What inspires us? What drives us? What makes us happy? What does your mountain top look like?

Of course, that gets us talking about resolutions for the New Year.

I have never really been much for resolutions, but I made some really big changes last year because I forced myself to begin reevaluating the life I was living. (Check out this, this, this and this to learn more).

So when people tell me they are ‘jealous of my life’ or that I am ‘inspiring’, please remember that I have actively worked at this life every single day. And it has not been always been easy.

This year, ask yourself this – What do you really want out of your life?

I want to be happy. Every day.

That’s really kind of it. 

I realize that sounds overly idealist, but its not. I want to focus my life on things that make me happy, things that add value to my life.

I want a job that allows me to be my own boss and to make a difference. I don’t want to obsess over the scale, I want to take care of my body. I don’t really watch TV anyway, but I want to read more. I want to bring back coffee dates instead of happy hours. I want to spend quality time with people and nurture my relationships. I want to travel and hear people’s life stories. 

I had to look at my life and see if my day to day world was reflecting these things. Surprise – for a long time, it wasn’t.

So how do you go about ‘being happier’?

We you start by simplifying.

That process was easy for me since I was selling all of my things to move anyway. The first thing I did was purge myself off all the excessive material crap I had accumulated over the years. Does this silly thing actually add value? Probably not. Minimalism, lesson one.  

For me, it was never about all of the things I am going to ‘stop doing’ or things I am going to give up. It has been more about all of the things that I want to bring into my life in a more meaningful way. Consider the value, not the monetary value, but the true value of the things in your life. 

Once you really start to break this down, you’ll quickly find out where you need to make some changes. AKA you’ll ‘get inspired’. Remember that true happiness cannot be bought, it must be cultivated. 

I came up with this a few years ago, and I’ve been using it as my mountaintop ever since. 

Text less. Call more. Talk more.
Watch less. Read more. Write more.
Spend less. Save more. Plan more.
Booze less. Move more. Do more.

Love more.

This year, find out what inspires you and find out what makes you come alive. Make sure to find your mountain top and keep it in view as you cultivate the life you truly want to lead. 

Cheers to the new year, and cheers to inspiration!