4 ACTIONS TO FOCUS ON TO MAKE THE NEXT YEAR EPIC

Holy Toledo, this year flew by so ridiculously fast, am I right?  The fact that we are counting down to the New Year baffles me.  However, there is something about the New Year which sorta feels magically.  Like a clean slate.  A do-over.  Change for new beginnings which is ridiculous as EVERY morning is a clean slate... a change to start over, to shift your mindset + choose wisely.  

Yet there's something refreshing about the New Year... and we aren't going to talk about setting resolutions or commitments, this is just a quick read about the actions I've learned throughout the years to do to ensure the next year will be epic!

*epic by definition (adjective):  grand in scale or character* 

TAKE INVENTORY OF THIS PAST YEAR

This practice always seemed a wee bit time-consuming to me; however, if we do not take time to reflect back to assess how we did things, the outcomes, the lessons, etc.... then we are most likely at risk to repeat those scenarios.  Nothing changes if NOTHING changes!

And if you are like me, you prolly don't want to become stagnant.  So, here's some questions to sit with a journal about.  Give yourself time to do this, don't just write it down in 5 minutes and piss off.  REALLY marinate on these questions to see what comes up for you... what was the outcome... what would you like to have done differently and such. 

• What is something you feel is not serving you?  What tasks or folks do you feel drained by doing or being around?  
• What is something you are proud of and feel like is working for you? 
• What is something do you wish you had more of in life?  Both in personal as well as in business!
• What is something YOU wish folks said about you?  Are your actions reflecting this?  

These are similar to the questions I reflect on at the end of each week, but definitely as myself at the end of each month which makes this end-of-the-year-audit quite easy as I can flip through the months to reflect on what came up for me at that time! 

CLEAN YOUR SHIZ-NIT OUT

We started doing this with the Gillies, our twins when they were little - cleaning their closets, donating their clothes and toys at the end of the year; however, I realized their mama could benefit from this as well.  Clean it OUT!

I'm talking about your closets, your garage, the dreaded basement... your desk, your kitchen cabinets... ALL THE THINGS! 

But I'm also learning it's brilliant to clean up your business as well!  This means clearing out those 36 tabs you have opened, making your desktop cleared from saved photos/documents and putting them in assigned folders... as well as deleting all those pesky emails YOU KNOW you aren't going to open!  

Yesterday, while I was a group call, my email inbox went from 11,152 all the way down to 2... and y'all, I can not even express how refreshing it felt.  Don't bring your untidiness or baggage into the new year.  Start with a clean slate! 

CHOOSE YOUR MISOGI CHALLENGE

You are probably wondering what the heck an "Misogi" challenge is exactly.  If you google it, you'll discover it's a: Japanese Shinto practice of ritual purification by washing the entire body (source: wikipedia).  And this isn't exactly what I'm talking about. 

This term was first introduced into my life when Jesse Itzler mentioned to choose your Misogi challenge for the upcoming year... and instantly I googled Misogi, just like you probably did; however, the way he means it is a challenge to help push our boundaries, discover what we are capable of and tap into possibilities we don’t see in the moment.  When we look back and reflect on the year, we will remember who we are and the challenges we have overcame.

Now, you can choose ONE Misogi challenge for each year and if you are around 40 years of age living to the current life expectancy of 80, you'll have 40 Misogi moments under your belt if you start this year.  That's FORTY memorable moments... of strength, courage, resilience, LIFE! 

If you are having trouble to find just ONE maybe select a challenge for two areas of your life:  personal and business.  The key is not to overwhelm yourself with choosing MORE but challenge yourself with at least ONE!

In the upcoming year, one of my Misogi challenges is a "last (wo)man standing" race; however, this challenge also bleeds into other areas of my life.  How so?  Well, I want to be an exceptional mom and wife... I want to set better boundaries for myself with business + personal life.... I want to follow a nutritional plan which would benefit the Gillies for optimal brain + gut health... I would LOVE to get 8 hours of solid sleep each night. 

*A last man standing race is a race ran in a loop where everyone starts together. There is a set time to finish the loop and start again. If you fail to finish the loop or unable to start the loop at the designated time, you are disqualified. The race is finished when there is only one runner completing the loop. The race I am participating in is a 4.13 loop to be finished in 1hr.*

By stepping into my Misogi challenge and being the person I need to be to finish this race, THESE other things will naturally occur!   Which brings me to the final action item... 

CHECK YOUR HABITS

No one likes to hear this one.  Check your habits, though.  Reflect on the habits you currently have in place... from what do you first thing in the morning to how you spend your evenings.  Write it all down and look back at the Misogi challenge YOU selected for yourself. 

What habits which you currently have will help you achieve this goal?  Which habits will hinder you?  What habits does this person who achieved your goal have in their life?  

Be honest with yourself.  I know the person who is racing in the "last man standing race" and winning is most likely not binge reading a fictional series.  She is most likely reading a FEW pages in the evening to wind down then getting some shut eye, so, her body is ready to train first thing in the morning. 

Harsh!?!  

But I'd rather look back as an 80yr old knowing I kicked butt in the race than have regrets because I lacked discipline in my habits to achieve my goals + dreams. 

The choice is yours, love.  Remember, what got YOU here... won't get you there.  Somethings got to change.

Here's to change.

Grit + Gumption. 

Langley 

Biohacker Babe

PS.  If you are someone who needed this kick-in-the-pants, tough love... then head over to our community where we discuss all things: mamahood, biohacking, entrepreneurship and more.  You'll need to set up your own login + password... but it's FREE + You are welcome!  CLICK HERE TO JOIN!