16 Things to Remember in 2016

Welcome to 2016 my friends! I hope you had a wonderful celebration to ring in the New Year with people that you love. We stayed home as we usually do, ringing in the year with the kids. We kept our ‘party’ pretty low-key, watching the festivities on TV while playing board games and sipping on bubbly. We had snack foods and root beer floats to top off the evening, and at the stroke of 12 we broke out the silly string and poppers and created a huge mess in the living room and kitchen!

I’ve been cherishing these last few days before the routine happens again. Yesterday I went and had a pedicure and lunch with a friend and caught up for a few hours and today we all hung out at the house and took down the Christmas decorations and packed them away for the next 11 months. We are officially down to our last day of our vacation and I’m already looking forward to our next long weekend.

These past two weeks have showed me house nice it is to slow down and just be. Be happy; be content.

2016 is sure to be an amazing year and I’m excited to see what it brings, but there are a few things I will always be reminding myself - and I thought it would be fun to share them with you.

1. Change is imminent. - I honestly dread change. I hate it. I like routines and consistency, but the older I get, the more I’ve learned to embrace change and enjoy the journey.

2. You choose what success is. - It is so hard to always keep up with everyone. With social media it seems even more difficult to be happy with where we are in life and what we have. People seem to always share their things and successes online; but that doesn’t mean that you are any less successful or have to strive to do more things just to feel acceptable. YOU are in charge of your own success - and you are the only person to define what that is.

3. Don’t change for someone else. - You don’t need to change your beliefs, habits, or life for anyone. People in your life should accept you for the way you are and visa versa. We can all be friends without being clones. Be yourself.

4. Take time off. - I’ve been so guilty of this. I’ll go non-stop for days working on things only to feel like I’m running around in circles and accomplishing nothing. We need to take a break and let our minds relax. I just spent two days without even opening my laptop. After I got past the ‘worry’ on what I was falling behind on it was amazing.

5. Love like there is no tomorrow. - Life is short and in an instance it can be gone. 2015 was tough personally for my family and we lost a few people that we cared about. If nothing else it reminded me that life is precious; it’s a gift. Love the people in your life. Make it a priority to see them and call them. Life is short, and it all boils down to making memories in the lives of people you love.

6. Learn something new. - None of us know it all. The world is such a big and beautiful place full of opportunities and adventures. Have an open mind.

7. Do something for others. - Whether it be sending out cards to cheer people up, or volunteering your time in some way, help someone out without expecting something in return. It will make you feel so much better.

8. Declutter. - This is something I am focusing on this year. I don’t have a lot of things, but what I do have isn’t very organized. I think that owning less is more, and I’d much rather spend my time traveling and having new adventures then collecting junk and dust around my house. 

9. Don’t worry about failing. - I think deep down inside we are all a little afraid of not succeeding… refer to #2. I’ve read of countless individuals who failed hundreds of times *in their own opinions* before they ‘succeeded’. Quit overthinking things and just try. You really don’t have anything to lose.

10. Kill ‘em with kindness. - There is always going to be someone with a bad attitude or has a chip off of their shoulder. Don’t let them get you down. Smile and treat them with the utmost respect. It might lighten their day, and most certainly will yours.

11. Surround yourself with the right people. - Don’t hang out with people who have bad attitudes constantly (see #10!) Sometimes it’s necessary to cut people out of your life if they bring your down. Surround yourself with people who encourage you and don’t always leave your feeling blue.

12. Don’t worry about what others think. - Thankfully I married someone who has reminded me for the past decade not to worry about what other’s think. People are opinionated, and sometimes can be harsh and jealous. Who cares? As long as you are true to yourself and doing your best, don’t even think about what is going through someone else’s mind. It’s not worth the worry.

13. Take time for yourself. - I’ve had a hard time accomplishing this myself at times. Sometimes you can feel guilty doing little things like spending money to get your nails done or have a massage, but whatever it is, you are worth it. If we don’t take time for ourselves we won’t have energy for everyone else.

14. Spend more time with family. - I fully believe that family is who you make it, so whoever you consider family...make more time available for them. The biggest gift you can give someone is your time.

15. Step out of your comfort zone. - Do something that you’ve never done before. Have you attended a Broadway performance, or tried something new? Do something that you don’t feel comfortable doing - at first. You never know, it might be something you fall in love with.

16. Everything will be okay. - It all works out in the end. Don’t stress the small stuff, don’t overthink things. Be honest, do your best in life, and know that in the end it will all work out.

~Melissa