I have about a millions things I am grateful for, but I did something special after last Thanksgiving that I really followed through on. I decided that the spirit behind the holiday, would be a year-long thing…not just one single day of the year. So, in short, I have been grateful for all the things that have happened over the past year and it makes me incredibly happy to be here.

We all have the chance to create beautiful things in our lives. I often talk about the connection between the mind, the body, and the soul as something of extreme importance…because if you are lacking in one of those areas, you will affect the rest of your life. When all of these things act in harmony, we are truly the best versions of ourselves and will beam happiness. So I have a challenge that I have created for myself, and hope that others will partake in this journey with me.

The challenge is this. Find one picture a day that represents something going on in your mind, find one picture a day that represents how your soul feels, and take one picture a day of your body and its transformation from November 25 to Christmas. Then, feel free to post them on the Facebook page by using an app to stitch these together. One month of doing something a little bit different…and by Christmas you will be one happy camper. Take the challenge with me.

I spent the past hour on the couch reading about a philosophy called “The Middle Way.” This philosophy is deeply rooted in Buddhism, and it is a fantastic way to look at your life. Instead of going to the extremes with either sacrifice or with indulgence in your life, focus on making incremental changes in order to achieve something larger down the line. These changes create momentum, and in the end, help you achieve goals that you didn’t think were possible. I guess I have been on this path for a while…especially throughout this past year…and I have firsthand seen it work.

Set your goals. This is the perfect time to really sit down and think about what you want to have accomplished this year. Set them before New Years. Why? Don’t get caught up in all the resolution hype…because most of the people give up after 3 weeks anyways. Set them early, create a plan, work the plan. You can do it! Oh…and again, if your goals don’t scare the shit out of you, they aren’t lofty enough.

Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project