New You, New Mind? 27 Life hacks to be more focused & centered this year!

Yea, yea, New Year, New Me… blah blah blah… we have all heard it or maybe even have said it, but do we place to many rules and restrictions on our overly loaded obligations? Fettering our minds with more? The one thing that I have noticed, not only inside of my mercurial mind is that I tend to over analyze, over think, to the point of paralyzation.

With the Sun now in Aquarius, Ruled by Uranus and holding the element of Air; our thoughts are moving again. The mind opens up to new ideas and comes out of the heaviness from the Earthy energy we are leaving behind. This can cause scatter-brained disruptions of over thinking; our creative juices are flowing and we are ready (mentally) for changes to take place. Many of us might find that we are now making to-do lists, getting ready for Seasonal shifts and preparing for Spring or Autumn; waiting and wishing, we are plotting and planning. It may be difficult to focus and may find our minds drifting off in an unproductive direction; a place that we truly have no business dwelling; other people’s issues. Now, this can come in the form of watching or seeing too much media; whether it be the news media or social media. It sucks us in and we get distracted from our own fulfilling and nurturing tasks. It is a means of procrastination, but is it a means to fill the gaps of our own boredom? I have made a list of life hacks, some questions we could ask ourselves to assist us to unfetter our minds, get back on track towards our own goals and become more successful and productive humans. I will be the first to admit that I can get easily distracted; pulled away by news, gossip and mundane and minuscule minutia; I get bored even when I have a ton of work and tasks to do; even when times are trying and difficult, it is easy to stay in a place of anger, worry, fret, anxiety and confusion, which only keeps us stuck and in a repelling our best and most happiest life. We only get one life as this specific human, make the most of it. I am mostly writing this for myself; to remind myself to keep focused, stay on track, stop wasting precious time and get my shift done!

Included in this week’s Weekly Wisdom I will talk about the upcoming Planetary Retrograde Season and my interpretation of this on our year ahead. Cards for the Week, the Crystal for the Week and I will be pulling cards for viewers and readers just like you with a new weekly feature. To find out more on how you too can get a free card and personalized reading during my weekly video, watch the video below. In addition, I have listed the decks and crystal that I used in this video at the bottom of this blog for those of you wanting more information for purchase….. en-JOY! xoxo Kim

Here are 27 suggestions for improving your life:

Do less and slow down. Savor the day.
Practice Compassion.
Practice Patience.
Meditate.
Exercise.
Know that what other people think or say about you is their business. Know that most people are too busy focused on themselves than to be worrying about you and their opinions and perspectives probably do not match yours anyway.
We all love a juicy story, but don’t gossip.
Get plenty of sleep. 7-9 hours is needed for optimal health.
Stop buying fast food. Yes, it is convenient, and it is inexpensive. If you must have the convenience, try to either meal prep several meals when you have spare time or try to begin cutting out fast food days and replacing them with homecooked meals. Sautee or bake instead of frying and incorporate wholesome vegetables and fruits when you can.
Desensitizing your emotional triggers. Sensitive people often blow small annoyances out of proportion. Take a break from the situations and people that could be triggering you.
Be grateful. We all have a least one thing in our lives in this exact moment that we can be grateful for. Focusing on gratitude is a great way to center yourself when you feel off balance.
Don’t be a people pleaser; please yourself. If you find yourself being a people pleaser, ask yourself why do you do what you do… is it due to co-dependence or the fact that you may enjoy feeling needed? Start by only doing things that others specifically ask or request you to do. Do not offer up yourself or your time and advice to anyone that does not expressly asks.
Find something that you are passionate about and find time to do it. It could be as simple and reading a book. As long as it expands your mind and feeds your soul then it will be good for you. When we find something, we are passionate about, it fulfils us in a nurturing way.
Sow that which you wish to reap. Live, act and think as if.
Life is too short to be wasting on bad media, bad television, bad friendships/relationships, bad food, bad thoughts… you get my point.
Avoid disruptions; turn it off, put it down and step away; block out time to check your devices and respond. Don’t be attached to a devise like a ball and chain.
Get organized and simplify your life. Practice minimalism, even if it is for 30 days.
Accept where you are. The problem with many of us is that we always think that we’ll be happy when we reach a certain destination — when we get a certain job, or retire, or get our dream house. Unfortunately, it takes a while before you get there, and when you get there, you might have a new destination in mind. Instead, try being happy with where you are, with who you are, and what you have. To do that, instead of comparing what you have with other people, or with what you want, compare yourself those who have less, with those who are going through tragedy, with those who are struggling. You will see that you actually are extremely blessed. And this can lead to more happiness with your current situation.
Eliminate debt. The more we reduce financial burdens, the freer we can feel.
Stop worrying about what other people are thinking and doing. That is strictly their business and we do not have any business wasting precious time on other people’s issues and problems. This includes disconnecting from the crazy media, including social media. Of course, a certain amount is informative and keeps us in the know and connected with our friends and clients, but viewer beware:
Social Media can be inspirational and it can be negative and damaging and much of our emotional reaction has to do with our own self-esteem; what can we handle, what affects us, what causes a reaction within us and the type of reaction are all good indicators of how much time and the type of material we should allow into our lives.
Hey – there are apps for your phone that will monitor and meter the amount of time we spend on social media. If you feel that you spend too much time or are totally unsure of your time expenditure on SM, try out one of these apps for one week and get a reality check! Adjust accordingly. With an app like https://www.smartertime.com/ you can easily keep track of the time you spend throughout the day. It helps you to find out how much time you’re really on-task and so you can review your progress. I just installed this and I am going to try it and see how I do!
News Media too can be informative so that we keep ourselves educated on local and worldly affairs, but it too can be negative and damaging, much like I mentioned in the Social Media section above; especially because of “fake media”. Yes, I said it and I admit that it is true. At first I did not believe it, but I have discovered through my media based business, that not only can any story be created and presented to appear as a real story, our computer and phone browsers offer advertisements and social media embedments that know and learn our behavior and our emotional triggers focusing on our personal demographic information; these troll creators can target these fake stories directly to us that we take and share. It is like spreading a fake media virus that grows quicker than influenza. Politics, World issues, Humanitarian Causes just to name a few are targeted to create an emotion within us and share it to everyone we know so that the perpetual spread can occur. It is a form of mind control. Know too, that our local news outlet’s main objective, unlike generations ago, is to entertain us with stories that also create emotion within us. So, take this information and take limit your ingestion for best mental health.
Limit your information intake. In our lives today, we get a tremendous amount of information through email, blog feeds, reading websites, paperwork, memos, newspapers, magazines, television, DVDs, radio, mobile phones and Blackberries. Not only can this be overwhelming, but it can be distracting and can fill up your life until you have no time for more important things. Go on a Media fast to get control over your information intake, and to simplify your life.
Get out into nature. Take your shoes off, allow your bare feet to feel and connect to the Earth or a body of water. It is a scientific fact that the Earth can absorb our negativity and dispel in back into the ground; hence the term Grounding. Trust me, you will feel better almost instantly. This is really great for aches and pains in our bodies as well when we allow the effected part to make direct contact with the Earth. Try it, you may just be amazed.
Breathe.
Stop talking about it and distract yourself with something from the above list.