Things I Feel Good About In 2018

2017 was a shitty year in some ways and a great year in others, but no matter how a year pans out I am always ready for a fresh start in January.

Lately I’ve been feeling pretty blah, struggling to balance all of the new habits and activities I’m looking to add to my life and the residual ickiness left behind from last year. I have a couple of blog posts I’m working on, but in my effort to make them super great I realized I’ve left y’all with a bleak site since the New Year.

So to tide you over and brighten both of our days, here’s a quick list of things I’m looking forward to and feel good about—big and small— in 2018.

Being better to the world.

I got a new Ninja Coffee Bar for Christmas and so far I’m loving it because it makes great coffee in a variety of styles, but also lets me enjoy single-serve coffee without having to use K-cups, which we all know are awful to our Earth. In 2017 we also stopped buying bottled water and started recycling more regularly, so I feel good about continuing those things! I also donated to local charities a few times last year, and it felt really good. I’m looking forward to finding ways to make the world a better place, regardless if that’s in the form of a monetary donation, my time, or simply a smile and hello to a stranger on the street.

Being me!

Part of this site’s purpose is to give me more freedom to publish what I want and be proud of who I am. I’m taking that into all other aspects of my life in 2018 as well by owning my beliefs, viewpoints, and personality traits. With last year’s political disaster, I discovered a surprising amount of conservative people in my immediate family. And while that is in itself a different story for another time, I find that I feel more and more like an outcast in my family every time politics are brought up. This year I’m saying, “Fuck it.” Whether its politics or taste in movies, I’m no longer allowing myself to feel guilty, weird, or less than for feeling differently than my family, my friends, or society in general.

Enjoying the little things. 

I got a set of beautiful, hand-tuned windchimes for Christmas (thanks, Karan!) and as I write this, I can hear them making the most calming sound in the gentle breeze. I paused the show I was watching to just sit and listen to them. It is an appreciation for moments like these that I want to focus on. The sweet sounds and cuddly warmth of my dogs when they’re sleepy. The way Mitch always gives me a kiss and tells me he loves me before he leaves the house, even when I’m fast asleep in the morning. The smell of coffee. They all add up, no matter what type of day I’ve had, to a more wonderful and grateful life.

Among my goal of wanting to read more this year, I look forward to watching more shows and movies and listening to more podcasts, music, and audiobooks. Enjoying the product of other creative people will inspire me to create more myself.

Learning. 

I’m excited to take advantage of my new all-access pass to Masterclass and spend time learning from great people. With this site, I’ve already learned so much about WordPress and building a blog, and I’m looking forward to learning more about photography, cooking, and writing to help fill it up with great content for you!

Tapping into and following the glimmers. 

My therapist Rebecca and I came up with the term “the glimmers” a few years ago. It’s our word for that feeling of bubbly, glimmery, magnetic excitement that fizzes up inside you when you think of doing something you love. It’s the feeling of knowing that you’re following the pull to something that your authentic self truly wants. It’s what inspires you to push past your limits and go for your goals. It is, I’ve found, the key to succeeding in anything. The glimmers led me to launch this site—never giving up on the ultimate vision I knew could be achieved. I feel good about continuing to follow those sparkles, those feelings of rightness, with all of my choices. Only good can come from it.

There are plenty more things, of course, that I look forward to and feel good about in 2018, but it’s time to head out and meet the day with this new, fresh, positive energy I’ve just manifested for myself.

I challenge you, lovely reader, to make a quick list of things you feel good about today. It may make all the difference.