My Motto For 2014: Do You, Boo

This month I jumped on the bandwagon with my fellow Facebookers who were posting every day about something for which they are grateful. 

Today I turned 34. So this seemed like the perfect time to talk about both what I'm grateful for today and my motto for the upcoming year.

Today I'm grateful for a lot of things...another year of life, good friends, a break from work and school for Thanksgiving.  I'm most grateful that every year gets better.  That I'm not afraid of getting older. That I've gotten smarter, stronger, fitter and happier as I've aged.  That all my health issues have made me more (not less) determined- to give up what I want to do. That I'm narrowing down how I can improve at my career.

Those who know me best are well aware of my tendency to overworry about what others think.  I don't know if it is because ol' Lucky 13 came in like such a mother, but this year has really helped me let go of that.  I ain't sayin' I just walk up in the place like I own it (at least not all day, e'ry day),  but I definitely Give a Lot Less of a Shit. Some people are born Not Giving One, but some of us have to work at it.

One of my best friends writes an advice column.The reason why he's so good at it is because he gives very few Shits about what other people think. But, just because you don't give a Shit doesn't mean you are an Asshole to other people; he is actually one of the nicest, most accepting and non-judgemental people I know.

Over the years, he's given me a lot of advice. Some of this is legitimately a: "hey what do you think?" "Ok, here's what you should do."  Other times it's just a shrug and an impromptu side comment.

As you may know, I like to set my intentions for the upcoming year by giving it a motto. One year it was Year of the MAJ (all about me). One year it was Year of the HAM (all about friends). One year it was MAJsicle v 2.0 (reinventing myself). One year it was The Year of Living Dangerously (taking new risks and chances and expanding horizons). Last year was Lucky 13 (obvious).  My motto for 2014 comes from one of those impromptu side comments from my advice columnist friend. There have been many times that he's looked at me, when I've shared details about a certain situation, not really looking for input but just wanting to chat, and he's uttered these three words to me:

"Do you, boo."

Do you means do your thing. Live your life. Don't sweat the small stuff.  Give it your best shot. Possibly most important for me: don't worry about what anyone else thinks. Make decisions for yourself. But remember how I said that not giving a Shit doesn't mean you are an Asshole?  "Do you, boo" means you also accept that others are doing their own thing in life, just like you are. And, while we all have differences, there's no one best way to do many things. So...do you. Because I'm damn sure gonna do me.

For me, that's what 2014 is all about.  It's about making the best decisions for myself and worrying less about outside influences and opinions. That doesn't mean ignoring the important ones....just relying more on oneself.

So, on the eve of my 35th year, with IMOF almost over, and nothing left of Thanksgiving but leftovers, I give you both my motto and a greeting for 2014.

Do you, boo.