Shonda Rhimes's tips to achieving your best year yet

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1. BE A DOER.
Instead of pinning your hopes for the future on a pipe dream or two, Shonda advises action over everything. As it turns out, she never envisioned herself as a TV writer, but was actually following in the footsteps of Nobel laureate Toni Morrison. “You just have to keep seizing the next opportunity… It doesn’t have to fit your vision of the perfect job or the perfect life.”

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2. FORGET COMPROMISE.
Drawing inspiration from 'Grey’s Anatomy' character Cristina Yang, a woman who found her happiness by refusing to settle, Shonda’s appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' came with one major caveat: that the segment be pre-taped. “I kept all my pieces,” she says. “[Saying] yes felt like the sun.”

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3. SPEAK UP.
If something doesn’t feel right, just say so. Shonda first learned to assert herself professionally during the screening process for the 'Grey’s Anatomy' role of Cristina Yang and that, she says, was the moment she truly began steering the ship.

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4. TAKE CHARGE.
One of the scariest changes Shonda made was in relation to her health, she says. Over the years, as she began shutting down emotionally, the pounds began piling on. But after being too embarrassed to request a seat-belt extender on a recent flight, the writer knew it was time for a change and has since lost more than 115 pounds.

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5. MAKE TIME FOR PLAY.
Nothing, according to Shonda, lights up her world more than the sight of her three kids — but as a busy mom she found herself unable to commit to quality family time that is until she learned to say "yes" to playtime. “Making it a steadfast rule allows me to peel away some of the work pressure,” she explains. “To know I ‘don’t have a choice’ means I don’t feel any guilt.”

Photo: Getty Images

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Shonda Rhimes' tips to achieving your best year yet

By Nicole Carrington