If 2020 has been anything so far, it’s been a year of clarity. We have been forced to strip our lives down to the basics. We have has to shine a light on what serves us and what’s just our good old patriarchal conditioning. We’ve been given the opportunity to rearrange our priorities, to put our health and well-being first, and to redetermine where our time will go and who will receive our energy.

The last 6 months have shown us that we can create what we want to see in the world. In return, we saw that there was an impact in our action. With today marking the halfway point of what is sure to be a historic year, how will you enter into the next six months as your best self yet? Your initial reaction may be to enter this second half of the year with trepidation. However, we’re here to make the argument that with a few small shifts in perspective, this could be your opportunity to expand and grow big time.

Control Freaks Unite!

The most important element in making this your year is to focus on what you can control vs. what you can’t. This is an incredible tool in maintaining a healthy mind space. When you narrow down the things in life you are actually responsible for, it allows you to shed the worry for the things you can’t. A great example of this: you can always be in control of how you react to things, but you cannot be in control of how others react.

The accountability this gives you over your own life is incredibly empowering. You will become able to really hone in on the tasks at hand. If shifting to this mental state doesn’t come with ease, think of it as a muscle that just needs to be buffed up through practice. When stresses arise ask yourself, “Can I control this?” If not, let it roll right off your shoulders.

Accountability is Key

Yeah, sex is cool but have you ever cracked open a fresh journal? This is a great place to leave your grievances, count your gratitudes, and take accountability. I often use my journal to make lists of things that bring me joy to keep for easy reference when I may feel depleted. I use this method to track the things I want to accomplish and my fulfill my intentions to get them done. It’s scientifically proven that physically ticking off goals shifts our mindset. This is also where I find a safe space to work through my vision, touch base with myself to see if I’m still on the right path, and figure out how I can refine my journey.

Set Attainable Goals & Intentions

This is not a contest. It is, however, a personal standard for keeping yourself in check with what you want to see come to fruition. A really great approach to setting goals and actually keeping them is to determine your end goal and work backward. Where do you want to be in the next year? Five years?  Set attainable intentions that are aligned with your life plan, and that you can do immediately. The keyword here is attainable!

If you want to be your strongest self but haven’t found the workout regimen that’s right for you, don’t set a goal to run 5 miles every morning. Instead, start with setting the intention to run 2 miles twice a week and work up from there. Finding a balance between being able to move the needle and being able to celebrate actually fulfilling your intentions is more rewarding than feeling like a loser when you don’t get it all done right away.

Move the Needle

Everything feels really out of our hands right now, but finding actionable ways to make a difference in both your personal and public life is endlessly beneficial to your self-worth. And when our self-worth is strong, our mental state is strong. This might look like donating your time to advocating for human rights through your local BIPOC organizations or using your voice by sending handwritten letters to your members of Congress to speak up for what you believe is right. 

Pivot!

Let’s be real: there’s no denying this year has kicked all of our asses, but it’s also shed light on the ways our collective and personal lives were not serving us. It’s shown us ways our system is broken, and where our society may not align with our personal ethics. Maybe we’ve realized that the way we were interacting with our communities wasn’t in harmony with our true selves in the first place. So we pivot. This is your permission to take the next few months of 2020 to plant seeds instead of harvest. Take time to get clear on how you really want to show up in the world, what energizes you from the inside out, and how you can transmute that energy into purpose.

Make Time for Joy

Lastly, and possibly most importantly, make time for joy. Things are heavy right now, and you have the power to balance out what weighs you down with small forms of celebration. You deserve joy. Find what this means to you: whether that’s hosting a socially distanced picnic for your favorite people or buying fresh flowers for your home each Sunday. Now more than ever we’ve been shown the fragility of our lives, and it’s important we celebrate all that we have.