Here’s to ending “Resolution Shaming” this year! Like, really though, why is it now cool for clout-chasers to come up with clever tweets condemning people who choose to take advantage of the new year as a fresh start and a blank slate?! Personally, I love new things. I once read a book about setting and sticking to goals that explained people as coming in 2 sorts. On one hand you have people who love the brand new, the exciting, the never-before, the fresh unwrapped everything. On the other end of the spectrum, you have people who feel most fulfilled when they complete objectives, who rather continue with one thing than start new things, who hesitate at the mention of beginning anything new at all.

Me, I like new and fresh, so that is exactly what January 1, 2018 represented to me. As opposed to the opinion of the new, hip kids on Twitter, I support New Year resolutions and all things centered around goal setting. Granted, the problem arises when we do not follow through with plans, set goals too far-fetched and beyond our means with no substantial plan on how to achieve them, or just simply give up on everything we wanted week 1 or 2. However, there’s something unequivocally beautiful about the first day of the first month of a new year. This year I was even more excited for the simple fact that January 1, 2018 fell on a Monday!

Okay so maybe I’m a little weird and none of you all can relate to my excitement about the new year, but hey…transparency, am I right?

Here are my 2018 resolutions – enjoy!

1. Spend time with God daily – prayer, reading, meditating
2. Be mindful – positivity, food choices, actions towards others, how I carry myself, my thought processes
3. Self-care – fitness, wellness, alone time, rest
4. Be more attentive and present in the right now – where I am now, who I’m with now, what I’m doing now – deserves all my attention |now|
5. Nurture relationships – significant other, family, friends