Taya Starling

I’m like hey, what’s up, hellooo 2016! Geez who knew we’d enter 2016 with FettyWap & the Beibs stuck in our heads? (Don’t lie, I know I’m not the only one!)… although if you honestly asked me, I kinda knew we’d all end up Beliebers eventually.  Thus, I am more surprised to be entering 2016 with so much energy & enthusiasm after a crazy 2015.  I did a lot of growing in 2015.  A LOT.

Last year I told you guys about my views on New Years Resolutions (if you missed it, you can read it here).  My 2015 was all about “Love it or leave it (I only have room for love)” and would you believe me if I said that phrase made a world of a difference in my life?  There were so many moments when that thought echoed in my head and completely shifted my perspective on my situation and circumstance.  I found so much power in my choice to CHOOSE LOVE whether in how I was dealing with someone else, how I was allowing someone else to treat me, where I was, how I was spending my time, what I was spending my money on… I made some big changes in 2015; changes that not everyone saw, but changes that honestly changed my life for the better.  And believe me when I say I am intent on continuing to better myself every single day.

So now it’s 2016 & I’m bringing it all together- Live A Life That Serves Your Highest Self, Be Here Now, & I Only Have Room For Love- plus adding in this year’s life changing mantra: Fine Tune Your Focus.  I spent so much of last year DOING all these things that I wanted to do, my “big picture” goals got a bit jumbled up and things got off track.  Basically I spread myself too thin and in turn didn’t accomplish all the things I intended to in 2015.  Chalk it all up to experience & growth.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got no regrets about last year.  I did SO MUCH and learned SO MUCH and loved SO MUCH.  I’m carrying everything forward.  This year is the year to fine tune my focus.

FINE TUNE YOUR FOCUS.

It’s easy to become distracted in a world where everything is literally at your fingertips 24/7.  Social media is the most evil/ most amazing tool in the world.  It can do incredible good, but it can also keep you up and down the rabbit hole til 3am when you’re laying in bed originally looking up a recipe for tomorrows waffles but have wandered far off track towards videos of puppies eating peanut butter and babies eating sour things for the first time.  Yes, I am speaking straight from experience.  Social media can be such an awful habit.  There’s nothing worse than sitting at lunch or dinner with friends and everyone is on their phones- trust me on this one, as a blogger/ actress/ blah blah blah I have been at more tables than I can count where phones are the focus of attention.  When I’m with my tribe we like to play a game: we put all our phones face down in the center of the table and the first person to reach for theirs is penalized (has to do a dare, take a swig, or pick up the tab), but really when I’m with my tribe I don’t feel the need to be on my phone any way.  Those are the people I like to spend time with most- the ones who make me not want to check my phone.

FINE TUNE YOUR FOCUS.

I talk a lot about manifesting.  The pursuit of your passions should be endless and constant.  You should be manifesting your dreams even when you’re not up and taking big steps towards them.  You can manifest your dreams even when you’re sitting around daydreaming.  Truth.  What you think, you create.  What you create, you become.  What you become, you express.  What you express, you experience.  What you experience, you are.  What you are, you think.  And the circle is complete.  So choose your thoughts wisely.  Stay focused on what you really want to be spending your energy on because your energy is precious and so is your time.  Stop wasting it.

FINE TUNE YOUR FOCUS.

I worked hard last year and I plan on working harder this year.  But most importantly I plan on working smarter.  By focusing in on what my goals are for this year I can draft a clear cut list of what needs to be done in order to achieve them.  The BFF and I both sat down and listed out our accomplishments, personal & professional, in 2015.  By doing that we were able to gain some clarity towards what needs to happen, personally & professionally, in this year.

FINE TUNE YOUR FOCUS.

Last year I wrote,

“2015 is my year.  Just as the year before it and the year before that.  But this year I am actively choosing what will stay and what will go.  I’m sure the decisions won’t be easy and I know I will falter here and there, but I will be trying my very best to be honest with myself, what I know & how I feel, and make my decisions accordingly.  I plan to fill my life with all things love.  After all, time is precious.  Love, and all things rooted in love, is worthy of my time & energy- everything else? I don’t have room.”

And I have to say, all of that stood firm in 2015 and to keep with it, 2016 is my year as well.  And this year I will not only be choosing where to focus my energy & time, but I will be working smarter & not harder, to be better than I have been before, to fine tune my focus & make some real magic xo I wish the same for all of you.