At Thanksgiving dinner last week around a big table with chosen and biological family alike, we went around and shared something we were grateful for that we couldn’t have said we were grateful for last year.
At least 50% of us cried. (That’s how I know I spent the holiday with my people.)
A few days later over dinner, my dad noted that almost everyone had gone through some pretty intense turbulence in the last year and that we all somehow seemed to be on the upswing at last.
(If you listen to our podcast, you know that I keep finding myself singing the refrain to Gloria Estefan’s “Coming Out of the Dark” for this very reason.)
Because the folks gathered that night are some of my nearest and dearest, I’m privy to many of the details of their lives, both the exciting and the mundane.
Here’s what I know from knowing them and knowing myself:
The reason we’re on the upswing is not because of some gargantuan opportunity that swept in and changed everything. Yeah, there have been chance meetings that led to lifetime dreams being fulfilled. There have been super-exciting doors opened. There’s been some fairy dust.
But the thing that’s allowed each of the people I adore to not only get on but, more importantly, stay on the upswing are the things that aren’t particularly sexy (and that they sometimes don’t feel like doing) that they do day in and day out, week in and week out.
Another word for these mundane things that seem little but, when done regularly and combined all together, contribute to a beautiful life is: habits.
Your habits matter because they create your life.
Beautiful lives do not happen by accident. They happen because of things that people do (or don’t do) every day to weave a life they want to live.
Mike and I sat down to record an episode of The Kate & Mike Show about our daily, weekly, and monthly habits, and we both chuckled because when we say some of this stuff out loud, it’s actually kind of weird!
But it works, so we’re sticking with it.
To get the behind-the-scenes skinny on not only the habits we’ve been doing like clockwork for years, but also the things we’re working on incorporating to make our lives work even better, listen in.
Once you’ve listened, we’d love to know which habits we talked about that you’re inspired to incorporate into your own life and what other weird habits you have. Leave us a comment and let us know!
Habits matter. The things you do every day create your life, so choose wisely. (But have fun with it because nothing is worth doing if it feels like punishment!)
Love,
Kate
P.S. Want to start 2020 with me, in person, crafting our “Do Less, Have More” years? I’m teaching a weekend workshop at Kripalu, and you’re going to walk away with a plan for your most glorious year ever, life-giving habits included! Click here to learn more.
There’s a little trick I started using in my twenties to determine whether or not I should do things, especially things I was afraid of doing: I would project myself into the future and ask if my 80-year-old self would be happy that I’d done that. Somehow adopting the mindset and life experience of a…
I just saw a meme today talking about how November just feels like this crazy month with 13 looming deadlines and holiday family stress and endless to-do lists…plus it’s DARK. I get that this time of year can be really hard. Maybe you’re approaching the holidays solo for the first time in years after a…
I’m the kind of person who sometimes isn’t sure what she thinks until I’m talking to someone else. Not because I’m looking for their opinion or reaction, but because I’m an external processor and there’s something about being witnessed that helps me understand myself better. Last week Mike and I sat down to talk about…
I love the smell of new office supplies. Going back-to-school shopping at Staples was my heaven. And I love planning so much that I plan my planning. How about you? Do you use an intersecting system of 3 different color-coded calendars, or are you holding on tenuously to your “keeping it all up here” [points…
When one of the women who joined our high-level program told me that the reason she’d joined was because she was sick of being the smartest person in the room, I absolutely loved her honesty. It also made me think of the rooms I’ve been in over the years and the rooms I get on…
If you hang around the planet long enough, you’re going to get sick, and for sure someone you love is going to get sick. A year ago my husband was so sick that he dropped 40 pounds in a month, his skin kept peeling off repeatedly, his entire head swelled, cracked, and was oozing, and…
This week we’re bringing you something a little different in our weekly conversation. Ever since the #metoo movement and the uncovering of the toxic masculinity embedded in almost every layer of our society, masculinity has been up for scrutiny, and rightly so. Some men feel scared to open their mouths or have meetings with women…
Until quite recently I was firmly in the camp of: Any amount of screen time my kids have is not optimal. I’m not a purist when it comes to parenting, and Penelope can watch a show on the weekends and on the days of the week that she’s home. Even with that small amount, I’ve…
While I love sharing ideas that are against the grain, I rarely go full-on controversial. But today, I am. To be honest, I’m squirming as I write this because my central nervous system has trouble with the inner explosion that happens when someone has been offended by something I’ve said or an idea I’ve shared….
