New Year, New Chances, New You!

             As we wrap up another year, I think we should all look back on this year and really think about who it made us into. Maybe this year was the best year of your life, you won the lottery, or bought your first house, or got married and had a baby. Maybe this year was the worst year of your life, maybe you lost someone you love, or you had financial hardship, maybe you struggled with your mental health this year, and you lost a lot of pieces of you. The pieces that make you who you are, the amazing, loving, caring pieces that were chipped away. Either way I want you to think about this year. How did this year affect you; how did it heal you or how did it hurt you?  Think about that for a second.

Now I want you to think about how happy you are. Are you happy? In general, all aspects included, are you happy? If the answer is yes then you go babe, you are going great and I'm proud of you! If the answer is no, that's okay, you are doing the best that you can, and I am so proud of you!

I want us to set a goal for 2022, not a resolution I'm not going to tell you to lose 50 pounds or quit smoking, but a goal. I want us to make 2022 the year that we find happiness because for fuck sakes we all deserve that. I think I speak for most people when I say that these last few years have been a rollercoaster that has plummeted over and over and we're all a little nauseous and ready to get off.

So, what if we made a list that had all our favorite things on it, our favorite things to do, see, watch, eat, drink, and just experience and then one by one go out and do, see, watch, eat, drink and experience all of those things. that's where we will start on this journey to happiness. I want us, by the end of 2022, to know who we are and what makes us the best versions of ourselves. We are the only ones who can truly make ourselves happy. I'm guilty of trying to rely on others for my happiness and that's not how you find it. You have to find it in you, you have to make yourself happy, you have to say fuck that to the things that make the person that you don't want to be. Fuck that to the things that make you someone else. The world doesn't need that person, the world needs you and everything that you genuinely and authentically are. Unless you're a serial killer then maybe try to be someone else who’s not a serial killer. Just a thought.

I have a few questions that I want us to answer this year. Hopefully, these questions help us to figure out who we are and what we want in life.

1. What are my strengths? What are the things that I excel at, and do I actively do these things? The answer doesn't have to be "I paint like Monet" or "I sing like Whitney Houston", the answer can be "I'm a good mom." or "I have a good work ethic.” Whatever it is, do more of that. Be available to build on it, to accept it and to cherish it.

2. What are my values? What are the things that are most important to me, and do I put emphasis on those things? It could be family, friends, your career, schooling, your health, and mental health, you name it.

3. Do the people around me make me a better person? Do they support me? Do they encourage me and want the best for me? What does your circle look like? If the people close to you don’t want the best for you then they aren't your people, and there are better people out there who can play that role in your life.

4. Am I living the life that I want to be living? What is that life? Be realistic here, most of us would agree that it would either be nice to have a million dollars or a remote cabin far from civilization but sometimes that's not realistic. So, think about your job, does it make you happy? If not, what job would make you happy and what can you do to get there? Think about your family, do you get to spend enough time with them? Are you in a happy and loving relationship? If not cut those ties babe because there is someone out there you can love you the way that you deserve to be loved, and you do deserve to be loved.

5. I want us to set one short term goal. One goal that we can to today, or this week, which would make us happy. Get your nails done, have coffee with a friend, call a loved one you haven't talked to lately or go on a walk and take in all that Mother Nature has to offer. Do one thing that makes your heart happy.

6. One long term goal. Something that we can do this year that would make you a better version of you. Now here is where you could lose 50 pounds or quit smoking if you choose to, but it doesn't have to be that major. Make it a priority to spend time with people who make you happy more often, or schedule counselling appointments to help you through something, spend more time outside this year, or try something new that you've always wanted to do.

I wish the absolute best for all of you this New Year and whether or not these questions help you in some way, I hope you find happiness this year. We can make this our year; we can make the most with what we have. We can cherish the time that we have here. I don't know about you but I'm over not being excited about life, I'm ready to start truly living it.

Happy New Years guys, and as always thank you so much for reading.

-Courtney.