New year’s  resolution: 5 tips to keeping it simple in 2016!

This upcoming year, I will be turning 35. I have no idea where time went but throughout the years, one of the lessons I have learned is to keep the New Year’s resolutions SIMPLE. It’s hard enough knowing that you may have not fulfilled last year’s resolutions as planned. There is no need to beat yourself up. With a new year comes new beginnings. So I made a list of tips for those of you that may need a little help  finalizing your 2016 new year’s resolutions. Get ready..set…go!

1. It is not too late to pick up where you left off
Sometimes we get so discouraged about the new year resolutions we did not fulfill the year prior, that we give up on that goal all together. In reality, reaching a goal sometimes involves some bumps along the way. As long as you get back up, dust yourself off and keep on moving forward, the goal will always be there to attain. Keep your eye on the price.

2. There is no room for people who are not on your corner.

Many times we keep people in our lives because we feel it is easier to keep them around than to go through the awkwardness of breaking ties with them. I have learned that life is too short to invest your precious time on people that don’t bring out the best in you. As you write your new year’s resolution, focus on those relationships that brought light, positivity, laughter and peace to your life. If you feel in your heart someone is no longer on your corner…it’s time to invest your time elsewhere.

3. Don’t waste time… put your plan into action.
Have you ever had an idea but kept on putting it off until you forgot about it? You lost the excitement to try to plan and put it into action? You postponed it for so long that by the time to revisited it you thought it was too late to go forward with it? It happens to the best of us. With such hectic lives sometimes priority lies on our day to day essential tasks and ideas are put aside. However, when creative juices begin to marinate in our minds, we must not ignore them. Whether is a small crafty home project, exploring a new hobby, starting a charity project or starting a new business there is NO TIME TO WASTE. Put your thoughts into action by taking the first step…write it down and list all the things you need to begin working on to materialize your idea. It does not hurt to plan.

4. Focus on what makes you happy
In addition to surrounding yourself with people that bring out the best in you, you must begin to focus on activities where your best self was able to shine through. What activities in the past have brought laughter, joy, peace or simply a good feeling? A yoga class, comedy event with friends, reading a book, travel, time with family, church group, cycling class (zumba class in my case) or simple a walk in the park. List all the activities that truly were worth your time and plan to incorporate more of that into your 2016 schedule. This will ensure a little more food for the soul in 2016. We all deserve happiness in the midst of our busy schedules.

5. Remain beautiful even the midst of chaos
As pessimistic as this may sound, there will still be some storms, inner turmoils and unfortunate events in the new year. It is part of life. However, how we choose to react to major challenges in life will determine how triumphant we will be in the end. It is in the midst of chaos where we must dig deep to truly evolve and develop strength. In my toughest moments in life when I chose to remain beautiful in the midst of chaos, it’s when I was able to achieve greatness and find wisdom after a painful experience. By no means do I mean “beauty” as a term aesthetics appealing to the eye. To remain beautiful is to find inner strength, kindness, spiritual peace and hold on to your true self even when you may feel things may be falling apart. It will require effort but it is key to get you through the storms. So when hard times come along in 2016,  tap onto your inner super powers and remain beautiful even in the midst of chaos.

Happy New Year!

Afrolatina Natural

http://www.afrolatinanatural.com