I've decided that it's never too late...

So I sat in my bed on NYE with a glass of prosecco, watching Longmire on Netflix. Most of my friends were out living their best lives. However I was in the mood to relax and be a bit reflective. It was perfect.

Since then I've struggled to come up with what exactly I want to change in the new year. This is a hard decision. I've done a lot of growing recently. Made some decisions. I've even made an effort to actually implement these things. So I feel good.

But it wasn't enough. Part of me felt like there was more to be done.

I ended up taking out the new journal I got for Christmas and I wrote.

I started each sentence with "I'm deciding.." The rest is a blur. Before I knew it, I had a page full of new decisions. So I thought I'd share them with you.

Here's what I wrote:

January 3, 2018

Today I'm deciding to be more intentional about my life.

I'm deciding to not let fear steer me away from the very things I'm passionate about.

I'm deciding to walk away from things that don't supply my heart with what it needs to feel strong.

I'm deciding not to let anyone or anything make me question my worth.

I'm deciding to celebrate my own victories.

I'm deciding to love more and to make an extra effort to accept being loved in return.

I'm deciding to refrain from letting anxiety take over.

I'm deciding to give myself permission to feel, breathe, and take it easy when necessary.

I'm deciding to choose forgiveness and to be patient with my own process.

Okay so I know I'm 3 days late. But i'm also starting to feel like it's never too late to provide your heart with a little reassurance and direction.

Life can be rough. As many times as we fall down, get our hearts broken, and feel disappointed, we have every right to reinvent and repair our hearts as many times as we want.

So I guess what I'm getting at is this... If you took the time to write, think about, post your goals for the new year I applaud you.

I applaud you for being brave, for recognizing that you are not perfect but that you are still worthy.

There is no greater example of recognizing your own worth than deciding to make personal changes on a regular basis. Even if that means every January 1.

I know there are people who go on rants each year about this. Ignore them please. In fact, another goal of mine is to stop caring about what other people think....even if I find myself caring about them.

At the end of the day you are the one who has to look at yourself in the mirror and be content with who you are. No one else should be able to dictate that feeling or be in control.

Decide to be in control.

I want to leave you with one last point.

Be gentle with yourself this year. If you are like me, you can be an extremely harsh critic. Try to be a bit softer.

Yesterday I was an emotional mess because I realized that I had been wasting my time on something that I should have given up on a long time ago (A story for another day, believe me). In the midst of having my moment, my aunt texted me saying this:

"You are not made of stone."

"You are human."

That's all I needed. I think that is something you should remember too.

In the moments when you are frustrated with yourself. On the days that you wish you would have, could have, should have.... I'm encouraging you to take a deep breath and decide to move forward instead.

You are doing the best that you can. Be gentle with your own heart.

Stay strong.