walk into a wall, stub your toe, break something, or even worse – reopen a wound you were already healed from. As André Benjamin famously said, “Spaceships don’t come equipped with rearview mirrors. They dip as quick as they can.”…and that is exactly what I intend to do.

2. Plan, Plan, Plan!

As I’m typing this, I’m already falling behind in what I am trying to make a “normal” schedule – but it’s going to be okay! I have this strict schedule for work, home, hair, nail, and everything in between. However, I’m struggling to get a consistent schedule down for blogging and my brand. Believe it or not, I conceptualize all of my content in my head – and then I sit down and make it happen. It’s just the way my brain works! However, things are really picking up [which is one of my 2019 goals] and I to get better at managing all of these moving pieces. My calendar has been my best friend in prompting me to publish content and to also network with companies I’d love to collaborate with. As it’s been said – If you fail to plan, you plan to fail…and failure is an option!

3. Me, Myself, and I

For a long time, I’ve always focused on others. It’s just in my nature. I am a fixer and when things are out of whack – I cannot function. Unfortunately, this way of living can no longer work for me. In 2018, I took on way too many things that had absolutely nothing to do with me. I must remind myself that I can’t do it all…even when it hurts. Therefore, I am going to be more intentional with putting myself first. I ended off 2018 taking my first solo momcation – and it felt great!

I plan to do more of those this year and I’m so happy I have a loving hubby that understands how important this is for my psyche. If you haven’t done a solo momcation or even just gone off the grid for a weekend, DO IT. Even if the effects only last until you come back on the grid, those few days you were out of commission are a few less days you had to deal with the stressors of life.

4. Manage the Manageable

I am going to make a concerted effort to only worry about the things I have the ability to change. This one is going to be tough because again, I’m a fixer. However, this insatiable desire to fix nearly ruined me last year…and I will not allow it to happen again this year. There are many books out there that offer great advice on how to only focus on the things that matter. I haven’t read any of them, but I plan to grab at least one this month just to reconfirm what I think may help. At the end of the day, life is too short to worry about was and even what could be. That’s why one of my biggest goals is to do my best to just focus on today. Because yesterday is gone, today is what’s on my plate right now, and tomorrow will take care of itself.

5. Be Nice

When I was growing up, the one person who always stressed the importance of being nice was my Uncle Leron. I never understood why it was such a big deal because I was set in my ways – as most Taureans are. As I’ve gotten older, I caught glimpses of how easier life became when I was nice. I’ll be honest, I relapsed last year. It could be argued that much of the year I was something that rhymes with the word “hitch”. So, many things were out of my control and it didn’t help that many people I thought positioned themselves to help me were actually positioning themselves to hurt me – which made it worse. It seemed like no matter what I did, nothing worked the way I wanted to…so I resorted to being the way I used to be. I became cold, unfeeling, and downright mean. I’m still trying to pull myself out of it and all of the above goals have been working together to get me back to being the way I know I should be – nice.

The other day I declared that 2019 is going to be a great year for Chat With Bee. There are some amazing things I have in the works that you all will thoroughly enjoy. What I didn’t realize is by declaring that, I began to manifest greatness in my life as well – and I hope you’ll stick around to witness it all unfold.

Cheers to Twenty MINEteen!

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