Happy New Year, my friends! I hope you had a lovely time celebrating New Year’s Eve, and a fantastic start to your 2016! I had meant to post this last week, but found that I needed some more time to reflect and consider my hopes and goals for the next year. So now, one week in to 2016, I’d like to share with you my intentions for the coming months.
I’ve always loved the beginning of a new year because it feels like a chance to start anew. With fresh resolutions, we have the opportunity to refocus our priorities and reinvent ourselves – at least, that’s the hope. Many times, however, our resolutions are just too big. Faced with these overwhelming goals and tasks that we can’t begin to accomplish, we often let our aspirations slide to the back burner. And soon enough, another year has gone by and we’re still right where we started.
More than this frustrating cycle, however, is an issue with the fundamental assumption behind new resolutions: that we have big problems that need fixing in the first place. I’d rather focus on the good things in my life, and think about everything that I have to be grateful for. So this year, instead of devising a strict set of rules for myself under the guise of new resolutions, I’m reflecting on simple ways to lead my life in a positive direction. These intentions will help me to concentrate my efforts on a few key areas of my life – like health, career, and relationships. This year, I’m giving myself the chance to focus only on what is most important to me, and the grace to simply do my best.
Concentrate on feeling good.
Living a healthily balanced life is so important to me, and I’m always thinking about small tweaks to my daily routine that will help me to feel my best. I know that how my body feels on a day to day basis has an enormous impact on my outlook and attitude. So this year, I’d like to pour even more effort into ensuring that I treat myself well. This means nourishing my body with a wholesome diet – including plenty of fruits and vegetables, finding a way to move everyday, and getting enough sleep. It might also include using more natural beauty products or starting a new vitamin routine – really, it simply means helping my body to feel its healthiest!
Seek my place.
I’m still figuring out where I belong in this post-college, adult world, and – to be completely honest – sometimes I feel a little lost. I miss the solid and dependable social circle that I had at school, and I also struggle to define what my purpose is moving forward. I know that this is a continual process, but in 2016 I look forward to continuing this search – for friends, for hobbies, and within my career, too. This means pouring myself into the relationships that really matter. It means exploring this city I live in to find my own little niche. And it means seeking out what excites me and following my passions.
Embrace risk.
I realized just today that I put a whole ton of focus on organizing my life. On keeping it neat, tidy, and predictable – everything from my refrigerator to my morning routine. I seek this tidiness because it makes me feel safe and comfortable, but sometimes this can be confining, too. This year I want to branch out and give myself the chance to be a little risky. Whether that’s as small as a fun impulse purchase or as large as a solo, impromptu trip, I’m looking to expand my comfort zone and to live a little less organized.
*Have you thought of any intentions for 2016? Where do you plan to focus your energy in this coming year? Let me know in the comments!*
Glitter & Grace 