Often we fail to see or appreciate the good in front of us. The annual Have Not Want Instagram Challenge is designed to help us look at our lives and our surroundings through fresh eyes.     Are you ready to see the haves in your life this November?  

Reflection and reassessment seem to go hand in hand with life changes, for example, becoming a parent or getting laid off. We look at what we've lost, rather than what we have. And we may realize that we had an amazing journey and forgot to take time to enjoy it.     It's often easy to get so caught up in the "busy-ness" of life. We're so focused on chasing and wishing that we neglect to pause and take stock.   November is the perfect time to do just that: take another look at our ordinary -- our everyday -- and value it. It's perfect not because of Thanksgiving, but because it's close to the end of the year. It's often the busiest month for many. So it's the perfect time while racing the clock to appreciate what we have. To take the Have Not Want Challenge.   Will you be joining me for the 2015 Have not Want Challenge?  

November is the perfect time to reflect on what we have and to appreciate those in our lives who support us. Before we get caught up in the pressure to buy things advertisers and the media say we need to be happy, let's spend the next thirty days focused on defining our needs, truly seeing the extraordinary in our everyday, and adopting a mindset where we look for the positive in our daily life.    

One of the biggest problem with New Year's Resolutions is that we set them and forget them for roughly 345 days. (Some of us -- not typically me -- make it through to the middle or end of January.)   In the past, I've been known to have completely forgotten my goals, a few days after New Year's has come and gone. If you struggle with your resolutions or objectives and goals as I like to call them, here's an action plan (a tried and true plan that I use with all of my clients).     If you ask anyone who knows me, they'll tell you I'm crazy organized. Give me a date and a goal and I'll come up with a plan for making it happen. Now when it comes to my own life outside of my clients, I'm not so organized. So, when I started thinking about this year's objectives and goals I was surprised to find I'd actually jotted down my 2013 goals (I often don't). More startling was the fact I'd achieved some of them! Immediately, I decided this year is ...

When times are tough, it can be hard to see the good in your life. To help me cope with cubes being in the hospital last month, I needed to remind myself daily to think about someone or something I was thankful for.     My daily "Grateful for" practice, got me thinking about my forgotten 365 Days of Thanksgiving project (at the moment there are only fifteen photos in my 2013 365 Days of Thanksgiving Flickr gallery) and the November 2013 HaveNotWant Challenge. How do you focus on what's important?  

It's easy to take the little things for granted. Fresh challah on Fridays for Shabbat. Family time on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings before Gates goes to daycare. But, when they're missing you realize how much they filled your life.     Friday August 16th, the path cubes' and my lives were on took an alternate route. What started as a day to ourselves, one begun toasting with Mimosas, ended with a brief trip to the Emergency Room (ER). Fast forward three weeks, after taking cubes to an out-patient procedure intended on preventing him from a return ER visit, we were back in the ER--a different ER, but an ER nonetheless.     Making Time for the Little Things In the time between cubes' two ER visits, I took a break from blogging. During that break, when I would normally style photo shoots, I spent time with my family and our friends. I had no idea that we'd be heading back to an ER, nor did I ever dream cubes would be enjoying an extended hospital stay...

Determining how to mindfully consume food is more challenging than you might think. When you've never looked at food as a budget item, how do you where to place your upper bound once you've eliminated (or reduced) delivery and eating out? Too low a number leaves you unsatisfied and hungry. Too high a number doesn't challenge you to really think about what you're putting on your plate and how it gets there.     If you're taking the HaveNotWant challenge for Lent , we're halfway through. Congratulations! Have you found it harder or easier than you thought?   Originally mindful consumption didn't cover food, as everyone needs to eat. After looking at our monthly food bills, mostly made up of delivery charges, I realized this was shortsighted and expanded my personal HaveNotWant challenge. And, discovered it's harder than it seems. I'm pretty sure everyone would agree that the convenience of delivery is a want not a need. But, is organic a want, not a...

Think it's easy to keep spending under control? Even when you have a big goal you're working towards? Guess again. It requires constant vigilance, the ability to forgive when you don't mindfully spend, and the willingness to continue trying.     In January, I had given myself a $200 budget for clothing and other non-essentials. As I was going to Salt Lake City for Alt Summit, I knew there would be baggage fees, so $120 of the $200 was immediately gone. (I can't carry a fully packed suitcase up and down stairs; to avoid the inevitable never ending stairs I go with two carry on rollerboards that I can carry up and down stairs. Depending on the type of the plane I'll carry on one or check both. They wouldn't fit in the overhead storage of the regional jet I was flying and in SFO we board from the tarmac so checking both was the easiest option.)   I planned to use the remaining $80 on tights that were replacements for ones that had gotten snagged and on pens and ...

It's Day 6 of the Mindful Consumption Challenge . How are you doing so far? Only buying what's budgeted? What you need?     “My motto is ‘buy less, choose well, make it last.' You should wait until you really need something before you buy it. In fact, don't buy this collection.” - Vivienne Westwood ( Source )   Saturday while I was at Code Salon, I stumbled across the October issue of More magazine. Besides Salma Hayek's photo, an article, Declutter Your Closet to Find Your True Style, caught my attention. One of the tenets of the Mindful Consumer's Mantra is "I will end the year with either the same amount or fewer possessions than I started the year with." As my closet is stuffed this seemed like perfect timing. (You can read the article online here .)   My takeaway from Jennifer Braunschweiger's experiment? Choose well initially and revisit regularly. In addition to the traditional year-end sort of items into Keep, Fix, Donate, or Trash p...

Today marks the start of the November Mindful Consumption Challenge . Is it all or nothing? No, like dieting it's everything in moderation, being aware of what you're buying, and making considered purchases.     Since our wedding in 2010, where consumption for no real reason is pushed down brides' throats, I've been trying to purchase gently loved items over brand new where it makes sense. (See today's In My Closet post for a sample outfit.)   Before that I frequently found myself sitting on my bed surrounded by bags of clothes purchased from the mall that I hadn't budgeted for. Sifting through receipts and trying to figure out what I could and couldn't return was stressful.   Despite attempts to save, I found myself taking money from savings to pay for the recent purchases. I was lucky that I could do that. Now, you might be asking what's the big deal, pay it off the next month. Nope, couldn't do that. After college, one of my only-spend-what-y...

It's said that money won't buy happiness. Yet, the US economy is fueled by consumer spending. More pointedly by ego -- the constant need to keep up with "The Joneses." Find out if you're immune.     In November, join me as I turn the focus inward as I make a conscious decision to be happy with what I have and challenge myself to be a mindful consumer. I was inspired to take the Mindful Consumption Challenge by Katie of Modern Eve , who in turn was inspired by Joselyn of Simply Lovely . I hope you'll be likewise moved.   Why November? A month where Black Friday and Cyber Monday signal incredible shopping? Amazing deals? Unheard of "savings"?   I'm choosing November because "I need" "I want" shouldn't overshadow giving thanks.   Can you be happy with what you have? Are you immune to ads, to blogs suggesting you need more?   Join me in being thankful for what we have today. Let's let go of expectations that maybe w...