A new year brings a sense of new beginnings, of possibility, of the chance to start afresh. So what kind of a year will you make it this year?
What if 2015 was the year that you became a happier version of yourself? What would that look like, and what would be different? What would have to change to become that version of yourself?
In our community of tens of thousands of people spread across the world, this is a question that has been asked many, many times. Often the answer lies in a few small but important decisions.
Some of those decisions start with how you choose to spend your time. We all have just 24 hours in a day – and it never seems enough. But small decisions about how you prioritise that time can make a huge difference over a year. What if you swapped an hour of TV for an hour of writing, or a night out drinking at a new bar, for a night in researching a new career? Or a Saturday spent cleaning and shopping for an adventure in the woods, or an afternoon of real conversation? Those small choices add up to your days, your months and your years, which add up to what your life becomes.
Some of those decisions start with who you spend your time with, and how you are with others. Think about who you come across in your day. Who is there when you wake up? As you travel to work? In your office or studio? On your lunch break? As you run errands? At the end of the day? What impact do you let each conversation have on you, and what impact do your words and mood have on others? Each interaction is an opportunity to boost your energy levels or feeling of connection – are you making the most of yours?
In his list of ’10 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Incredibly Happy’, Jeff Haden basically advises you to exercise more, sleep more, spend more time with friends and family, get outside more, help others more, smile more, plan trips more, meditate more, commute less and practice gratitude more. Not rocket science, but science all the same (apparently).
This New Year, we challenge you to think about what small decisions you can make about the way you spend your time to connect better with others and go in pursuit of your dreams. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook or Twitter.
If you are smart, doing what you love doesn’t mean stopping doing everything you currently do. It doesn’t have to be as dramatic as that. It can be about finding different ways to do things, ways to be more creative, more interested, more outgoing, more bold in your choices.
Once you start doing that, your dreams stop being vague concepts that live in the future, and start being concrete things in your present that you are working towards every single day.
And that can play a huge part in your happiness. Try it, starting today.
Beth and team
Find yourself dreaming of distant shores at this time of year? Or packing it all in and going on a big adventure? Well consider this – instead of trying to escape your life, why not change your life?
“The single best thing that I have done for myself in years.”
“I feel less alone now than I ever have in my life – and I am 43.”
“I feel happier, more alive, more brave, than ever before.”
These are all real testimonials from the Do What You Love e-course. If you’d like to be saying things like this in 2015, join us for this five week online adventure beginning January 26 and start making plans for a happier, more fulfilled you.
