Shiny Words of Wisdom for the New Year, starring Jane Fonda

Maybe we've been watching too much of the OWN channel, but we wanted to share a few words of wisdom and then give away a My Shiny Monkey tee to get the year started off right.

Shiny Words of Wisdom for 2012:

-- Gratitude. We started a gratitude journal, listing each day five things that I noticed that I'm grateful for. They could be as small as someone holding the door for me to starting a new yoga class (yep).  We've got a new attitude of gratitude.

-- Slow it down/mindfulness. Monkeys move way too fast... sure, swinging from tree to tree is fun, but someone's gonna drop at some point.  Slowing down, taking a look around, and making time for the little things is so important.  Even monkeys take a moment to pick little goodies out of each other's fur. 

-- Breathe. Mindfulness includes slowing down, making healthier choices, and remembering to Just. Breathe. More.

-- Focus.  After watching Jane Fonda on Oprah's Master Class (a great show), she only started realizing both happiness and success on her terms after she regained focus in her "third chapter".  Tweens are in their first chapter, but it is a good idea to realize that your life has phases... and it's never to late to change.

-- Perfection. For Type A parents and kids, it's tough to lose the notion of perfection: everything has to be perfect in order for it to be "right" or in order for you to be "normal". I think it's better to be "the best I can, right now." Here's a cool clip by Jane Fonda on how an encounter with superstar Greta Garbo taught her that we are not meant to be perfect, we are meant to be WHOLE. 

Leave your name and email in the comments with which words of wisdom resonate for you, or share some of your own, and we'll choose one randomly to win a My Shiny Monkey tee to start off 2012 in style.

Happy New Year, monkeys!