This is the true story of a small-town girl who picked to live in a big city, and put her life on social media, to find out what happens when she starts a blog and sh*t starts getting real. Thank YOU for coming along on this journey with me around the sun. It’s that time of year to rest…and reflect on our epic presence. Yes, YOUR epic presence, too. Whether 2018 seemed like the best year yet or pretty meh, I promise there is a lot to be grateful for. Sometimes you just need to look a bit hard. Read on for the positive affirmations I’ll be taking with me into 2019 and tips on setting your best intentions for another amazing year.

Holy Nikes 2018 was a BIG year! I took a leap of faith 8 months ago and launched The Shooks Life. I traded teaching spin for exploring more fitness gems across the city, started developing my own recipes and actually made it in the top 20 for a national recipe contest (recipe here) and started simplifying my life by moving from a 4-bedroom house to a 2-bedroom apartment. And that my friends, is going to continue to be my mantra for 2019: Do more things that set you free, and less that hold you down.

Here are the affirmations that will be my guiding light in 2019:

1.) Let’s STOP priding ourselves in how busy we are and START bragging about how little we have to do.

2.) Let’s START making room for things that matter and STOP adding things that don’t.

3..) Let’s STOP making oodles of resolutions we won’t keep and START taking action towards one.

4.) Let’s START being content with what we have and STOP being envious of the things we don’t.

5.) Let’s STOP the outward comparison and START the obsession with loving ourselves.

Now it’s your turn to put your mark on 2019. What will your legacy be in the coming year? And if “legacy” feels a bit over dramatic, think about how your recap will read at the end of next year. Getting started is the first step. Your welcome. Genius, I know. Read on for a few less obvious steps to setting your intentions for an epic 2019.

Setting Up 2019 to Be the Most Epic Year, Yet!

Step 1: Envision your best day ever. What time do you wake up? Where are you? Who are you with and what do you do that makes your heart swell? If you’re working, what are you doing? How would you sustain this lifestyle? Details matter! Write that sh*t down.

Step 2: What values light you up? What are the words or feelings that describe your best day ever? These are the values that you seek. For me, it was “Free”, “Inspired” “Challenged” and “Connected”. Try to keep it to single words, active words to drive specificity and focus.

Step 3: Create a mood board. Yes, this will require either the old school approach of cutting out pictures from magazines or using the Google images search. Include images that reflect your best day every and those values. This will serve two purposes: 1.) it can be a reminder throughout the year of your goals and 2.) ask someone else to look at the mood board and describe it to see if there’s any values you may have missed. Perhaps someone else will look at your board and say ‘woah’ there’s a lot of movement and activity. Maybe you’re someone who needs to live an “Active” life. Or maybe it’s the polar opposite and exuding “Calm” is your thing.

Step 4: Set 3 goals that will help you live those values. First Goal: How can you exude those values today, in your current profession? What more can you do within the present constraints? Second Goal: How could you exude those values tomorrow, perhaps in another profession or role? What would you being doing outside of the present constraints to sustain a life you love? Third Goal: How could you exude those values without any constraints? What if money was endless and you could do whatever you wanted, wherever you wanted, with whomever you wanted?

Step 5: Make a game plan. Write down at least three specific steps that will help you achieve each of those goals. What ACTIONS do you need to take to get closer to those goals? What RESOURCES do you need to get there? WHO can help you get there? Be specific, action-oriented and set deadlines for each of those steps. I know, dreaded deadlines. But if it’s not measurable, there isn’t accountability. And YOU are the only one that is in charge of your future. So take charge! If it’s helpful, use the START, STOP and CONTINUE framework. What do you need to START doing, what should you STOP doing and what should you CONTINUE to do to achieve these goals?

Now start setting those intentions! Cheers to living, breathing and ACTING upon these mantras in 2019! And if you ever need accountability, your girl has your back! Feel free to comment below with your goals or one thing you’ll stop, start and continue below. Writing it down is the first step towards accountability.

Thanks again for coming along on this journey.

There is SO MUCH MORE to come in 2019!

The post Here’s Looking at You, 2018! appeared first on The Shooks Life.

‘Here goes nothing’ could be the start of….everything. Stop and think about that. Your choice is your magic. But those choices are only powerful if you take action. Take a minute to decide what magic you’re going to unlock this week. And run towards it full speed.

Each week I set 3 intentions:

1.) What is the 1 big thing I want to ACCOMPLISH this week?

2.) What is 1 new thing I can EXPLORE?

3.) What is 1 way I can CONNECT with others?

My ACCOMPLISH this past week was taking a workshop on design thinking to learn how to “Innovate Like an Entrepreneur”. The power of entrepreneurship is in thinking differently, finding inspiration everywhere and taking chances. With a new idea or business, you have everything to lose, but also everything to gain. In the workshop, we not only heard the tails from successful entrepreneurs like Jordan Buckner, founder of TeaSquares, but also took action to develop a new product and pitch to a set of venture capitalist – all in 24 hours! Talk about an intense thrill. While our team didn’t win, I was amazed by everything we accomplished. It had me wondering why we spend so much of our day analyzing when we could benefit from more doing?

My EXPLORE this past week was checking out Runn Chicago, a running studio (treadmill studio) for urban runners. If the thought of running for 45 minutes on a treadmill sounds like a snore, you’re about to be jolted awake. I’m usually a 3 to 4-mile kinda gal as that’s all I can mentally take on what some might call the “dreadmill”. This class was drill after hill constant engagement. Before I knew it, I was flying past mile 5 and felt like I was just getting started. Danielle, my instructor, was a burst of positivity as she took us through four zones of work throughout various speed drills and rolling hills. Zone 1 was sort of your “comfort zone” – a pace that you could comfortably hold while talking with a running parner. Zone 2 was what I would call a “faster friend” pace that is a bit more challenging. Zone 3 is where you head into a true run that has you questioning whether you can hold the pace (and the answer is always yes!) and zone 4 is all out mayhem. I’d highly recommend checking out a class with @daniellekshea!

Finally, my CONNECT this past week involved re-fueling at a reunion brunch with a classmate from my MBA program who recently moved to San Diego. We, along with some friends, visited an old favorite, Hot Chocolate, in Wicker Park. Brunching patio style with good food and good company is seriously living your best life.

Get out there and set some intentional magic this week, friends!

The post Intentional Magic appeared first on The Shooks Life.