Hello lovely followers and fans! 👋 I hope you are having a wonderful start to your new year! It is currently a chilly, sunny but snow-flake-y kind of day here in Cincinnati. The kind of day that makes you want to stay inside, but from the inside looking out, you want to bask in the sunshine!

Seeing as how we are already a month into the New Year, it might be a little late to call this a New Year’s Resolutions post. But I believe it’s never too early/late to make resolutions for yourself, and waiting ’til the New Year rolls around is silly! So with a massive clean of my desk at the end of 2015, reorganization and new decoration of my work space, I figured it was probably time to do the same with my brain.

my weekly Moleskine planner all ready to go for February

Not that 2015 wasn’t a good year, but at the end of the day, (or the year, I should say), I saw a lot of artists putting up their “Year In Review” posts. Now, disclaimer: I know it’s not healthy to compare accomplishments. But I felt less like I was comparing line-for-line what I did and more like….if I had to sit down and write a “Year In Review” blog post, what would I have to show for 2015? And the answer bugged me. I guess I am hard on myself. I haven’t necessarily forgotten that I started a fast-growing YouTube channel, or was really successful in several local fine art fairs, or sold almost all the copies of my book that I had printed at the beginning of the year – but I felt like I didn’t really have anything to show for these accomplishments.

After taking a look back at what I had done, one thing really stood out to me: I lack the ability to “pat myself on the back.” To reward myself for my achievements. And I’m not talking about being proud in a bragging, overly self-confident kind of way. But being proud of myself in a way that I take the time to genuinely pause and mentally appreciate my own hard work. Letting it sink into my system that I am doing enough – shaking that feeling and that knee-jerk reaction that I’m not good enough. Getting rid of the embarrassment that usually comes from someone else bragging on me – to the point where I can calmly and graciously say, “thank you,” and move on.

working on all of those goals for the New Year, no doubt!

So I took a leaf from Marcos Chin’s book and writing out a five-year plan for myself. And looking more in the short-term, I also created a sort of mantra-goal for this new year. My mantra for this year that I will remind myself of every day is:

This year I will be the best I can be. Not just in my art, my work ethic, my motivation, health and self care, but in my attitude. I am as great as I allow myself to be. Everything starts with a positive attitude, which needs to be kept in check with a business-minded perspective as well. I will wake up with the enthusiasm to create, the patience to leave the enthusiasm at home when I need to go to my day job, and the awareness to re-harness that motivation when I get home. Finally, I will have the mindfulness to be grateful for what I have accomplished during the day and the level-headed-ness to let an unfinished to-do list be a motivator for an even greater day tomorrow.

Generally, I am going to make blogging a higher priority again for me. Writing has always been a super helpful way for me to get things out of my headspace and into the realm of usable information. So I’m going to try to make it a weekly thing to tap out a blog post !

Do you have any goals that you’ve made for the New Year (or just in general) that you want to share in the comments? Have you thought about how a change in your attitude might change the way you live and work in 2016? I would love to hear what you think below!!! Also know that I am here cheering for you too, and if I can help you stay motivated with your goals I would love to in any way I can! 💪 Let’s do it 2016! [insert shialebeouf.gif here]