Hi, friends! Allen and I have returned from Guatemala (you can see our travel adventures here). As for starting the new year ahead…. I may be a week late, but I am so glad to be here and getting back into the swing of things. You too? New year, new goals. Let’s do this, 2017!
I love fresh starts, and that’s what this new year brings for me.
This year, I want to make intentional and sustainable changes that improve my life. Yes, yes…we all want to be healthier, fitter, more balanced in the new year. But beyond just saying these things and vowing to work out and eat healthier for the foreseeable future, I want to make genuine lifestyle changes and changes in the way I perceive myself and my life. Changes that affect who I am to the core and bring out…well…a better me.
After giving it much time and thought, I’ve developed three things I’m focusing on this year to change the way I live my life.
ONE // Start early. Weather it’s starting a homework assignment the first day it’s assigned, or returning an email the first time I’ve read it, I want to be better about starting earlier. My perfectionism tends to keep me from starting things when I should, leading to procrastination and an overwhelming sense of dread, guilt, and stress. All of which affect my health physically, mentally, and emotionally. Starting earlier on things, I’m hoping, will help me to better deal with the responsibilities and opportunities I have in my life.
TWO // Make time for what matters. (And don’t worry as much about out what doesn’t.) Decide what matters most to me and spend time cultivating it. If something doesn’t add value to my life or others, I shouldn’t be doing it. Recently I’ve come to believe that life is all about the people you go through it with. At the end of the day, our life, our relationships, our stories are what define us. Whether it’s making time to maintain old friendships, or putting myself in potentially uncomfortable situations to form new ones (#awkwardintrovert), I want to spend more time on what matters most–people, relationships, stories, and most of all love. These things won’t just happen on their own and I can’t expect anything to change if I don’t do something to change it.
THREE // Be more authentic with myself. I’ve always prided myself on being authentic here on Cupcakes and the Cosmos. That has always and will always be the case. But recently I’ve found that I’m not always authentic and honest with my own self. Wanting to do something and needing to do something are two very different things, and often indistinguishable to me. When you’re passionate about something, you should do it, no questions asked, right?
If I’m being completely honest with you, the past two years have been some of the hardest of my life, with the last year giving me challenges and struggles in facets of my life I thought I had figured out. Turns out, I’m not Wonder Woman and I can’t do it all at the level I want to do it. It’s not that I’m not good enough or that I’m not putting in enough time or trying hard enough. It’s that I physically can’t do it. And I shouldn’t hold myself to the unrealistic of expectation that I can.
It’s about not holding myself to expectations that I can never fulfill, and instead being content with the things I can do. So this year, I’m going to be more honest with myself and prioritize what I need to do over what I want to do (and not trying to do it all). Namely I’ll be focusing on: figuring out what I want to do with my life and providing myself with a healthy mind and body to do so. (And not allowing myself to cover up these truths with excuses or illusions I create.)
All that being said…
I’m looking forward to this year and all the changes it will bring–even those unforeseen to me now. But I’m most excited about taking back a little bit more of my life and embarking on a new journey to find what really makes me happy.
…a journey that may not be glamorous or free of awkward, uncomfortable moments….but one that is honest and authentic and true to myself.
What about you? What changes are you making this year?
You might also like…Five Ways to Start the Year Right and Thoughts on Choosing Happiness.
Photos by Noah Berg
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Get the Look…
Sweater: J. Crew (similar here, here) | Jeans: 7 For All Mankind (similar here, here) | Shoes: J. Crew Factory (similar here, here, here, here) | Purse: Gap (similar here, here, here)
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