BE a Big A##

“This is my year!”       “2024 is the year of ME!”       “I’m focusing on myself this year!” 

It’s amazing to me how many of my female friends and relatives, in particular, have said something like that to me in the year they turned 50 or 60. Of course, my first reaction was always supportive, but I was also somewhat baffled by the declaration. I would think...is this a thing? Can you really decide to make a year all about yourself? Isn't that kind of selfish?

Then I watched the BARBIE movie and heard America Ferrera’s monologue about how being a woman is so darn hard {read it in BE Pink} and it got me thinking. How sad is it that as women we feel we have to wait until we have a big birthday to finally have earned the right to make a year "ours"? Why wasn't' every year of our lives "ours"? Obviously, I know the answers: work, marriage, kids, parents...life. Believe me I get it! But, our time on earth is short and unpredictable so, I hereby declare that somehow, someway, we have to try and make every remaining year OUR year! Luckily for us, I stumbled upon a product that might help us do just that.

Allow me to introduce you to the Big A## Calendar! The genius behind this oversized scheduler is Jesse Itzler- entrepreneur, author, and overall inspirational human being. Jesse realized that work and life commitments can end up monopolizing your entire calendar if you let them. So, he created a giant size calendar and a system that encourages you to plan more significant things into your year. The idea is that your year will be defined by those events and accomplishments rather than the tedious work/life stuff. Wouldn't it be great to say 2024 was the year I ran my first 5k or the year I finally wrote my book or the year I stopped smoking/drinking?!

The concept is simple. Put this oversized calendar on your wall and start to map out your whole year at once. Sure it's fine to put the birthdays, vacations, and work events on there, but Jesse suggests you incorporate three other really cool ideas into each year too.

The first he calls 'Winning Habits'. These are exactly what you'd imagine...new healthy habits that you can add into your daily regimen throughout the year. In fact, he suggests you adopt one new good habit each quarter. Drinking more water...walking 10 miles a week...getting up earlier...reading 30 minutes a day...the options are endless! If you're successful, in 2024 you'll have adopted four new healthy habits! How awesome is that?!

The second idea is called 'Kevin's Rule' named after one of Jesse's friends from whom he borrowed the concept. The rule is that you take one day every other month to do something you normally would not do. Again, the options are infinite! Take a cooking class...try goat yoga...eat at a restaurant by yourself...or go to an opera, for example. Six new experiences in 2024? Sign me up!

The last and perhaps the most challenging and important idea is called a 'Misogi'. A misogi by definition is a traditional Japanese custom of immersing oneself in cold water or standing beneath a waterfall to purify the body and mind. However, Jesse is using the word a bit more loosely to simply mean a transformative event. Your misogi should be something that challenges you on a personal, emotional, and/or physical level thereby making you a better version of yourself in the process. Because misogis should be unique to you it's hard to even suggest some, but ideas might include: going skydiving...doing a polar plunge...biking across your state...or auditioning for a role in a play. THINK BIG!

Now what I love the most about the Wining Habits, Kevin's Rule, and the Misogi is that they can (and should!) be perfectly individualized to YOU! What's on your bucket list? What habits have you been meaning to adopt? In what ways would you like to grow this year? SO...MANY...CHOICES! And, another cool element is that you can do all of these things by yourself or with friends and family. It could be super inspiring and empowering to do them yourself, but you could also create some once in a lifetime memories with your peeps if you share in the fun. And remember, there are no rules here...want to change LOTS of habits? Go ahead! Want to do TWO misogis? Go for it!

I fell in love with the Big A## Calendar and its concepts immediately and I really hope it excites you as much as it does me. I've already had a boat load of fun coming up with the habits I want to adopt, the out-of-my-comfort-zone goals, and the big important misogi ideas! The process of allowing myself to dream about things I've wanted to do and experience without having to take into account anyone else's opinions or needs was freeing to say the least. Writing them down and picking a date for them to actually come to fruition felt...FANTASTIC! Now I get to wake up and look at my Big A## Calendar with all of its selected-by-ME plans on it every single day. It immediately puts a smile on my face and gets me excited for not only my day, but the entire year ahead.

So, join me in making this year, and every year, YOUR year by getting yourself a Big A## Calendar! The journey ahead will be thrilling and transformative and the planning will ensure that 2024 will be a year to remember unlike any other. Click HERE to buy your very own Big A## Calendar 2024!