Sparkling Energy! The first two weeks of January can be the most riveting time to feel the excitement of your “Resolutions” and feel the hope and promise of a fresh start.  While its compelling to attack every single new habit and new plan, seeking to truly revolutionize your world as January appears, I am going to propose a new way of thinking about the new year.  Get your energy SPARKLING!  If you have a sound life already in place,  make small changes in habits and routines but focus on your ENERGY first!  

I’m a rehabilitated “New Years Resolution Whore”…!   I would resolve to remake myself come January 1 of every year in every conceivable way, with vivid plans and vision boards and the whole thing.  And, come January 10, I would run out of steam, miserable and defeated.  I set myself up to fail year after year, then, consequently, would start the year off feeling like a slacker and a quitter!  Habits and routines are tricky. If you make too many changes at once, invariably you will either suffer or flat-out quit.  Rather, what would happen if the energy you put behind your daily actions was brighter, more focused and more grounded? I can tell you only one thing for sure- you will be happier. And, statistically, happier people are healthier and more productive overall.

Here’s my quick list of feng shui ways to shine up your energy in 2012:

1. Clean up the stuff we neglect to clean: the refrigerator, the bathroom tiles, the oven, the baseboards, the spaces between furniture, the ledges atop art on your walls, the bookshelves, blinds, windows… All of those neglected areas could use a lot of attention as we start the year.  Dust diminishes your “metal energy” of focus.  Clear the dust and the layer of forgotten-about muck and new clarity emerges.
2. Eat well!!!  I’m not the expert on your personal diet, but there is something to be said for not waiting till you are starving to eat.  In the meantime, your brain and body are running on fumes.  Would you drive your car on “empty” or get into a subway that was low on power?  I doubt it.  In fact, you would see it as a crisis.  But since our bodies are super-resilient, we tend to think  when things get hectic that lunch at 3pm with a coffee for breakfast and dinner at 10pm is somehow enough.  You may have a diet planned for 2012… whatever it may be, be sure it includes the ability to eat throughout your waking day!
3. Change your light bulbs.  Full-spectrum light bulbs bring out more color in your home &  more color in your life!  Grab a few boxes and swap them out as your old bulbs need to be replaced.
4. Make at least one wall of your home your “dream wall”.  Whether you paint it bright purple and hang all of your kid’s photos on that wall, cover it in chalkboard paint, graffiti it with a can of spray paint, display your favorite art, decoupage it in magazine clippings, use wallpaper, ribbon, fabric or dime store glitter, make one wall- at least one-  your dream wall.  A place to dream and feel inspired will take your inner fire to great heights!
5. Get some house bling.  A crystal hanging in your window as a sun catcher, a disco ball, a mirrored side-table, a glass chandelier, a wall of your jewels hung like art on display… whatever it may be, add a bit of visual fireworks to your space.
6. Smile and compliment people. Give and give compliments. Find something nice to say. Its the giving out of the good that makes us happy.  We confuse it with the gleeful attachment to getting, which is never quite as fulfilling (even when its fun!).
7. Make an adventure list.  Wild and crazy as it gets.  Pick one. Plan it.  Even if it doesn’t come to fruition this year, planning that trip to Tokyo or Australia or Wyoming or Marfa will expand your horizons creatively beyond your present walls.  Chances are, you will get to that adventure- or one better- if you let yourself dream and plan!

Pull from the list as you need to, or add your own energy-lifting ways! And, feel free to add to the list below, as your ideas always inspire me! xxx Dana