How are we already a week into 2019? The first part of a new year is always time to look back at the previous year & look forward to the year ahead. It’s a time of fresh starts & clean slates. I’ve spent some time over the last week reflecting on what 2018 brought & thinking about what I want to accomplish in the upcoming year. Today I’m excited to share my reflections on 2018 & my goals for 2019 with you!
Last year started off a little rocky & honestly, I just wasn’t in a good place last January, so I didn’t really set or share goals. I was in a funk & wasn’t taking care of myself or my relationships. I didn’t blog nearly as consistently as I wanted to over the year, didn’t keep up with social media engagement, & was feeling uninspired for much of the year. I spread myself too thin, took on too many commitments, & was just overwhelmed.
It’s always easier to look back & focus on everything that didn’t go right last year, but 2018 ended in a much better place than it began. Every year for Christmas, I make a Shutterfly album for Patrick with photos our year. Last year’s album has been a really wonderful way to focus in on all of the good things that happened. The biggest thing that happened in 2018 was getting engaged & then eloping! I’ll be sharing all of the details on that next week – why we secretly eloped, how we did it, & lots of pictures. We managed to squeeze in two cruises, one by ourselves in April one & the wedding cruise in October. We also took several weekend trips to Dallas & had some great times with friends.
In the past I’ve used Whitney English’s “Well-Designed Year” to set my yearly goals, but this year I decided to try Lara Casey’s “PowerSheets Intentional Goal Planner.” (I’m also loving the new podcast, “Cultivate Your Life“!) What I really enjoyed about working through the first part of the workbook was the focus on the question – where do you want to be when you’re 80? Rather than just looking one year ahead, you’re encouraged to look at the big picture & set goals that align with what really matters most to you. Keep reading for my 4 intentions for 2019!
Just say no.
Patrick will be the first to tell you that I over-commit myself by saying “yes” to just about everyone & everything. It drives him crazy & it leads me to burnout, which is how I ended up starting out last year in such a bad state. Does anyone else say “yes” to something, only to dread the project, event, whatever it is, when the time comes to actually work on it, go to it, etc? This year I need to really stick to my guns & say “no” more often so that I can have more free time to focus on the things that I really care about – friends & family, growing this blog, my health. This doesn’t mean that I won’t say “yes” to volunteer opportunities, I’ve already committed to co-chairing our Krewe’s Coronation Bal in August because our captain is someone I care about & it was important to be part of her year & I will continue to be committed to my ZTA chapter as an advisor. But, I do need to be more choosy about what I choose to say “yes” to this year.
Invest in my marriage.
As most of you know, Patrick & I got married in October 2018, so I guess that we’re still in the “honeymoon” phase of our marriage. We’ve also been together for 7 years & have lived together for 5 years, so it doesn’t always feel that way. But I want to make it a point this year to enjoy this next step in our relationship & really focus on enjoying our first year of marriage. Because we’ve been together for so long, it’s important not to take each other or our relationship for granted. This means making making it a point to schedule (& keep) regular date nights & putting away the phones more often to spend time together.
Take care of my body
Ok guys, I’m going to be honest here – I really love McDonald’s french fries & I really dislike working out. But, over the years, that combination has caught up with me & I ended 2018 feeling unhappy with my body & just kind of blah overall. I want to be really clear here – this is not solely about losing weight, I know that I am not incredibly overweight. A number on the scale is not the end goal here, the goal is to be healthier, to live a longer life, & to feel better on a daily basis. Part of taking care of my body means that we need to start cooking healthy meals at home & I need to bring my lunch to work with me. I’m ordering an Instant Pot to help speed up meal prep, so send any great recipes my way! I also need to kick my soda habit & drink more water. Another part means that I need to get off my naturally lazy butt & get active. I’m starting the BBG program next week, so I’ll keep you posted on how that’s how going.
Grow this blog.
Blogging can be overwhelming sometimes. There are so many resources out there, so many ideas on how to succeed, & so many people to tell you what you should be doing as a blogger. Sometimes I have no idea who I should be listening to or what I should be doing. The bottom line is that I started this blog as a creative outlet & that I want to provide useful content to anyone who visits this site. This year I am committing to posting here 3 times a week, increasing my Instagram posting & engagement, & providing more valuable content (I’m thinking recipes, honest discussions, & more beauty). I want this to be a place where you can get fashion inspiration, but also a place to connect & share ideas, & to share what’s going on in my life. I don’t want to just show the “highlight reel.” So, with that said, expect a little more real life around here & on my social media!
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