It’s Monday… undeniably THE worst day of the week… every week, every month of every year. Not today. Not ever again. Why, because today I am starting My Best Life.

What does this mean?

I have noticed that it’s far too convenient to complain about what’s going wrong in our lives. It’s so easy to expend energy on the things in life which make us miserable. If only that energy could be redirected into making situations and our lives better. Doesn’t that make sense?

Today I am making a commitment to refocus all negative thoughts and energy into making a specific effort to improve my life. How will I succeed in this task??? Well, I am going to subject you, my wonderful readers, to what I plan to do each week, of each month, of each year, to make this My Best Life. Now, I know it’s the beginning of a new year and I just totally dissed New Year’s resolutions… but the thing is, I do like setting goals for myself and I’m just going to up the ante and do it weekly! 52 Mondays? 52 strategies to make this My Best Life? Can I do it? I think so!

Perhaps you would like to play along? If so, feel free to comment if the strategy for the week inspires you as well.

#1 – Read more.

Oh my goodness, I’m a slacker when it comes to reading. I have friends (*ahem* – Katie and Jody) who read over 70 books a year! I would like to be able to read at least one book a month!

After reading an article The 26 Major Advantages to Reading More Books and Why 3-in-4 People Are Being Shut Out Of Success by Brad Isaac, I realized how critical reading is to my mental and emotional well-being!

The fact is I love to read but reading time is usually allocated to a half-hour before bed. This yields one of two results:

1. The book is a little slow, so I fall asleep.
2. The book is awesome so I end up staying up late reading it and then I dream about it all night (which in some cases results in a fitful night’s sleep).

I’m going to try to change my evening routine a little bit and see if I can read, then take my evening bath and then go to bed. Perhaps this slight change will allow me to read more frequently. I’m also going to bring my book to work. Often I spend my lunch break checking my e-mail or talking to my husband on the phone. Reading mid-day may provide me just the right amount of mental escape I need in order to get through the rest of my work day.

Lastly, any time I feel like griping or complaining about anything, I’ll force myself to pick up my book and read. After all, it is my goal to refocus any negative energy into something more productive in my life.

Wish me good luck! I’ll be back to report on this week’s tip and another “My Best Life” strategy next week.

Jennifer Bly

Author of My Kitchen, My Classroom: An Introduction to Homeschool and creator of The Deliberate Mom. Jennifer writes about parenting, homeschooling, her faith, and life with her husband and two girls. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Applied Human Service Administration Degree with a specialization in Early Learning in Child Care.