Call it what you will: turning over a new leaf, starting a new chapter, a blank page, new beginnings. Even if you are happy with your life as is (and I sincerely hope you are!), who doesn't love a fresh start? 

If you're feeling inspired to make 2018 your best year yet, here are five big ideas to embrace and implement:

1. Allow yourself to evolve. Ooooh, I love this one. This is the year to give yourself permission to change. Maybe you've already changed and you just haven't allowed yourself to accept it yet. What do I mean by "change?" Perhaps your goals have shifted, or you've reprioritized your life. Maybe your career aspirations have taken a sharp turn. You could have looked around and decided your relationships needed an edit -- your needs as a friend or spouse may have changed. Maybe your personal style has simply changed. Whatever it is, this is the year to tell yourself that it is not only okay to evolve, it is necessary. Some changes will be small and some will be big, but if they feel right in the depths of who you are, it's time to stop holding yourself back from a better life.

2. Allow others to evolve. Did you see this one coming? This was a tough one for me to learn and accept. One of my favorite quotes goes something like this: "We tend to want others to stay the same while we give ourselves the grace to evolve." If you are allowing yourself to grow and change, you must do the same for others. Acknowledging that the important people in our life won't remain the same forever, that they are also human and will evolve over time, is the most freeing realization in the world. Once you accept this, you can assess and embrace your relationship with others in a whole new way.

3. Speak kindly to yourself. You'd be surprised at how often you're kind of a jerk to yourself.

"Ugh, you shouldn't have eaten that."

"Why can't you look like her?" 

"I need to get it together. My life is so disorganized."

Would you speak this way to anyone else? A stranger? Your best friend? No, you probably wouldn't. So don't speak that way to yourself. Nobody is perfect. Be kind to yourself because you set the tone for how others treat you, and your inner voice narrates your life. Do you want it to be negative or positive?

4. End every day by mentally listing what/who you're thankful for. When your head hits the pillow, instead of thinking of all the things you still need to do or accomplish the next day, what went wrong that day, etc., try re-focusing your brain on saying thanks for all of the great people and parts of your life. Do it list style: Thank you for my daughters and their health, they bring me so much joy. Thank you for my husband who always finds a way to make me laugh. Thank you for my extended family who keeps fun and tradition alive. Thank you for... you get the idea. I find it always helps me fall asleep and ends the day on a peaceful, grateful note.

5. Embrace simplicity. I'm reading through A Simplified Life by Emily Ley right now and have been trying to work on each chapter at a time. I love the idea of embracing simplicity as it applies to real life -- and real life is anything but simple. But we can take control of certain areas of our life and simplify them in a non-extreme way, and those small changes add up to a big overall impact.

Do you already do some of these things? What are some ways you plan to better yourself and your life in the new year? 

My New Year's Resolutions

I hope you had a wonderful holiday! Ours was perfect. Time spent with our favorite people (and missing the ones we couldn't see!), watching the girls' excitement, eating treats, yule log on repeat, and cozy downtime. We're enjoying the afterglow of the holidays but I'm also starting to set my sights on 2018, which brings me to...

New Year's resolutions: Do you make them or are you totally against them? It's been reported that 80% of New Year's resolutions fail by February. Eighty percent! It makes me wonder if it's the types of goals people set, the way we go about trying to achieve them, or if the excitement of the holidays/new year simply give way to the blahness of deep winter. 

Personally, I love making a list of resolutions at the beginning of every year. It goes against logic and statistics, apparently, but there's something about the thought of a blank slate at the turn of each year that I just can't quit. Maybe it's the idea that we have the power to write some of our own chapter, and that chapter can be anything we want it to be. As is part of life, things will happen to us throughout the year that we have no control over, but by putting together a list of priorities/goals/dreams at the start of the year, hopefully it serves as something we can fall back on.

In a rare quiet moment recently :), I was sipping on some coffee, reflecting on the year, and imagining the year to come, and I felt inspired to jot down some resolutions for 2018. I thought I'd share them in this space to 1. Hold myself more accountable and 2. Maybe help some of you who may need some inspiration for goals in the new year. I've broken my list down into a couple of categories (I didn't make it like that, but once I read back over it I realized it sort of naturally happened).

2018 New Year's Resolutions

Parenting

1. Take special time with each girl. We do so much as a whole family unit, which I love and feel is important, and when Steve is at work I am almost always out and about with both girls by my side. But as they get older, I feel it will be really nice to take some special time with each individual child, whether it be a special activity, date, or just a walk one-on-one.

2. Volunteer with the kids. This is something I've always dreamed of doing with my kids. I think it's so very important to show them the importance of getting involved and making a difference in other peoples' lives and in 2018 Hadley will be more toddler, less baby (sob). I think it would be a great time to introduce them to some volunteering.

3. Encouraging daily tasks. Admittedly, I haven't been great at enforcing chores. My oldest is only 4, so I don't feel I'm necessarily far behind, but I do feel it's a great time to start. Luckily, the kids already naturally enjoy helping (unloading the dishwasher, throwing the clothes into the laundry, sweeping, prepping dinner, feeding Layla) but I'd love to give them a few more independent tasks (cleaning up toys when they're done playing with them, putting books away in their rooms, things like that).

4. Implementing a "family time" block during busy weekdays. Again, we spend a lot of time as a family. I don't take that for granted. But the time of day that is usually most stressful and rushed -- dinnertime until bedtime -- can be wasted catching up on last minute workday emails, trying to clean up messes, etc. I'd love to remodel this block of time as a purposeful "family time." Play a game, clean up dinner together... you get the idea!

5. Take more family photos. I have so (so so so) many pictures of the girls; and don't get me wrong, I adore them. But we are really lacking in the family photo department, and I'd like to remember to ask for a family picture here and there so we have documentation that mom and dad did, indeed, exist as well.

Personal

6. Monthly date nights or days. 2 kids in 2 and a half years has the tendency to greatly reduce the number of date nights a couple has. Don't ask me how I know. ;) At one point, we went the better part of a year without a date... crazy! We've had a couple recently and they have been so fun. Nothing fancy or far away, just dinner or lunch out, a quick shopping trip, or coffee at the bookstore. Our sweet family has been more than willing to drive the two hours to help us out, but since they do live pretty far, we've also found a fantastic sitter to fill in when we need her. I feel like we have a recipe for date success going into 2018.

7. Meditate. Hear me out, heeeear me out. I have never really been into the idea of meditating, but then we meditated one morning on my recent work retreat (thanks again, Sarah!) and I was sold. I think waking up just a bit earlier to have 10 minutes of quiet meditation in the morning could really shape my days for the better. I also think this might be the most difficult resolution to stick to!

8. Make time for self-care. I like this particular goal because it's not about "losing 20 pounds by March!" or "cutting out all sugar!" I know myself, and I know those goals are neither realistic nor necessary. This is about purposefully and mindfully carving out some time for me. A hot shower all by myself. An hour to write midweek. Finally learning how the hell to style my hair (ha!). Going for a run. Whatever it is that fills up the cup just a little bit so I can continue to pour for others.

9. Read. Quite simply, I miss getting lost in a good book. It's been so long since I've allowed myself the time to sit with one, and I'd really love to change that this year. I actually especially love biographies/autobiographies (not shocking since I'm fascinated by people and their stories, I guess) -- are there any great ones you've read?

10. Continue to write and develop The Lucky Lifestyle. So this -- this little corner of the Internet -- is how I know goals can be achieved. Or, you know, in a constant state of achievement at least. :) This was a goal of mine for so long, and here we are almost 6 months later. I have had so much fun interacting with wonderful people here, learning from all of you, and writing. The writing has been good for my soul. In 2018 I hope to only expand on what's been started.

So there they are. Writing them here feels a bit vulnerable but also something else. Maybe... free? Like, here they are, world! Here's what I hope to accomplish during this next trip around the sun.

Are you making any resolutions this year? What are they?