Happy Thursday! I can’t believe this weird post-holiday week is almost over – it has flown by. Although it was a much busier than normal day at work yesterday, it felt nice to have some of my routine back and get my schedule back in order.
For the last couple of months I have been obsessed with listening to podcasts while I do just about anything – work, clean, drive, and exercise just to name a few. One of my favorites is Gretchen Rubin’s “Happier” podcast. I was first introduced to her when I read her book The Happiness Project a long time ago and actually started my own little happiness project back on the blog last year.
When listening to her podcast the other day, she spoke about the idea of coming up with 18 “things” about 2018. These are not necessarily “resolutions”, but just things to accomplish. She talked about how adding things in is psychologically healthier, because you are not telling yourself that you can’t have something or have to stop doing something. I like looking at it this way, because I feel like resolutions are oftentimes like when your mom tells you that you can’t have a cookie before dinner when you were a little kid. At least for me, that only made me want the cookie more. There’s something ingrained in most of us as humans that when we are told we can’t have something, we only want it more. So why not flip the script on it?
I took my own spin on this project and as you’ll see, there are a few things I want to eliminate from my life this year. I couldn’t help it. But I do also have a lot of little goals, big goals, and random things I want to get done. I liked having a mix of items that can actually be crossed off the list and others that will hopefully be ongoing long-term. I can already tell you that some of the daily ones I have absolutely already messed up on and not completed, but my hope is that by the end of the year they are like second nature to me! Plenty of them also make me really uncomfortable to even type out, let alone actually do, but I know that stepping outside of my comfort zone is so good for me and is something I need to do way more often than I currently do.
So here are my 18 for 2018:
Finish writing my book. In December, I finally started writing the book I have always wanted to write and I want to finish it this year. Whether I will do anything with it or not, who knows, but it’s a start.
Cultivate a successful blog/brand/social media presence. I love writing this blog, but I want to grow it. I also want to grow on social media. I love Instagram and documenting my life, but oftentimes I’m way too shy to post things I want to. I want to grow the courage to share this blog and more of my life with you all and even with my friends and family. Most of them don’t know I write this!
Limit phone time to 30 minutes/day. Ha. This was a lofty goal. Maybe by the end of the year I’ll be better at it than I’ve been the last three days?
Learn a new hobby. Preferably something that has nothing to do with technology. I need more time away from the screen.
Spend more intentional time with Chris, not watching TV. We do a lot of Netflix-watching, which we both love, but I want to branch out with the things we do together.
Entertain people at our home at least once a month. I love hosting people, but we don’t do it nearly often enough. I know it will bring me so much joy to see our loved ones in our home, sharing a meal together.
Take a yoga teacher training certification course.
Organize/simplify all our stuff. I actually hope to accomplish this during the month of January. I am going to start purging our closets/drawers/random spaces this weekend and hope to tackle the basement (ugh) the following weekend. This will put a huge dent in accomplishing this one!
Build a wardrobe I am comfortable in and confident with. I feel like all I wear are yoga clothes and clothes from when I was a teenager. It’s time I get myself an adult wardrobe that I feel good in.
Keep working to tweak my nutrition habits to help me to feel and look the best possible. There are certain foods that I know don’t sit well with me that I just keep eating over and over. I really want to work hard this year to be intentional about these things and understand what is right for my body.
Cook at least one new recipe each week. We have so many cookbooks that just sit on the shelves. I want to open each and every one of them multiple times this year.
Send more birthday/”just because” notes to our friends and family. Is it just me or does getting married automatically make you feel like this is something you should be doing?
Talk less. Listen more.
Always be honest and authentic in my interactions.
Read, write, meditate, stretch, and sweat every single day.
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?
?
Maybe I shouldn’t use question marks for numbers 16-18 because I do know exactly what they are, but they are really personal so I didn’t want to outline them just yet. However, I am pretty darn certain that I will accomplish all three this year, so I will absolutely let you know what they were once I complete them! I will say this though – one has to do with work, one has to do with our marriage, and one has to do with growing our family. 🙂
My hope is that I can revisit this list at the end of December and speak to how this project went! And if it goes well, maybe there will be 19 for 2019? But I will definitely keep you updated on my progress through this list as the year goes on.
Your turn! Do you like this kind of resolution/goal-setting activity? Do you have anything you want to add to/subtract from your year?
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