Happy 2016! Take My Challenge & Pick Some New Years Resolutions!

(click here for a raw shot)

The first day  of 2016 is already over and usually people make a bunch of new year’s resolutions which they then break before Valentine’s day. The past few years my resolution has just been to focus more on myself, build up my confidence and do things that make me happy. Pretty vague I know, but it’s easier because these are things I try to do regardless. This way I can feel more accomplished at the end of the year.

This year I thought I would do something a bit different. Instead of thinking up resolutions for myself, I thought I would think up some resolutions for YOU guys, my readers. I’m going to share a list of things that I think you guys should attempt to do in 2016, both RL and SL related and I would love to see you guys accomplish at least one of these things.

Here are my list of resolutions for you guys:

1. TED Talks to inspire New Year’s Resolutions – I am a big fan of TED talks. Not only do I find them informative, but also quite inspirational. I’m asking you guys to watch at least 2 of the 12 talks listed on that page. If you watch all of them, even better. They range anywhere from just a few minutes to about 20 minutes. I strongly recommend: How to make stress your friend and Your body language shapes who you are. These two talks alone will make you feel like you can conquer anything.
2. Try a mesh head and wear it for at least 24 hours – Some of you have already converted over to mesh heads and have become loyal to them. But there are still a lot of you that are strongly against them. I thought it would be interesting to get you guys to open up a bit and try it out. Currently Genesis Lab is having a massive sale at their new mainstore. All of their body appliers are FREE (they have updated their Maitreya appliers – warning nudity in this link) and some of their mesh heads are on sale for up to 50% off. They also have a little gacha area where they have numerous mesh heads in gacha machines for only L$100 or L$75 a pull. Also, if you join their inworld group (which usually costs L$250 to join) you will get a wide selection of mesh heads for free. I am wearing the Lara mesh head that I got as a group gift because I’ve been in the group since the last time I blogged the Sunny head which I had also gotten as a group gift and is still available in the store. So the Genesis Labs VIP Inworld Group is definitely one you want to stay in. I hope those of you that have not yet tried a mesh head give it a chance this year. You can check out my mesh head category on my blog to see all of the ones I have reviewed so far and I have also made two YouTube playlists that you might find informative: Male Mesh Heads in Second Life and Female Mesh Heads in Second Life
3. Vote! – If you are in a country where there are no elections this year, take a moment and encourage some of your social media friends to vote. For my fellow Americans, this is a really important year for us. I want to encourage you all to start paying close attention to the Presidential election. We have only one month till the Primaries start. February 1st is the Iowa Caucus.  If you have not registered to vote as of yet, please do so now. Along with that, it’s also very important, if you live in a closed state like I do (Florida) that your registration shows you are affiliated with the party you wish to vote for or you will not be eligible to vote for them in the Primaries. To see if you live in a closed State, please check out this website. If you are not sure who to vote for as of yet, take the ISideWith quiz and see which candidate suits your beliefs best. You can also watch all of the upcoming debates to make your decision. Here is the debate schedule: 2016 Debate Schedule. When I did the quiz I got Bernie Sanders and he’s the one I’ll be voting for.
4. Donate and/or Volunteer – Find a cause that is near and dear to your heart and take action. It’s a great feeling to help others in need, even if you feel you don’t have much to give. If you are not sure where to start, Give.org and VolunteerMatch.org are great websites to get some ideas from. But even helping out a friend or neighbor is a wonderful way to pay it forward.
5. Start a meme – As annoying as they are to some, memes and challenges are a great way to interact with the community. Make it an image meme, a blog meme, anything. Something SL related and leave it in the comments so we can all participate!
6. Comment – Leave a comment on a blog that you never have before. Find something that catches your eye and let them know your appreciation. It doesn’t have to be an SL-related blog, but if you are looking for a blog to comment on, you can check out my blogroll for some interesting blogs.
7. Reconnect – Look at your friends list in SL (or any social network) and see if anyone has fallen off your radar whose company you really enjoyed, and just send them a message to let them know they are in your thoughts.
8. Explore Second Life – Take a moment to visit the LEA sims, because this is art that the Lab supports for us, the residents. The Linden Endowment of the Arts is an official Linden Community Partnership program whose purpose is to help new artists, cultivate art in SL, and foster creativity, innovation, and collaboration within the art community. You can also explore other parts of SL, look for places in the Destination Guide or my Explore Second Life flickr group.
9. Give thanks – I think we all need to stop and take a moment to appreciate what a wonderful platform we’ve got here. Second Life lets us connect with people all over the world and some of us even make a living here. Most of the time, we’re all pretty hard on the Lab. No matter what they do, I always see people find a reason to complain about it. So take a moment and let the Lindens know that you appreciate the work they do and the platform they provide. You can send them a message on Twitter to their Second Life or Linden Lab accounts or leave it on their my.secondlife profile or any of their other social networks!
10. Start a daily mantra for yourself – I blogged about this last year and it really works. I have been saying this mantra to myself every morning for over a year now and I have to tell you, 2015 was a big year of growth for me. I feel so much better about myself, my work, my goals and just life in general. So here it is, my mantra. I have this written on a piece of paper near my desk and I repeat it to myself every morning. Feel free to save the image, print it out, or make up your own mantra. I sincerely encourage you guys to do this because it really made a difference for me:
    

So that’s the whole list! I hope you are able to accomplish at least ONE of these things; but imagine if you did all of them? You have a whole year to do them so lots of time. Please do let me know in the comments if you decide to do any of them, it’ll definitely put a smile on my face.

I’m hoping this coming year is full of peace, love and happiness for everyone. Happy new year! <3

What I’m wearing:
*Mesh Body: Maitreya Mesh Body – Lara V3.4 by Onyx LeShelle
Mesh Head: Genesis_Head_Lara_2.0 by GenesisLab (group gift)
*Eyes: IKON Charm Eyes – Grey by Ikon Innovia
*Hair: .LeLutka.Adriana hair. by Thora Charron
*Jewels: MG Ananya by Maxi Gossamer