Happy New Year, tea lovers!
Good news: This is not your typical "New Year, New You" blog post. Bad news: We're not going to tell you how to lose 10 pounds or train for a marathon.
Best news: We think 2017 has so much potential for all of us, especially if you want to join us in a mission for what we're calling "Purposeful Living in 2017."
WAIT! Don't click away; we promise this isn't going to devolve into an irritating self-help blog. When it comes to new year's resolutions, we're over it. After weeks of celebrating the season, we're expected to turn a calendar page and white-knuckle some change into our lives? Nope, not gonna happen.
Here's what we have found useful lately: Sitting up a bit straighter, taking a deep breath and beginning each day with a firm sense of purpose. There are many helpful resources out there on purposeful living, which we'll recommend at the end of this post, but for now, here are five tips from us on this subject:
- Look inward first. What are your personal values, and can you prioritize them? We did this activity a few months ago here at Two Leaves and a Bud, when creating our Purpose-Filled Teas, and discovered that joining a movement against climate change came out on top. We live in the mountains of Colorado, where we love to play outdoors, and so supporting Protect Our Winters (POW), the leading climate advocacy group for the winter sports community, made perfect sense. A percentage of sales of all of our Purpose-Filled Teas is donated to POW.
- Ask yourself who you want to be? Even if this is just a list of adjectives you like, we think it'll help you hone your purposeful vision. At Two Leaves and a Bud, we know we want to continue to deliver top quality tea to our customers (and ourselves!) in 2017 while being responsive and forward-thinking. Specifically, this might mean replying to tweets faster, asking for feedback more often, and getting out of the office for some on-mountain brainstorming sessions!
- Pay attention! Be an active participant in your own life. Reject what doesn't make you happy, and say "heck yeah" to the things that do make you happy. It's helpful to remind yourself that you're calling the shots. One of the definitions of "purpose" is "determination, resolution", and we admit that a sense of determination can often make you feel like a badass. #truth
- Take time for stillness. The world is a hectic place and your life is crazy busy, no? So take some time to just shhhhh. This probably goes without saying, because you're really smart and you're reading a tea blog, but nothing recharges us like a nice, quiet tea time.
- Take action in your community! Now that you're calm and recharged, focus your energy on making change beginning at a grassroots level. As mentioned earlier, we decided to support a cause we believe in by getting involved with Protect Our Winters (visit http://protectourwinters.org/take-action/ to check them out). We encourage fully vetting organizations before making a commitment — financial or otherwise — and we like Charity Navigator for that. Looking for more action? Recently a former congressional staffer, Emily Ellsworth, wrote a series of tweets about how to advocate for a cause through your congressional representative. Here's a wrap-up of her suggestions in one article emphasizing that your voice does matter!
We're wishing you the most purposeful year you've ever lived in 2017! For more information on purposeful living, here are some articles we found helpful:
"Living on Purpose: Don't waste any more time stumbling through life" by Brad Klontz in Psychology Today
"Living with intent: Six steps to living a healthier and purposeful life" by Mallika Chopra at the Chopra Center
"What you need to live a life with purpose" by Jacob Sokol on tinybuddha.com
Cheers, tea lovers.