2015 Challenge: Being Mentally Present

What a beautiful day MLK day was! Matt and I took advantage of the sunshine and went for a bike ride down to Matthew’s Beach. Blue skies and white puffy clouds was a welcome change in weather after a week of rain. We haven't gone on a bike ride together since August so we jumped at the opportunity to explore the Seattle area more. 

For the past two weeks I’ve been trying to form a new year’s resolution for myself – a phrase I could focus on that would effect several areas of my life. On Sunday I heard the phrase "mentally present" and I knew it was something I could work on. Our bike ride was the first step in meeting my challenge of being mentally present. Sounds kind of weird right? 

Too often I find myself on my phone mindlessly perusing Facebook, reading random articles on my laptop, or binge watching Netflix all day. When I'm not engaged in these activities I plan - I plan out my to-do list, grocery shopping, potential meals, fun vacations we'd love to take but can't afford right now... etc. All these things aren't bad necessarily, but the amount of time I spend on them prevents me from living in the moment and accomplishing my priorities like exercise, bible time and spending time with family and friends. I want to break my habit of pushing things off and telling myself I'll do them later, because I don't. Which is why I'm challenging myself to form new habits that will make me a more joyful person who is engaged in the moment.  

Here are my initial baby steps to living mentally present! 

1. I did not ask my parents for the new Netflix password :) I removed the temptation (even though I'm really sad that I cannot watch Friends..) 
2. Join the Bored and Brilliant: The Lost Art of Spacing Out project. It's a challenge to help you detach from your phone and spend more time thinking creatively. 
3. Find an accountability buddy to stay motivated. So far I have two! One for exercise and one for bible time. 
4. Say "yes" to time with friends and family. Hence, the bike ride on Monday. 

Did you make any New Year's Resolutions or challenges for yourself?