6 Things You Need To Do Before This Year Is Out

As 2019 is coming to an end, it’s important to get moving on some important things I believe are great to take care of before 2020 arrives. Some of you might already be on top of these things and took care of them throughout the year, but I encourage you to take a break from some of your holiday fun and set aside some time this week to go through the following:

1. Schedule Your Annual Physical. Your health is very important. So make sure you schedule your annual physical for the upcoming year. I know different people who don’t like visiting their doctor’s office, however, it’s smart to know what’s going on with your body and staying up to date with your physical will inform you and your primary care practitioner of anything you should be aware of or working to improve.

2. Declutter. If you have a regular practice of getting rid of stuff that you don’t want or need, then you’re probably fine, but I encourage you to go through your clothes, old and/or obsolete electronics, books, movies, music, or anything else that may be taking up your space and go ahead and declutter. You can donate anything that someone else may find useful or just discard them if what you have is no longer useful. Your choice.

3. Check Your Credit Score. Taking care of your finances is smart. Making sure you know where your score is will let you know if you’re in a good state or need to work on getting things improved. There are different apps available, some that are free, that will allow you to check your score without negatively impacting it.

4. Update Your Resume. If you had a job change, role change, or picked up some new skills and opportunities this year, you need to update your resume. You should also plan to do some networking and begin applying to different career opportunities you’ve thought about if that’s something you want to do. Why not pursue a great career change? You can even go after your dream opportunities too.

5. Write Out Your Goals (With End Dates Included). I started writing out my goals in October. I already know what I want to accomplish in 2020, and I hope you do too. When you write things down, and more importantly, put dates and deadlines at the end of them, they make your goals more attainable and increase your chances of accomplishing them too. I wrote out five that I know I can get through within a year’s timeframe. What are you planning to do?

6. Pray. I pray a lot and encourage others to pray too. While everyone has different religious and spiritual beliefs, I believe prayer can work and making it apart of your life can pleasantly surprise you. While every prayer I’ve prayed has not come true, there have been other areas of my life where I’ve seen how it’s paid off. So pray, and allow the power of prayer to move in your life this upcoming year.

The Day I Became A Kidney Donor

About a year ago, I had a dream my dad wanted to talk to our family about something serious. I wasn’t sure what he wanted to discuss, but I knew it was something I needed to prepare myself for. Around the time after I had this dream, I remember stopping by my parents place and sensing something was going on that they weren’t telling me. I tried to dismiss what I’d been feeling, but I couldn’t shake it. Something serious was happening. As I returned to my home after visiting them one day, I was in my kitchen washing dishes when a heaviness hit my heart like nothing I’d ever felt before. Something’s wrong with dad. That’s what that dream was about. God, what’s going on? As I continued washing dishes, I started crying and praying. Then in mid-spring, my dad held an unexpected family meeting that would change all our lives forever. He hesitated at first, and as his voice started cracking and he started crying, he said, “Well, I wanted to talk to ya’ll to tell you that I have kidney disea...

I’m Glad I’m Not Married

When I was about five years old, I was sitting in the backseat of my dad’s car when me, him, my older cousin (my aunt’s son), and my aunt (my dad’s sister) caught my aunt’s fiancé with another woman. My dad had been driving my aunt out to run some errands since she didn’t have a driver’s license or a car. When she spotted her man with another woman, she told my dad to pull the car over, got out of the car, and immediately addressed him. She wanted the keys back to her apartment and was done with him. The other woman she caught her fiancé with slapped him when she realized what was happening, and that was that. When my aunt returned to the car, she was clearly and understandably upset, and the ride back to her place was quiet. Although I was too young to fully grasp what was happening at the time, I knew it wasn’t good. And now, at 34 years old, I can’t imagine how much pain she was in. Her wedding had been planned and paid for – and she never made it down the aisle. My aunt was a beaut...

How To Respond To A Nasty Email

Technology has made many people bold, rude, and incredibly messy. Often to the point where some may hide behind words they’ve typed instead of verbally communicating a message they want to convey. Such can be the case when it comes to sending emails. Ah, emails. You know what they are. Electronic messages that can be quickly drafted, sent, and misinterpreted (because you can’t always interpret tones or emotions through them). Which is why it’s key to know how to respond to nasty emails if they should ever come your way – especially in the workplace. As a working professional, there have been plenty of times when a coworker or superior sent an email my way that was petty, mad disrespectful, and unprofessional. And before I learned how to properly utilize email etiquette, my first instinct would always be to clap back. I just felt the need to respond and to communicate that I wouldn’t allow anyone, no matter who they were, to disrespect me. And while I haven’t taken t...

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