Ready to start the new year off with a bang, but New Year's resolutions don't feel like the right idea? These 2 steps will help you even if goal-setting isn't your thing. 

The reality is, goals are amazing and important.  But sometimes it can also feel overwhelming to try to put together a plan to achieve things that you have a hard time really even imagining are possible for yourself. Start with a review of 2021 so that you can celebrate, learn, and adjust, and then envision what you want your life to look like.

If you have been working through the “Best Year Ever” 5-day challenge, you've likely already at least started on these two exercises. And if you didn’t join in, no worries - you can still get the info delivered over a 5 day period - starting as soon as you register.  

Even if you didn’t work through the whole goal-setting plan, here’s what I hope you’ll take the time to do:

1. Fill out the Four Helpful...

But knowing yourself makes it even better.

I recently celebrated three months of consistent daily activity. 

The parameters I set for myself (using my Fitbit for tracking)

• at least 10,000 steps 
• at least 20 to “active“ minutes according to Fitbit
• 30 minutes of intentional movement - walking, running, dancing, indoor workouts - can be divided into more than one session if needed

I had been doing this sporadically but decided to get more consistent starting May 1.

I know that fr me, and likely for you, things that I do daily impact me more than the things I do every now and then. 

It has been hot a lot of the time, and I am not a big fan of heat. Some days it has rained nonstop and I’ve had to get more creative. 

Ideally, I like to walk and I like to do it in nature. At least once or twice a week I try to go to a nearby park with walking trails because it is more shaded, and because I love to hear and smell and see the sounds in nature and take...

Are you focusing on what matters most? 

We all want to spend our time on the important things, but we don’t always take the time to figure out exactly what that means to us personally. 

What are the most important things to YOU? 

My top priorities may look very different than yours, and that’s ok.  There are no right or wrong answers here - it’s very individualized.  

What we have in common, however, is that if we don’t take time to determine what matters, we will most likely spend a whole lot of time on the things that don’t. 

As a woman in midlife, I am realizing just how precious time is.  Even the little moments.  I’m questioning, in an empowering way, the choices that I used to make without a second thought. 

I’ve often heard that time goes faster as you get older, and I’m starting to experience that myself.  While I’d love to be able to slow...

Risks and choices keep life exciting!

Today I am six months postop from my shoulder surgery. I have been cleared by my surgeon.  I am free!

But this is about so much more than my arm.

A lot has changed in the past six months.

I went from going to therapy for almost a year prior to surgery to deciding to have surgery during a pandemic for a variety of reasons.

First of all, we were not sure what would happen to my husband‘s job, and our insurance is through him.

Secondly, we were spending money on therapy to maintain my range of motion and function, so our deductible was met or close to met already. Due to the long-term therapy, my pain was well managed, and really so was my use of my arm, which happened to be my dominant arm.

But the bottom line was, It was not going to get any better without surgical intervention. As a matter of fact, it would continue to get worse, and could potentially have become suddenly much worse, leaving me in pain all the time.

Last but...

When we are surrounded by chaos and uncertainty, it can feel selfish to focus on ourselves, but I believe that’s exactly where we need to start.

But even after further reflection, I wouldn't change my answer. Here's why.

Consistent workouts are changing my life!

I have always been an intermittent exerciser.  I will do ok for a few days, then life gets in the way and I’ll walk once or twice every couple of weeks.  I was cruising along like that until a month ago today when I decided to really commit to becoming more active.  Since then I have had at least 30 minutes of intentional activity per day, and at least 10,000 steps daily.  I’ve had quite a few people ask me how I stay motivated, so I’ll share some of what has worked for me. 

One of the ways that I have found to stay active when that was not always my norm is to start off my morning that way. I wake up, use the bathroom brush my teeth, put my contacts in, and get started on my Bible in a year app and usually 2 other devotionals that I am doing.  Then depending on if it's my hospice week or not I may need to start a little bit later (I work every other week on-call 5p-830a, so I can’t get...