Hello EDIC Family and Welcome to 2018! As I reflect on this past year, all I have to say is WOW! From completing the highlight reel, graduating dental school, and starting residency in OKC, 2017 was a year of personal milestones. Although I am ecstatic about the new opportunities, I am aware that I’ll have new responsibilities. As a personal tradition of mine, I always start the year by creating a vision board and making a list of things I want to accomplish in the New Year. I know we are tired of hearing the old-time saying “New year, new me.” I know I have been guilty of saying that a time or two when it should be “New Year, the same you” or maybe just a better you for the first two months.

One of my favorite past times is listening to podcasts. I was recently listening to Pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation Church, in which he stated something compelling that stuck with me, “There is no such thing as new beginnings, you may have a new frame of mind, but we cannot press restart or rewind once we make mistakes. However, we can create a new ending for ourselves.” You have the power to create a new ending to your story by changing your behavior. The decisions we make today will ultimately decide tomorrow. Personally, I had to reevaluate my behavior and ask myself “are my daily decisions a reflection of the woman that I want to become?” And the reality of it, some of my decisions were NOT. Talk about a harsh reality. Yeah sure I have a lot of good qualities about myself, but some of my habits were hindering my growth. As I sat down with my vision board this year, I decided that I wanted it to be different. I chose not to make any New Year Resolutions or any ridiculous promises to myself. I decided this year I will keep it simple and focus on creating my brand new ending. Here are some things that I have recently started putting into action (Maybe some of these will interest you too )

• #READMore2018: Now that I am no longer a student with so much required reading assignments and after hour lab assignments, I am taking the opportunity to devote to reading some of the long-awaited must-reads. I started a challenge among several friends and followers called the #READMore2018Challenge. Our goal is two read a book every month while meeting up virtually to discuss the book in full detail, select specific passages that stuck out to us, and how we could apply what we learn from the book to our life.
• Financial Peace & Sticking to a BUDGET: I have always struggled with sticking to a budget and managing my budget. It has been the one thing I have always dreaded living by and that my father gets frustrated with me about. I decided that if I wanted to be able to manage my wealth in the future, I need to learn how to manage my pennies now. I heard a lot of great things about Dave Ramsey, a financial advisor, National best-selling author, and radio host who has become one of America’s trusted voice money. I have been reading a lot of his material in regards to managing money, tackling debt with his debt snowball method, and how to prepare for retirement. Stay tuned for future blogs about this goal! I will be attending his Financial Peace University in March and cannot wait to share what I learn!
• Meditation: It seems like due to the number of distractions around us, the increasing dependence on social media, and the demand our work schedules place on us, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everything. I know forget to take the necessary time to your self. This year it’s a priority for me to spend more time with God and myself. It’s reached the point that I have become uncomfortable with silence and doing nothing. Currently, I am on a social media hiatus, and it has been the BEST THING EVER!!! It allows me to have time to breathe and renew my mind on a continuous basis. Simply amazing. Try it and watch how much more time you have in your day and how much more focused you become.
• UnDo List: Is there a habit or negative characteristic of yourself that you don’t quite like as much. Hey, we all have fallen victim to developing bad habits: lack organization, clutter, procrastination, you stopped your usual workout routine or found your self-being messier. Raises hand! I am guilty of always trying to do WAY TOO MUCH at one time, that over the past year, I have developed a few of those bad habits. I looked back to my previous year and decided that I’m going to fix my poor practices before taking on any more new responsibilities. So I encourage you as well, instead of focusing so much time becoming something, spend time unbecoming what you have become. Take time to think about some of your no-so favorite habits and begin making a plan of action on how you an UnDO those.
• Get an Accountability Partner: Teamwork makes the dream work! If you want to accomplish something great in life, share it with someone, and ask if they will help you support your dream and hold you accountable. For every one of these goals I listed, I have identified one person in each category to hold me to a new standard. This way I am sure to achieve my goals promptly.

I encourage you who are reading to ask yourself “what can I do to create a new ending for myself?” What are some habits that you can do away with to become a better version of yourself? Take time during these next couple of weeks and I want to focus on in 2018! Remember your daily choices and decisions can and will determine your tomorrow.

Until Next Time,

LaJoi Wiggins, DMD

@JoiFulSmiles

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