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How to make 2018 your best year yet

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Happy New Year!

Today is the first day of a new calendar year. A new beginning. A fresh start. It holds great opportunity and comes with 12 new “chapters”, where we can be the author if we want. Did you ever look at life that way; that you are the main character and can be the author of this story called your life. 

If people watched the film of Your Life, or read the book with the same story; how would they perceive you? Would they like you? Would they want to be with you? How are you showing up in your life? Are you being a victim? Are you playing full out? Do you do every day, ALL that you can to be your absolute best? Do you influence others in a positive way and inspire them to live to their highest standards? Do you lift those you love? Are you the Hero, or Shero in your story? Are you making choices that make you happy living your life? Are you proud of the story you’re creating?

If you are willing to take full responsibility for your thoughts and actions, you have 52 weeks to take it to the next level. To “up your game”! Here’s a proven technique that has helped many. I regularly practice this in my life and business. Sometimes I make it all about my work, sometimes all about my health, sometimes it’s a mixture of wanting to be the best parent I can be and also somehow manage to prioritize me (which is something I find challenging).

You have 365 great opportunities to make 2018 your best year yet! Decide today to make every day a successful day!

“At the end of each day, YOU will know if you let yourself down!”

Start – Stop – Continue

  • What is an activity or task you want to START doing? Make it something “small enough” so that you REALLY take action and commit to doing it. Something you can practice on a daily basis, to improve your health, social life, relationships, your home environment, your study projects, physical shape or perhaps your finances. When you add a daily routine that takes you no longer than 5-10 minutes to perform, and you consistently keep doing it, EVERY DAY, you will build up auto-motivation that will benefit you in other areas of your life and increase your daily performance rate, and you will be seeing a result if you keep doing it. Every day.

My personal “starter” that I will be doing – EVERY DAY OF THIS YEAR – is to start each day with 50 situps. And YES!!! I very much look forward to the results it will bring.

  • What is something you want to STOP doing? Something that you’ve always done, but that is not serving you. Or perhaps you’ve started a new habit recently, but you know it’s not doing you any good, it’s simply a bad habit. Be nice to yourself on this one, and make sure you avoid and eliminate as much temptation, friction and challenge as possible. I will give you an example of what I mean; if you have a tendency to eat between meals, you look in the cupboards and always find a little cookie or a piece of chocolate – don’t buy cookies and chocolate, make sure there isn’t any at home, and replace it with your favorite fruits. Or you drink way too many coffees – decide at what times, or limit it to “after meals”, and then replace the rest with a healthy glass of water. If you’re wasting hours and hours every day surfing the internet, hopping from video to video on YouTube and getting nothing much done – decide what time and for how long you can enjoy that, and for the rest, leave it, focus on something that will bring you closer to achieving your goals.

My personal “stopper” is something I’m not so happy about. Recently I’ve started swearing. And the worst thing is that it has happened when my children are home (OMG). This is unacceptable for me, and it has to stop NOW. I will share the reason why this has happened, so you see that we’re all human and struggle at times. I’ve been combining way to much work, working long hours, with to many projects, making time for no rest… and then came the school “holidays” when I’m at home with 3 children who need to be fed several times per day, and entertained, all while trying to control my desire to work, fighting to be present in the moment, managing the emptiness of not being near my family in Sweden, bah… just to much tension. I dropped a big, heavy log for the fire on my foot, and “s¢8#x3!” – out came that ugly word. But enough of that now. Definitely stopping!

I’ve created a “Responsibility Jar” where I will be putting 1 euro for every time I “accidentally” utter a swear word. I haven’t decided what I’ll do with the money in the jar. I first thought I will give it to a charity event, but that almost motivates me to swear more. Even if there is already 1 euro in the jar, because I smacked my foot in the vacuum cleaner when I was looking for a roll of scotch, my goal is to put no more coins in that jar.

  • What is something you want to CONTINUE doing? What are you currently doing, perhaps have always been doing, a practice that is something that you enjoy, adds value to your life or the life of others, makes you stronger, smarter, fitter, happier or wealthier and that you really want to continue doing? Or have you started a new habit recently and discovered the positive impact it is having on your life or relationships? Whatever you do that is currently bringing good to your life, be intentional in continuing doing it, EVERY DAY.

My personal thing I will continue doing is read, study and analyze books on personal development and the mind. I read my first book on personal growth when I was 16 years old, and I felt as if I had discovered a new world, a place where I could connect with all the intelligence of the universe, and I cannot get enough of it.

If you like reading to make the most of yourself and want to bring in the support of great minds into your life, here are some of my favorite books that I read and re-read:

  • The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace D. Wattles
  • The Silva Mind Control Method, José Silva
  • Think & Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill
  • How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, Jack Canfield
  • The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John C. Maxwell
  • The Motivation Manifesto, Brendon Burchard
  • The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John C. Maxwell
  • Becoming a Person of Influence, John C. Maxwell
  • Intentional Living, John C. Maxwell
  • #Values, Dr. Betty Uribe

I send you all my best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous year ahead.
Make it a year to remember!

Annica



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2 thoughts on “How to make 2018 your best year yet”

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