Bring it on, new year!

Bring it on, new year!

2016 was good to me. I married my best friend, we had a blast in Europe and I shared so much love, laughter and joy with friends and family.

So, if 2015 was a year of loss and 2016 was a year for recovery, then 2017 is my year for renewal! There are so many reasons I’m excited for the new year. We return to our home and plan to travel with family and friends. I feel way more confident in my skills and abilities, and I’m determined to pursue and accomplish the things I want. For once, I’m READY!

So, despite the plethora of resolution blog posts today, I’m adding another one to the pile. I have many resolutions and goals for 2017 and I summed them up into six categories. This is my declaration, see you on the other side!

Fear less, challenge is not the enemy

I fear failure, tasks seem impossible, I procrastinate and I’m “too busy.” These are all my excuses when I’m afraid to change and take on a challenge. My attitude changed at the YWiB Beyond Conference. I had an AHA moment when a speaker said,

“Often times, we don’t remain in a state of discomfort long enough to let it transform us.”

It’s true and this applies to all realms of life! I’m done feeling helpless, unfulfilled apathetic and “stuck”. I intend to fear less and set aside my self-doubts. I will embrace a challenge and the unknown. I will say “yes” to more opportunities. I WANT to grow in my professional and personal life, and my wants outweigh my fears at this point.

Practice gratitude

I hate to admit this, I was jealous of the opportunities, accomplishments and life circumstances of others this year. I am not a jealous person, so this felt yucky and I felt ugly. So, why now? I realised it’s easy to be grateful when life is going your way, but gratitude counts most when life is difficult. I let my fears and insecurities take over and I’m not proud of it. Next time, instead of jealousy I will choose to feel inspired. I have A LOT to be grateful for and I intend to remember that more often, whatever my situation.

Choose health

I’m finally at the age where my body and mind feel the stress of long days and busy schedules. If you know me, this is a long time coming. I need more sleep and down time. I need to keep the exercise routine I worked so hard to establish this year. While I eat pretty well, I can make better daily choices. I genuinely love my body and mind, both showed me great strength this year. I need to respect the care and rest they both deserve.

Learn more

In the spirit of my first resolution, I want to learn the following things:

German: I fell in love with Berlin and I (half) joke I’d move there. Why not make this joke a little more realistic?
Spanish: I was born in Peru and I don’t speak the language fluently. It’s about time I stopped being lazy.
Make Jewellery: I ALWAYS wanted to do this and something tells me I’d be good at it. I’ll never know unless I try.

Financial Responsibility

This deserves so much attention. I’m not completely useless and I do make a point to save each month, but I’m not financially literate. There’s no excuse for this! There are so many online resources to educate yourself. I know I have to invest smarter and spend less, I can’t avoid taking this seriously anymore.

Self-Love

I have a lot of self-love, but there are areas in my life I feel insecure. Inadequacy could strike after scrolling through social media or listening to a humble bragger. Whatever the trigger, the thought is the same, “I’m not good enough”, “I wish I could do that” or “I’m not doing enough.” It’s hard not to compare yourself to others, we see awesome updates from people’s lives all the time. I do my best to catch myself, but I do need a reminder from time to time. I recognise this stems from my own confidence complexes and I need to celebrate myself more. Not brag, but acknowledge the things I’m proud of are worthwhile and good enough. 🙂

Thanks everyone for your support this past year. I wanted to start this blog a long time ago and I stumbled many times. When I launched, I appreciated all your kind and encouraging words. You’re the best and I hope your new year is as amazing as you!