HOW TO BOSS UP IN 2018!

Every new year, like clockwork, we all gear up and set our goals to prepare to conquer the new year bigger and better than the year before. For most of us, 2017 was a year of transition where we saw jobs end, relationships end, friendships end, and experienced bouts of aches and pains as we shed our skin to develop a new one and acquire new things in the process. 2018 is symbolic not only because it is the start of a new year, but also because of the struggle and strain of the preceding year that made the pursuit of a glow up something that we go even harder for. We’ve won the war, now we want to celebrate, and continue on our path to becoming the greatest. In a song I held on tightly to as an anthem of self-empowerment, Beyoncé said it best, “A winner don’t quit on themselves.” So, if you made it through, congratulations! You’re here. Girl, we made it! But, there’s also more to be done. 2018 isn’t an ending to a rough transitional year, it’s the beginning of your beautiful potential to channel your greatness.

Boss Up How You Do Work

Work is how we get by, how we thrive, and how we find where we’re we’d like to be in life. It is in no way a new phenomenon, but a lot of us really hate what we do and suffer from a lackluster feeling when we tap our alarms in the morning to get ready to face the day. A lot of us are unfulfilled, uninspired, and unmotivated by what we do. And while I get it completely and have been there and been drained before, I believe that you can make your work work for you.

What do I mean by that? Well, if you’re working a dead-end job, or just a job that you’re not excited by, this year, either choose to either leave it behind you or change how you perceive your purpose. Perhaps, you believe you’re meant to be writing novels for a living or getting paid to travel, make your work work for you. Use your day job to help you fund those dreams you have until you’re close enough to your purpose to no longer need that job for financial means. There’s nothing wrong with doing both, especially if it’s fulfillment that you seek.

On the opposite side of that, if you aren’t satisfied with where you are, you have the power to make the changes to what you do for a living. Don’t feel chained to where you are. You’re never as stuck as your fears try to make you believe.

Boss Up How You Do Life

Achieving work-life balance should be at the top of your list this year if you haven’t bossed up and mastered it yet. Even when we don’t love our work, we often apply ourselves at work so heavily that it consumes us, especially with the demands of day-to-day life that require you to work to generate an income, to live. Do you follow me? It’s something I’m guilty of allowing to fall by the wayside and something that really suffered last year because of my workaholic nature.

I passed on quite a few trips, when I know my body could have benefited from the recharge, and although I loved that I was able to accomplish quite a few financial goals, I found myself asking, “Is this really all it’s about?”

Balance is essential, so for all of the work that you do shamelessly, living should be approached with just as much vigor. I think I would have liked my life and myself a lot more if I had put some additional dedication into my self-care by putting more effort into making my life feel good.

So, in 2018, I challenge you to not only keep your daily self-care practices in action, but to also boss up the way that you show yourself self-care this year. For me, that is going to look like infusing my calendar with more travel opportunities. I spend so much time with my head down and at a laptop, keeping up with deadlines, etc. that getting away for a few days once every 3-4 months looks like me adding more color and flavor into my life. 

Boss Up How You Do Love

Whether you are single and focused on you or you’re very much in a committed relationship, boss up how you do love in 2017. Love comes in many forms and shows up in many different ways in our lives. We get love from our family, from our friends, from our partner, and from ourselves. Complacency, especially when we’re busy, can rear its ugly head and weaken some of the bonds of some of these relationships. It’s something that can be altered with the help of some self-awareness.

As we get older, relationships shift, and sometimes come to a complete end, but it’s important to nurture the souls that stay in spite of the time, in spite of the distance – souls that uplift, heal, and inspire you. Embrace the healthy loves in your life, ‘eff all of the rest of them. If you find a friendship draining, end it this year. That goes double for a partner.

One of my goals for the year is to nurture the connections I’ve fostered with people and make it a point to reconnect with people more regularly, especially friends who are out of state. I either want to go out to them or simply make an effort to talk with them more on a regular basis, and take people up for their offers to do coffee that I’ve previously had to hand out rain checks for.

Boss Up How You Do You

I know this is the last point, but it is arguably the most important one because you can’t do anything for anybody if you can’t do anything for you. So bossing up you needs to be a top priority and continuously at that.

Doing you looks like making sure that you do things that make you happy and that make you feel good about yourself. And while it can definitely benefit other aspects of your life, like weekly pole dancing classes for great sex with your man or quarterly vacations to approve how you approach your work, be sure to do things strictly for you as well.

Freshen up your wardrobe this year by going out with the old and in with the new. Invest in a hobby that you love, plant that vegetable garden you’ve always wanted to plant or sign up for those kickboxing classes you’ve been dying to try. When you do things for your body, make sure that you wear the Ivy Park activewear gear you’ve been eyeing. Step up your makeup game, change the way you do your hair.

Similarly, inner work is just as important as any external changes you’re looking to make this year. Make sure that you are taking care of your mental, emotional, and spiritual health as well. Keep a gratitude journal, practice meditation, pray, reflect, do yoga practice activities that inspire you to be the best you you’ve been trying to be.

So much of who you are changes when you truly take care of yourself, so boss up girl, it’s time to stop surviving and start thriving!