1. Dream More.
In 2017, I want to dwell in all the possibilities of what could be. Backpacking around New Zealand, micro-financing small businesses for women in third-world countries, learning to surf, heck, buying a really nice car. My dreams may go poof and disappear, or they may materialize in front of me. Regardless, I’m going there—and I’m not allowing “what if’s” or “but’s” to stand in my way.
2. Consume Less.
In the U.S., and it seems especially LA, we are presented with an endless array of beautifully marketed items. Artfully ripped jeans call to us from storefront windows, Instagram shows us everything we want and don’t already have, and coffee shop menus give us the opportunity to blow our paychecks on matcha lattes and cold brew. While there’s something gratifying about earning $$ to buy something of value, I don’t want my days to center on an endless swirl of working to consume. I don’t need more than one almond milk latte in a day (really, I don’t need more than one a week), and I don’t need another new lipstick if I have six tubes stuffed into a mason jar in my bathroom.
3. Take Risks.
I’ve realized that a large part of coming into adulthood in a healthy way is to learn to trust yourself to step into the unknown. Depending on that venture- whether it’s making a new friend, moving cities, learning a sport, or changing careers- you may have to choose to trust your body, your mind, or your personality to succeed. Last week, I stepped onto a skateboard for the first time in my life when I decided I could trust myself to stay gripped to the board and get where I needed to go. It took me 28 years (and a lot of patience from my younger stepbrother), but it felt incredible to take that risk, however small.
4. Love better.
Many of us have spent much of the past couple weeks over the holidays with our families, which, depending on your situation, can mean equal parts trepidation, relief, frustration, joy, and affection. This holiday season, I decided to put my best foot forward with my family. Rather than unload my baggage and complain to them, I tried to be as joy-filled, patient, and kind with them as I try to be with my friends. In 2017, I want to give the best of me to those I love the most.
5. Use words with power.
Words do not just evaporate. Once we speak, we have created something, whether positive or negative, that holds power. God spoke the world into existence.* Do you remember compliments you have received that have stayed with you for life? You probably remember the insults even more. I have thankfully overcome past tendencies towards negativity, especially towards myself. In 2017, I want to be extra intentional about what I say to others, and what I say to myself. Prayer, positivity, affirmations, declarations, decrees: they all have the power to change circumstances, mindsets, and lives (including your own).
*Hebrews 11:3
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