Here you will find goals that are based on reflection and growth that are all related to you. The past few months have given us all more time by ourselves, for better or for worse. You gotta take care of yourself. You are the only person you will always have to be with for the rest of your life. I love self improvement so am really stoked about this list. Please reach out if you want a customized Vibrant Badass list! I love making them specifically for someone! Here is a generic one for everyone.

Read a self-help book. Pick a topic that connects with you. There are general books in this genre as well as books targeted towards specific personal areas like fear of failure, anxiety, disorganization and self-esteem.

Some favorites of mine:

• You are a Badass by Jen Sincero
• How to Stop Worrying and Start Living by Dale Carnegie
• Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
• The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
• The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
• Untamed by Glennon Doyle
• Eat Cake, Be Brave by Melissa Radke
• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

Write a list of 100 gratitudes. This helps your brain to focus on the awesome things in your life. It is impossible to focus on the negative and the positive at the same time. As much as possible, it is great to try to go with the positive. The list can go from intensely specific to vaguely general things in your life. Start with the people you love, the objects in your house that bring you joy, and daily moments that make you smile. 

Do something relaxing. Right now, the future is so uncertain that we are all in a state of high stress no matter what our current situation is. It is highly beneficial to do the things that bring some zen into your life. My favorite way to do this is taking a candlelit bubble bath while reading a good book with a glass of wine and cheese board. You could also do a face mask, curl up on the couch with a good book, cuddle with your pet, or something random like watching soap cutting videos on Youtube. 

Watch an inspiring TED talk. TED talks are awesome to hear from experts in their fields and you can find them based on you interests. If you want to get inspired for a few hours I have made a playlist with some of my faves on youtube that you can find here. You can also just search “Ted talk + something you find interesting” and find a ton of options. Go down the rabbit hole and expand your mind.

Write out a list of your best accomplishments to date. Think about past successes that made you proud. It’s a great list to come back to whenever you have a bad day or get nervous about the future. We tend to minimize things as they get farther into the past. Don’t forget about all the awesome things you have done that brought you to your present self.

Make a list of goals for the future. Write out a list of things you hope to accomplish in the future – like a bucket list. Include places you want to go, goals you want to achieve, and aspirations around what you want to legacy to include. These can be big crazy things or more realistic accomplishments you want to have under your belt. Be as specific or general as you want. I did one last year and it was a really fun exercise to get it all in writing! As you get older, you will cross things off, delete goals that no longer matter to you, and add more items to your list.

Buy yourself a present. This could be a new outfit from your favorite company, a bouquet of flowers, a book you have been wanting to read or just something fun and random on Amazon. You deserve to treat yourself every once in a while.

Spend a whole day in your pajamas. If you haven’t done this already this year then I am slightly disappointed. Get cozy and have a lazy day. Don’t let yourself feel guilty for not being productive. Just soak up the time spent feeling comfy and relaxed.

Try a new workout program. There are so many resources online for any kind of workout you can imagine. You can start with Youtube to dip your toes into the water. Once you figure out what you like best, there are lots of apps or programs that you can join. I love to hate HIIT workouts that get the heart rate up but are pretty quick workouts. Yoga is great for flexibility and relaxation. Recently I have been doing more with weights to try to tone up. Variety is great to mix things up instead of getting stuck in a workout rut. In quarantine, I started with a six week trial period of Chris Hemsworth’s workout app Centr and have since signed on for a full year. I did 2 six week workout programs back to back which is the most consistently I have worked out in my adult life. My clothes in quarantine have basically just been pajamas and workout clothes.

Get creative. Print out some pictures and cut up some magazines to make a vision board. Draw, paint, or color a coloring book. Check out Pinterest for art project inspiration. Re-do or paint a piece of furniture in your house. Think back to when you were young and what kind of creative activities you enjoyed. Everyone has creativity inside of them but some people have shut it down for so long that they can’t find it easily. Learn how to get back in tune with that side of yourself by trying some random activities outside of your comfort zone. 

Make a nostalgic playlist. Music is such a huge thing in our lives. Listening to a song can take you back to a certain time in your life and bring back so many memories. Add in songs from high school, songs you love to scream on road trips, songs from the best concerts you ever attended, and songs that remind you of good times with friends. 

Make an empowerment playlist. These are songs that always make you feel better no matter the outside situation. Add songs that are anthem’s for living your best life and songs that make you smile when you hear them. Play the playlist in the car while loudly singing along or in your living room to have a dance party.

Watch your favorite movie. Movies help you escape reality for a couple of hours and just relax. Unplug from your phone and laptop, pop some popcorn and pretend like you are in a movie theater. 

Buy a new notebook. Find a cute inspiring cover and write down your thoughts. You can set a timer and just write down everything that comes to mind. There is something therapeutic about getting all the random things in your brain on paper. Things can seem much bigger and intense while bouncing around in that beautiful brain of yours. The act of physically writing all of it down can help put things into perspective. A lot of times when I can’t sleep, I will make a list of all the things making me feel stressed so that my mind will calm down.

Feel all of your feelings. We spend a lot of time in our lives avoiding and numbing our feelings but they all serve a purpose. You can never really feel the positive emotions unless you have the uncomfortable ones to contrast. Life is crazy right now for everyone. There is a lot going on that we have never had to deal with before which is hard. Cry if you want. It’s okay to feel stressed or overwhelmed. It’s also okay to feel hopeful and happy. You can even feel all of those things within one day or even one hour. But you have to feel them or all the feelings will bottle up and eventually explode.

That’s all for now! What are your favorite ways to connect with yourself? Let me know some of the things on your gratitude list, your favorite movies and what you do to relax!

This is Day 2 of the Vibrant Badass At Home Series. Yesterday was Food+Drink. Five more topics coming over the next few days!