“You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.
You were born with ideals and dreams.
You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, so don’t.
You have wings.
Learn to use them, and fly.”
— Rumi

There are things in our lives that we love to do, that give us energy, that expand our horizons, that make the view of the world seem just a little brighter than before. Of course there are also things that we dread doing, that bring us down every time and make our lives seem like one boring trudge after another.

Some of those things, you have to do. The trash needs to get emptied. The dog needs to get walked. You’ve got to deal with (insert least favorite relative here) during the holidays. Then there are some things that you do because we feel like you need to – serve on a board, volunteer at school, or sign up to host a fundraiser. And finally, there are things that just fill up your cup, such as crafting, running, or cooking. Oh hi there, thing that needs to get done but can also be fulfilling!

Everything you’re doing right now that doesn’t bring you joy, doesn’t expand your horizons, or doesn’t fill you with energy is taking away from your family, it’s taking away from you and it’s taking away from your growing business.

Take five minutes write now to write an Expansion/Contraction List. On the Expansion side are things that you LOVE to do, things that fill you with joy, things that make you feel like you could scale a mountain, the things in your life that you want to do more of. On the Contraction side are things that you hate to do, that you dread doing, that you feel drained every single time you do them. Go ahead, write it all down, get it all out!

Once you have your lists, the next part is easier said than done. Commit to doing less of THREE things on your Contraction list and commit to doing more of THREE things on your Expansion list.

You define what “more” means to you. It will vary with each person but you must define it. If you don’t get specific about how much more time you’re going to spend smelling the roses rather than washing your windows, you probably won’t do it and you won’t be able to see a measurable result in your mood and outlook towards life. In order to make more time for those things that enliven you and make you say “woohoo!” you’ve got to quit doing other things, preferably things that don’t inspire you or things that you hate doing.

This concept didn’t originate with me. I’ve heard it time and time again from great leaders but it bears repeating: you are what you do repeatedly, day in and day out. This month and as we transition into 2018, do more of the things that energize you, that make you feel good and that lead you to your goals. For me, that means focusing on friends, family + community and participating in Best Day Ever's quarterly lifestyle challenges. If that's something you're interested in as well, we'd love to have you! Click here to find out more information. What are some other things on your Expansion list?