1+8 Ideas for 2018
Waiting for one year to end and another to start is how a lot of people are feeling right now. But that is tempting fate.
You can line up a list of the things that went wrong in 2017 and come to the conclusion that life couldn’t get much worse.
If you think just a little bit, you will remember those you lost this year: the people you love who also lost people they love, the friends who have seen friends die, the sisters who lost brothers, daughters who lost fathers. Lives ended, as every year does.
But here we are writing this, so in the words of Mary Oliver, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
For some reason, new year’s resolutions tend to center around weight loss. I hate that. Too many of us once let a scale dictate whether or not we were going to have a good day or a bad one. One number defined a mood, and it is a complete waste of energy. Instead of focusing on what you can lose, focus on what you can gain—like a day spent doing something you love with someone you love, a day not ruined by a number.
So rather than focus on the things to steer clear of in 2018, here are a few things to add, 1+8 things, so here you go:
- Water. Can not emphasize this enough. It impacts everything from your mood, to concentration, to digestion to how your skin looks. Hydrate. It will do more for you than you could ever imagine.
- Move. I don’t care if it’s dancing in the kitchen with your kids, walking a dog, doing the plank for 45 seconds, move that body you have. A friend lost his legs in a freak accident. Live everyday on yours while you can. None of us know what is coming at us.
- Hand write notes. In 2017, I committed to hand writing a thank you note each week to a person who impacted my life, a teacher, a friend, a mentor or just someone who made my heart expand. The joy that came from writing those notes, the appreciation, boomeranged. The receivers would reach out (who mails hand written notes anymore?). It is an awesome practice to start.
- Unplug. In this hyper speed, 24/7 news cycle with social media hacking at our brains, find a few minutes each day to unplug. Maybe walk without the device (radical!) or take a class that doesn’t allow them (pretty much, all classes!) and just try to exist without the added techno limb.
- Supplement. Sadly, our soil sucks. It’s in terrible shape. As a country, we decided to maximize yields at all costs, which means we soaked our soil in pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, so many sides that it is no longer healthy. Not an insurmountable problem, but as we work on regenerative ag, supplement. My partners have some of my favorites: MegaFood Daily Turmeric Boost, Natural Vitality CALM Magnesium and My Kind Vitamin C, Bs and more. Consider adding supplements to your daily routine until we turn around this chemically intensive ag system.
- Call someone you love. A lot of friends have lost family members and friends in the last year, so pick up the phone and call someone you love. Start the convo with, “I only have a few minutes, but wanted to check in and say hi…” It doesn’t have to be an hour or even a half an hour. Pick up the phone and let someone you love hear your voice and listen to theirs. Time is fleeting.
- Schedule your checkups, and do not forget the dermatologist. This year has been my year of reckoning after growing up in the sun and on beaches. Get into the dermatologist. It’s fast, painless, and a few stern words now can save you from stitches or surgery later.
- Plant something. Start with a tomato plant or basil plant or anything simple in a pot. Learn how to grow something, the patience and skills will serve you in so many aspects of life.
- Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. All too often, we wait for the perfect weight or time or confidence level or moment to let someone we love know that we love them. Don’t wait. Now more than ever, the most important thing that we can put into the world is love. So do your thing. Love big.
If 2017 is any indicator, 2018 is going to be crazy, too. You have to put on your oxygen mask first before you can effectively help others. So buckle up and take care of you, in order to take care of those and all that you love. The world needs you in it.
