Be Present in the Present

Happy New Year, friends! If you're like me, you have probably mapped out some pretty lofty life and TPT business goals for 2019. A new year always brings out the planner in me, and I'm currently in the market for a new planner even though I've got one that extends well into the new year. I don't know about you but I get overwhelmed easily, and while I agree that writing out my weekly, monthly, and yearly goals is a great idea, I have to remember to keep my feet firmly planted in the now and today. So TODAY I'm sharing three daily goals for the new year in hopes of inspiring you to be present every day.

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Breathe

It seems ridiculous to think that I would need to remind myself to breathe, but I can't tell you how many times I've caught myself holding my breath only to realize it after a quick gasp for air. Yep, I'm guilty of Type A personality tendencies, but I think that comes with being a teacher and the stress of our work.

My oldest son recently shared a video about Wim Hof and his research on breathing and the mind-body connection. If you get the chance, it's a fascinating concept, and no, it's not an affiliate link. I'm not nearly that advanced, folks :) You can watch the video here. The point is whatever method or philosophy you take, breathing is life. My daily goal is to be conscious of my breathing and breathe deeply to reduce stress and be more productive. That means more success for my TPT business!

Show Gratitude and Kindness

This is probably one of the easiest, yet often overlooked things we can do to start out and continue throughout our day . Some people write in a gratitude journal or write a gratitude statement. I like that idea, but the thought of having to be structured in one more area of my life just doesn't work for me. I do write things for which I'm grateful in my planner at the beginning of the week, but daily isn't going to happen. When we try to fit our life into someone else's blueprint, it just doesn't work. Instead, I like to think I have moments of gratitude throughout the day and look for ways to share kindness when the occasion arises.

We are presented a lot of opportunities to be grateful and kind. I'm not particularly fond of cold weather, so this morning when I woke up to a sunny, pleasant day, I spent a few minutes outside soaking in some sunshine and noticing how bright everything looked. No thoughts about how my flower beds were begging for attention or worrying about when I would have time to clean them up. Just a moment of gratitude for what WAS at that present moment in time. I recently received an email from a teacher who had purchased one of my digital breakouts. She loved the resource but needed to be able to tweak it to accommodate her specific classroom needs and asked if I could help. At that particular moment, I was covered up with deadlines, blogs to be written, product covers to update, and TPT tax information to muddle through. I honestly didn't have one spare minute to give. For me, helping her was a way to spread kindness. My daily goal is to show gratitude and kindness in all I do. I'm a firm believer in whatever you put out into the world is coming back at you. Helping make teachers' lives a bit easier is one way I can achieve my goal.

Celebrate Your Progress and Know It Is Enough

I believe it's important to celebrate accomplishments and milestones in life. It doesn't matter if it's something big or small. The fact is you achieved something to the best of your ability and that in itself calls for celebration. This applies to so many area of my own life. As a person who is driven by achievement and success (yikes!), I'm guilty of beating myself up when I don't get as much done or make as much progress as I thought I would. It's a daily battle, but I'm up for the challenge. As far as my TPT business goes, I try not to compare my store to others or look at what they've done because it's easy to get discouraged. I try to remember that progress happens one day at a time and that my efforts each day are enough. Steady and sure will win the race. Wait...it's not a race?! My daily goal is to be satisfied with what I've accomplished each day and acknowledge that it was my best effort.

Whatever goals you have set for 2019, I wish you a year of good health, gratitude, kindness, and celebration of life.

Until next time,

Melissa :)