by 
Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, ‘It will be happier.’
~Alfred Lord Tennyson
Every January is a divine gift of newness. No matter what the previous year brought into your life, a new year is a grace gift where you are reminded that it is possible to author a new chapter, paint on a fresh canvas, or sing a new melody.
It has been said, “You can’t fix a problem with the same thinking that created it.” So, here are 21 practices that will clear the way to engage and create a greater future and present.
- Start each day with 10 minutes of meditation and/or prayer.
- Refuse to check your electronic devices until you have centered your soul after you wake up.
- Before you leave your home, ask God to make you a blessing to someone each day.
- Talk less, listen more. Pause and think before you respond to make sure you are truly listening to the other person, perhaps you will choose to respond far less.
- Commit to writing down at least one gratitude a day in a journal before you go to sleep. This will help you wake with gratefulness and less stress.
- Practice the ancient art of smiling every day, your soul will thank you.
- Own your mistakes and say “I’m sorry” quickly when you blow it.
- Ask yourself why you respond the way you do to people’s behaviors before you respond. I call this a moment of holy curiosity. Your reactions tell you more about you than you realize.
- Exercise a little every day, even if it is a few short walks during your day.
- Determine to get 8 hours of sleep each night, “game-changer alert!”
- Consider a Whole-30 type diet, eliminating sugary food and drinks.
- Drink water-water-water, half your body weight in ounces. Water is life.
- Grow in your generosity. Donate to charities and humanitarian groups that work to eliminate poverty. I’d recommend http://www.planetchanger.org 🙂
- Read a book every month. I like Sacred Space 🙂 I will be posting my list of recommended reads soon!
- Write down your top 3 goals. Post them where you can see them. Do one thing each day that connects to those goals.
- Choose kindness over rightness
- Choose grace over judgmentalism (pull that log out of your eye!)
- Choose to assume positive intent towards others when things get dicey.
- Limit your screen time. Break your smartphone addiction. You don’t need it in the bedroom. Turn it off, and check it in and leave it alone! You’ll be okay I promise. In fact, you’ll be better.
- Learn to say “NO” Life is full of many good things that keep you from the best things. Does the opportunity align with your top 3 goals? If it doesn’t just say no,
- Love. Pray daily that you motivation which fuels your actions would flow from love and compassion.
Grace and Peace to you in 2018
Monty
A good list. Actually a superior list. I always like ‘thinking’ before responding. This is why I prefer email to phone or texting. I will often mark an email as ‘unread’ and answer it later after taking time to ponder the likely mood of the person I am communicating with and the optimal wording to convey my thoughts