1/2/2022

One idea to keep it slow and simple… Try a New Year’s mantra

Each year we make New Year’s resolutions. Some resolutions we knock out of the park. Some…we don’t. Resolutions are notoriously hard to keep, so much so that you may be tempted not to make them at all.

And yet. At the end of each each year we pause before the calendar begins the cycle over again, and there is real power in that pause. To reflect is to be real with yourself. And while you’re being real, maybe this year you don’t want to continually optimize yourself. Maybe you don’t want to be faster, thinner, or more efficient. Maybe you want to be better at…just being.

How about instead of a resolution, you choose a mantra? Which mantra? Whatever feels right to you. A few years ago, this was my mantra: “I can do anything, but I cannot do everything. Choose wisely.” And that eventually became: “Your attention is a grow light.” These words helped me focus on what mattered most when I got overwhelmed.

Find a mantra that speaks to you. Write it out, draw it, and post it around the house. Read it daily. Say it out loud. Annoy your friends and family with it. Let it guide you until you’ve learned its lessons.

Happy 2022, friends!

And some clickable fun!

We love to discover and share, so we’ve added three cool clickables. And just so you know, when we list products, it’s just because we like them. We’re not sponsored by anything but our dreams and imaginations.

• If you’re about to reopen your laptop after some time away, here’s a site you can visit to get a few moments of zen during your work day. Cool off a cute lion, pet a sweet kitty, or swim with a little shark. No objective except to enjoy. It’s called Moments of Happiness, and it’s well named.

• Choose your next book with NPR’s interactive “books we love” tool. They’ve had the site going since 2013, and I’ve found so many books I’ve loved using the app. (It used to be called the Book Concierge, which I’m partial to. But it’s still awesome.)

• Relive Betty White’s 2013 Saturday Night Live monologue. She was 88 years young with another decade to go. It’s a classic. She’s a classic. I’m not crying, you’re crying!