Well, it’s 2013!  Wow!  Wonder what the year will bring for us all??!!  Health, wealth, adventure, problems, failure…..yes, they are all possibilities.  But, we do have choices…..and we can choose the path that will be the best for us.

My blogger friend JoyLevel recently posted how we tend to experience the energy (negative or positive) of the emotions we project.  Something to be said about putting a smile on your face even when times are tough!  My dog Tramp always makes me laugh during the day for something entertaining he might do.  Maybe he has learned that he will get a nice hug for his silly antics!  He projects positive energy….and I give it back.  Good trade!

Another fellow blogger Onthehomefrontandbeyond is searching for the “Bliss” in life.  It’s really funny to hear some of the places she “is finding it.”  I think we all need to realize that it’s the small things that really count and simple moments can be the most memorable.

My good friend, Matt Emerzian, spoke at the TedX conference in San Diego and he is always one to offer some inspiring words.  His main message is to let everyone know ‘You Matter‘, but he also reminds us too that “It’s Not All About Us”.  I think the people who experience the most joy in life are examples of this.  The things that they do “lift us” because we recognize that it is being offered in the most unselfish way.

Stutley Tales often reminds me that there are blessings from above and no matter what struggles we have, we can gain strength by looking to the heavens for guidance.  She is a nice example of that and I would love it if she lived in my neighborhood, so I could visit with her regularly.  Despite some very difficult struggles, she always finds the beauty in the most simple happenings.

Paleolithic MD has changed my health so drastically in the last year that I feel he has given me back 20 years of my life.  I am now convinced that living to be a 100 can definitely be on my bucket list.  If I had loads of money, I would make him my primary physician and fly to Louisiana for checkups.

I wonder what this year has in store for me?  Traveling perhaps?  New Job?  Checking off things on my Bucket List?   I started this Blog with a 52-week commitment.  I’m not sure what I will do past that goal line. This is Blog Post #43!!  My posts have had over 3400 views and been viewed by people in 63 countries!   I have amazed myself that I made it past the first Monday.  In the beginning, it was really difficult.  I really thought it was beyond my expertise level.   I would spend hours writing and then in one click delete most of it because it just wasn’t working for me….Just a bunch of words that went nowhere.  It was a real chore; and if I didn’t start working on it mid week, I knew I wouldn’t make the Monday deadline.  But, because I made the commitment to myself and others, I knew I had to continue….despite the sometimes thoughts that it was the craziest decision I had ever made!  Well, somewhere along the way, something changed.  Not only did it get easier, but I started looking forward to working on each Monday’s post.  It became more a part of me and the realization that I could make just one person’s day a little brighter by sending them smiles or saying those simple words….You Matter!….was so motivating…..AND became a special inspiration to me!!  I never thought in my attempt to motivate others….that I would be, in fact, the one that benefited from it too.

So….whatever it is you would like to accomplish this year….make the commitment!

It might be a bit tough at first, but I am sure along the way the same magical change will happen for you too.

Keep focusing on the fact that when you make positive changes for yourself….you also make a positive difference for others around you!

And no matter what is the end results,

Always remember……“You Matter”

Happy 2013

Hope it is a super, super year.

Smiles,  Nancy