New year challenge

22 things I challenge you to do this year...

1. Be honest with yourself. Ask those hard questions (like "Am I happy?") and make whatever changes are necessary to be able to live, authentically, with your answers.
2. Spend more time doing what you love. Don't have the time? Make it. It's important.
3. Spend more time with people you love. Let go of those who hurt you or make you unhappy. Surround yourself with those who inspire you, support you and accept you as you are - not as they want you to be.
4. Let go of something that you've been clinging to - whatever it is. Live in the now, not in the past. Recognize that people are responsible for their own choices, even if what they choose isn't you. Do something about it, or let it be.
5. Forgive yourself. Let yourself off the hook - but carry those lessons with you.
6. Get rid of stuff. De-clutter, re-organize, give away, throw out, condense. You'll realize that what you are getting rid of isn't just things.
7. Stop trying to control or make sense of everything. Sometimes things just are what they are, were what they were and the only one you're hurting by over-analyzing them or trying to make them fit into your idea of how life should be, is you.
8. Do one thing entirely out of character. Something you'd never do or were afraid to do because you thought you might get hurt or you thought it might hurt others.
9. Let someone in. And I mean really in. Risk it all, bare it all, be super vulnerable. Don't hide parts of yourself - physical, emotional or otherwise. Let them see it, let them see you. Open up in ways you never have before.
10. Take care of you. Eat well, sleep well, exercise your body, mind and heart. Push toward those goals, but be flexible when life happens or things change.
11. Believe. In second chances, in forgiveness, in possibilities, in love.
12. Kiss like you mean it every single time. Let someone know, without words, just how much you love and want them.
13. Look at the world from a different angle. Literally. Get down on the floor, stand up on a stool...get a view you wouldn't otherwise.
14. Listen. You might be excited to share a story or want to tell someone you are there for them, but without interrupting, without interjecting, first just listen.
15. Say "Thank you" more often. Two simple words but they can be quite powerful.
16. Do what you say, live what you say. Words can mean nothing, or everything. It's up to you.
17. Be proud of yourself. Quit berating yourself for the things you did or didn't do. Have or haven't done. Recognize and celebrate your own achievements.
18. Give a little more. Stretch yourself just a little bit further.
19. Quit making excuses. Answer with a firm "Yes" or "No". Use "Maybe"s or "I'll think about it" only if you mean it. Sometimes you're afraid of hurting someone by responding to a question you already know the answer to, but you'll hurt them worse later if you give hope where hope is not.
20. Stop thinking about things you'd do in another life. Live this one or do them now.
21. Recognize that difficult things are often those worth having. No one said things would be easy. Appreciate, treasure, cherish... along the way and when you get there.
22. Ask, don't assume. Assumptions make us miss out on things, misinterpret, misunderstand. Take a deep breath and just ask, without hesitation. Wouldn't you rather know?