Hey there friends… happy hump day!!! Just when I thought I was back to the regular routine, I was supposed to be wheels up yet again and bound for Florida for the 2nd time in a week… this time a bit further south, AKA West Palm Beach, for a fun meet-up and photoshoot with Amanda Tress, the founder and creator the Faster Way to Fat Loss program that I’ve been raving about. I was going to get to meet my coach and new-found friend, Allie Janszen, and have a fun girls sleepover with Beth and Lauren at the Pineapple Pad [via the Palm Beach Lately ladies]–I was SO excited for a short overnight stay with a few of my favs and all things #FWTFL, but alas this mama is bound to the bed for the next 2-3 days because I went to the doctor yesterday after battling a cold for a few days and now I’ve got Type A Flu—ugggghhhhhhhh. Talk about timing, right?!?!
With this as the PERFECT segway, I wanted to get on here today to touch touch base about something I’ve been thinking about the past week since the clock struck midnight on January 1st–let’s talk all things goal setting, new year resolutions and getting a game plan in order for this brand new 2019.
Last year, I decided to stop the lengthy list of those attainable “resolutions” that I would most likely never fulfill and instead I focused on creating a record of ideas and inspiration for how I wanted to live. All in all, I can say within the past 365 days I did pretty well at accomplishing my ambitions that included:
Living in the Moment | Focusing on the Positive | Drink More Water | Volunteer More | Cleaning Out the Clutter | Do More Random Acts of Kindness
For 2019, I’ve decided to grasp onto one single word, in how I want to live, what I want to achieve, to make room for things that matter… I stumbled upon this graphic the other day and my word instantly stood out to me: INVEST.
The word INVEST means to devote (your time, energy, effort, etc) to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result. I’ve talked so much about positivity recently, especially in sharing daily quotes and affirmations via my Instagram stories and it’s been one of the best things I’ve done with my social media friends…
So, how do I plan to INVEST this year??
Funny enough, I should have seen this word coming/calling out to me. Caroline and Carson’s yearly school fundraiser is called “Invest” and I am slated to co-chair this campaign for the 2019/2020 school year. See, it’s crazy how things just make sense sometimes, right?? I closed my children’s store last August to be able to invest more time into my children and this is exactly what I talking about. So I’ll be investing more of my time, energy and skills into raising more money + funds for their school… something I’m super passionate about and cannot wait to tackle, all while getting to volunteer at their school and contribute to something so important!
Another big component of my very own investment is to invest more time into my hubby. Last year was a big challenge for us and our marriage… through career changes, loads of travel, both kids going to school, not to mention a huge home renovation–it was A LOT to tackle and I missed our quality time together. This year, I want to set monthly date nights so that we ALWAYS have something on the calendar… whether we go to a movie, hit up our favorite pizza joint, go to TopGolf, or just have a night at home for the two of us, I want more one-on-one time with my hubby. I’m already counting down until our trip to Italy in April–two weeks of just us roaming all over!! It’s going to be wonderful and I cannot thank my parents enough for telling us to go [although I think half of it is because they miss the girls living with them and want them all to themselves again–haha].
As seen above, I want to make this a year of reinvention… I want to focus more time and effort on my blog and social media presence, but I want it to achieve that with quality over quantity. I used to set this goal to blog 4/5 days a week and it was utterly exhausting–my creativity lacked, my content suffered and it became a chore rather than a passion. I want to reinvent how I partner with brands, how I complete my collaborations, how I decide what to write and publish–this is definitely a work-in-progress, but I am setting small goals for varying aspects of this career and will be changing things up a bit, all in the hopes to make this space even better AND happier. And by all means, constructive criticism is always welcomed and wanted… send me your emails with suggestions of content you’re looking to see, etc.
Most importantly, I want to invest more in myself. I’ve spoken frequently about the important of self-care and I need to look in the mirror when I say those words… as women, we are groomed to care for everyone around us and I am completely guilty of that, but I also need to make sure I am taking care of me, too [please tell me you saw Glenn Close’s acceptance speech at the Golden Globes Sunday?!?!? The perfect example of empowering ourselves to achieve greatness]. I plan to read more, do more of the things I love, take better care of my mind/body/soul and really dedicating time to my spiritual life and getting a closer relationship with God. With that, I am wanting to start my days off again with 5-10 minutes in thoughts/prayers/motivational talks to get my day started on the right foot. I’m also embarking on a brand new lifestyle with the Faster Way to Fat Loss, which you’ll be hearing more about… something I am just SO dang excited about!!
I want to make room for the things that matter. Saying no to things that don’t make sense so that I CAN say yes to the things I am passionate about. I’m a people pleaser by nature and a “yes” girl, but I need better balance and I know that admitting that is the only way I can be an advocate for change in that area of my life.
I need to cultivate those friendships that matter and also bid adieu to those toxic people/relationships/scenarios that only bring worry and negativity to my world. I was able to really live a lot more positively last year with some small changes I made [like not reading GOMI, blocking people that left me rude and nasty comments/messages, sharing happy quotes each day, etc] and I plan to continue to do that even more in 2019 = it feels SO damn good I promise!!
Finally, I want to move forward fearlessly. Mimi and I talked the other day about wanting to enjoy the moment we’re in now… not getting scared of what’s looming around the corner, not thinking about the next best thing, and so on, but really enjoying every single day when we’re in it and not getting anxious for what could happen. I think that is something that is so important to show Caroline and Carson and an area I have a lot of work to do personally. Last week was a shining example of actually allowing myself to go on vacation and step away from work for a few days… it felt absolutely amazing and you know what?!?! Everything was there when I came home, but I came back feeling energized, happy and with a full heart from some major quality time with my family.
So there you have it… my word of the year. I would absolutely LOVE to hear your word of the year if you do something similar, or write a comment with a few of your 2019 resolutions that you’ve made a note to conquer. We’re all in this together friends!! OXOX
Hope you feel better soon! My word is grateful. I need to be reminded how grateful I am for my health, my family, me dog, my side business and my full-time job. Cheers to 2019! ☺️??
My word of the year is FOCUS! I felt lost and distracted in 2018. I’m about to welcome my 3rd little boy into the world and I want focus on intentional time with my family, the last few months of my last pregnancy, goals I have for our family of five this year and of course my own personal and professional growth. Too often I get caught up in checking things off a list instead of stepping back and really evaluating if everything I’m doing is helping me achieve bigger goals and dreams!
absolutely LOVE that word Trish… perfect!!!!! intentional time is SUPER important — talking to myself here, too… cheers to a big year for your fam
It sounds like you and I are very similar! My word of the year is also invest! And, do take care of yourself! I had the flu over Thanksgiving and it turned into pneumonia! I have never been so sick! Take care and here’s to investing in a great 2019!
oh goodness Holly…. that just sounds horrible!!!!! thanks for the kind words and yes to all things INVEST
I love the idea of a word of the year! I am a high school English teacher and I even did an assignment for my students to pick one.
My word is consistent. I have habit of jumping all in with things and then not being able to uphold them. Like the typical exercise more, eat healthy, etc. My hope is that by keeping the word “consistent” in my head, rather than “oh that was my new years resolution,” will give me more results and motivation come June.