Happy MONDAY, friends! Back at it again with a #MondayMantra to kickoff this week strong, since I’m sure we could all use a hard dose of positivity + pump up to dive into the first full work week of 2019. *pours more coffee*

Come new year’s, everyone and their mom is swearing off carbs or committing to cardio. It’s Resolution Station, and we’re all hopping on that bandwagon.

Which is GREAT.

BUT.

What about those things that didn’t make the 2019 Goals List…not because we don’t want them to happen, but because we don’t think they CAN????

The dreams that felt too big to dream.

…you know the ones.

The dreams that take a LOT to get there. Like writing a book, or starting a business. They feel immense. Gargantuan. Maybe possibly too big to chew in one piece, or in one year’s worth of resolutions.

Or maybe the dreams that feel silly to be labeled as such, but you know would have SUCH positive impact on your everyday. Like drinking half your body weight in H2O, or carving out the first hour of everyday to be all about prayer + gratitude.

And to those I say…

“If not now, when?”

Every single day – heck, every single *second* – is an opportunity to just do the damn thing already.

Really, though.

Every single second is a new chance to just do the damn thing already.

Click To Tweet

Our days are filled with choices. The average adult supposedly makes around 35,000 choices everyday. 35,000. Some are simple + relatively mindless in nature (brush your teeth, go to the bathroom, grab a salad for lunch, etc). And others might feel a bit more significant (break up with your boyfriend, quit your job, move across the country, etc). Everyday, we have approximately 35,000 choices to make, and our days progress (or regress) accordingly. Choose to start that manuscript we’ve been dying to pen – progress. Choose to smoke another cigarette – regress. Choose to organize the kitchen cabinets – progress. Choose to yell at our neighbor about his dog – regress. The choices go on. And as we choose our own paths…

“If not now, when?”

I’ve been reading Rachel Hollis’ new book, Girl, Stop Apologizing (I was sent a press copy early – hollah!), and this Mantra was one of Rachel’s personal favorites to get through all of the ish she’s gotten through to make her empire happen over the past 15 years. And it’s something that’s been ingrained in me since I was young from my mom. It made it on a Post-It note on my monitor, too, so you KNOW it’s legit in my house. 😉

Life is short. It’s got no guarantees. Beyond this very moment, you have really no clue what comes next – if anything. Something could literally fall down from the sky right now and kill us all, and we’d be donezo.

So…why wait?

Why are you waiting to wear that dress that makes ya feel like a million?

Why are you waiting to use the good china?

Why are you waiting to try your expensive makeup?

Oftentimes, we “save” the best in our lives for a “special occasion,” forgetting that life itself IS the special occasion. We’ve been awarded this life, and we have no actual idea how long we’ll get to enjoy it.

Chew on that for a hot sec.

We “save” the best in our lives for a “special occasion,” forgetting that life itself IS the special occasion.

Click To Tweet

Think of how much more joy you’d be creating in your everyday life if you chose to view each day as a special occasion – each moment of NOW as your WHEN.

When will I start training for that half-marathon? Now. Off to the gym.

When will I stop drinking a diet Coke every single day? Now. No more Cokes in the grocery cart.

When will I take pride in my appearance, so that I feel GOOD whenever I look in the mirror? Now. Whatever that means – adding a little lipstick, changing out of pajama pants, brushing my hair, losing five pounds – starts now.

Not sure about you, but I for one do NOT want a buncha woulda/coulda/shouldas running through my brain on my deathbed. I was thinking about this the other day, actually. Are you your best self right now? No? What’s separating you from being that best self?

I started jotting down quick notes no my own best self on my phone, and turns out, a lot of ’em are tiny little tweaks that I could TOTALLY make everyday, if only I’m intentional about it. Example: Pumping myself up with my favorite jams on Spotify, actually styling an outfit for the day instead of lazily throwing on jeans and a top – etc. How EASY is it in the grand scheme of things to play music? Or to take two extra minutes to TRY in my closet instead of haphazardly grabbing something with an elastic waistband?

Fast forward five years – are you who you’d imagine you’d be?

Is your life full of good routines, or bad habits?

SO MANY QUESTIONS, I know. But really…if not now, when??? We can push everything off to the hypothetical future that may or may not ever come. Or, we can take ownership of our lives. We can be the captains of our own ships, and we can put one foot in front of the other with intention, instead of putting on a metaphorical blindfold and walking through life in the hopes of still stumbling upon our dream path.

So this week (+ beyond), I challenge you, friends.

I challenge you to make it happen – whatever IT is – and to make it happen now. Someday isn’t a good day. Tomorrow might never come. But today – right now – is what you’ve got. Make something of it, MK? MK.