If most people are like me which I’m assuming they are…….New Years is approaching, holidays are behind you ,and that hopeful anxiety of a new year arriving begins to bubble. I’m going to guess a lot of you this weekend will find yourself with pen and paper writing down a list, a list of how this year is going to be different than the last.

 “Gym, I’m going to go to the gym every day!”

 “I’m going to shop less, save more!”

  “No more crap food, I’m done with cheese!”

 The list goes on.  It’s a hopeful list, a list full of promise. Which in all honesty is pretty exciting. I did that today. It felt good.  But what hit me as I was making that list is I realized  for the first time, it wasn’t about the list.  My real New Years resolution is to ‘Lean In,’  I’m going to lean into whatever this year brings my way. What does that mean?

Well I’ll tell you what it means to me. I decided to lean into my life mid november, because I was super over being negative, super over falling into traps of complaining about my life. I wanted to be happy.

I started small. Every morning I would wake up, and before I did anything, before I took one step out of that bed, I closed my eyes and I said five things I’m grateful for.

•  My Morning Mantra:
• I’m grateful for this roof over my head
• I’m grateful for a healthy body that works, and moves, and breathes.
• I’m grateful for my family, my friends, my love. 
• I’m grateful for this day.
• I’m grateful to be me.

It’s amazing what starting your day with a little gratitude will do.  Try it.  Then at night I would say one thing I was proud of that day, even if it was as simple as, “I feel proud that I only spent sixty dollars on groceries for the week. That’s awesome!”  As lame as those two exercises may sound, I started and ended my day on a good note. Guess what?? It started bleeding into my whole life. I started to celebrate the little things more, I started to see my life for what it really was, which is pretty freaking great.

So whether you just had the best year of your life or the worst. Wednesday morning wake up, and realize you have a choice. Drag all that negativity from 2013 into 2014 or let it go.  Tell that rude little beetle on your shoulder to shut it.

• Rude beetle=the negative voice in your ear
•  Why bother making this shit list you’re not going to follow through with any of it anyway! …… you never do
•  Ha yea right fatty?! Gym 4 times a week ? you’re nuts.
•  Loser
•  Take a class? Aren’t you a bit old. 

I’m winging it with the voices, but you get my point.  Tell that beetle I’m going to lean into this list!  Im going to lean the shit out of my life like never before.

So as simple as it seems 2014 is the year of the lean in. Say yes. Say yes to how awesome, and amazing you are. Say yes to celebrating your little successes. Ok so you didn’t go the gym 5 days a week, but you’ve been going 3, and maybe stopped eating taco bell. I don’t know. But stop being so damn hard on yourself. Smell the roses. Say yes to surrounding yourself with people who lift you up. Kick the negative ones to the curb. Say yes to your own happiness.

I’ll tell you religious, spiritual, whatever…..You can’t deny energy, and if you lean into your life 2014, life’s going to lean right back at you.

Happy New Year.

Lots of love,

Rachel

Feedback? Topic you’d like me to write on? Interest in having me as your life coach? Email me. rachelrisen@gmail.com