2014 Inspiration

I am participating in a 2014 Blogger Challenge, where a topic is given at various times throughout the year, and bloggers write a post about it. The first topic is inspiration. Instead of coming up with resolutions, which I've already decided against, the idea is to share an inspirational quote or picture. Here's mine:

This image appeared on my feed a few weeks ago and I had it saved on my phone. It really spoke to me, because so often in life I tend to go along with the flow even if it's something I don't feel too crazy about.

It's easy to let other people make the decisions in life. But ultimately, if you're not making the effort to put aside some time for yourself to do something fulfilling, you're really harming yourself. This happens to me way too often. I usually don't realize I haven't been taking care of myself until it's been so long that I feel like I'm suffering.

On a similar note, the people you surround yourself with can impact your well-being too. If there is someone around you who doesn't make you feel good, get them out of your life (as much as possible). It's ok to not be friends with everyone.

What is most important is that you surround yourself with positive things and positive energy so your soul can be nourished and fulfilled. Going into the new year, I am going to focus on living in the moment and making sure I don't sacrifice too much to the point that it is harmful.

Want $1,378 for Free?

The only thing this will cost you is a little willpower. I've seen this idea various places across the web, and it is a great way to save a little extra cash!

Basically, each week of the month, you'll deposit some cash into a savings account, and at the end of the year, you'll have a total of $1,378! Here is how it works:

Week 1: Deposit $1

Week 2: Deposit $2

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....

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Week 51: Deposit $51

Week 52: Deposit $52

There are 52 weeks in the year, so whatever week it is, deposit that much cash. I've obviously skipped quite a few weeks in my example above, but you get the idea.

Some people like to reverse this plan instead. Money can get tight around the holidays, and setting aside $50ish might be a squeeze for some. Sometimes we even have a little extra cash at the beginning of the year after receiving gifts from people!

Instead, you could follow a plan that goes like this:

Week 1: Deposit $52

Week 2: Deposit $51

....

....

....

Week 51: Deposit $2

Week 52: Deposit $1

I already have some budgets and a savings plan in place, so I'm not sure if I will do this challenge this year, but let me know if you plan on doing it! I'll be rooting you on!

Living Day by Day

Do you ever feel like you just don't have a plan and you don't know what direction you want to take? That's how I feel about 2014.

So many of you have goals of weight loss, blog organization, doing things to make yourself happier... but what do I want? Do I need to want something specific? What does it mean about me if I don't have specific goals? What does it mean for 2014?

There are so many questions I could dwell on, but I'm not going to. Sometimes it's nice to live day by day without the pressure of reaching certain goals.

Sure, I would like to weigh a little less, I'd like to have a list of blog topic inspiration, I'd love to spend my days at home organizing the house and being a housewife (technically, fiancee). Some of these are possible, and some of them aren't.

There's nothing wrong with waiting until you feel up to tackling a task. The new year is inspirational for many people, and that is fantastic. I'm just not feeling it this year.. but I have a feeling that positive changes will come in the next few months.

Until then, I'll enjoy my days of nothing and living in the moment, and look forward to taking action later on! Are you excited about the new year? What goals do you have, or why do you choose not to have goals this year?