HELLO, AND HAPPY New Year 2020 LOVELIES, It's the second week of the year, and I'm just sitting here munching on my favorite Divine chocolate, dreaming about the new year. Yes, exactly. I'm dreaming! I loved listening to author Mel Robbin's audiobook The 5 Second Rule, and now I'm doing her Best Decade Ever challenge this month. The first point she reminded us of is that it's so essential to permit yourself to dream. I'm down with that. Hitting the new year reset button also reminded me how much I miss writing fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog articles. It wasn't intentional to stop writing - I simply let life get in the way. So, here I am back at it. I thought about lots of topics that I could kick off the year with, but in the end, I decided to get real with you all because if I can't be me, then how am I showing up for you?
2019 started with the best of intentions and then I hit a bumpy patch when I discovered that I had ongoing Vertigo. In my entire life I have rarely ever gotten sick. To say that I was freaked out by this was an understatement. After seeing many specialists and taking lots of tests, we discovered that I was anemic and also stress was a trigger. Fortunately, we were able to add in some key vitamins and sort it out. You would think that I would have learned from that, but I didn't. By the last half of the year, I got very over-extended. Once again my wellbeing was compromised. It was all such a shock to me that, sadly, rather than prioritizing what feeds my spirit to fuel my way through the journey, I instead shut down. I moved into "surviving" instead of "living" my life. Why? Because I was foolish. I put others ahead of myself, and didn't make sure that I was being loved and supported too. By December, I realized that the entire year flew by, and I didn't even get to appreciate it. Me, the gal who is always telling everyone else to make the most of life, had done the exact opposite.
SHOP MY INSPIRATION
Feeling very vulnerable, I couldn't help but reflect back on what I love most in life. I used to be a global travel queen yet I had done zilch travel. I stopped writing my blog. I barely got to see my girlfriends the entire year let alone host the fun social events that I used to do because my greatest joy is filling a space with love and laughter. I didn't go to my beloved Korean spa one single time when going monthly was my previous norm. I couldn't even remember the last opportunity I had been treated to a concert or the theater when I've always loved both so much. And books. I used to plow through one book a week. I went back and looked - I only read three books in all of 2019! Now, I don't want to play sob story victim and I'm certainly not a superficial person. But, I did feel like 2019 was just the year of give, give, give. I bent myself repeatedly for the dreams of others even when it meant downgrading my own. The tipping point came at the end of the year when I realized that somehow I missed something…myself. Sound familiar to anyone else?
So, here's how I'm starting in 2020. I remembered how amazing I am, released what's no longer serving me, kicked myself in the ass, and guess what - I'm not looking over my shoulder anymore. My motto this year is "value me," and I've even got a song - Radicals, "You Get What You Give." I hit the Korean spa right away. I planned out my first two months of blog articles - so excited for the fashion, beauty and lifestyle tips coming your way soon. I've scheduled play dates with my besties. I found an epic book series, The Seven Sisters, which is so good that I finished the first book in three days!!! Plus, I'm currently curled up in the lushest robe because let's face it, all book queens own one - along with a supa dupa hot pink H2O bottle…and I'm dreaming. I'm dreaming about where I want to travel to next, epic love, what concerts are coming to LaLa land so I can get my groove back on, and how maybe just maybe rather than making 2020 resolutions, it's better to live my life one empowering day at a time. I'm smiling, I'm laughing, and I'm back!
Perhaps you feel like I do that it's fantastic to have a self-care commitment for 2020, but you don't really want to go the resolutions route? I get it! Fortunately, there are alternatives. If you don't feel like making New Year's resolutions this year, here are other ideas to do instead.
Choose a word of the year for 2020. Rather than trying to “fix” something about yourself, choose one word that sums up how you want to feel in 2020. Let positive energy flow into the word that embodies everything that you want to work on, such as “abundant,” or “peaceful.” Carry this word within your heart and apply it to your daily endeavors throughout the year.
Shift your mindset from outcome to intention. Resolutions often focus on the final outcome rather than the journey of intention. Reframe your mindset. Cultivate mindful moments of that will bring you joy - anytime and anywhere.
Show up for a 30-day challenge instead of 365 days. Pick a list of twelve 30-day challenges and complete one for each month of the year. A 30-day challenge consists of setting a small goal that can be achieved in 30 days, along with daily actions that move you towards that achievement. The list of challenges is endless - weight wellness, organization, fitness, relationships, new skills. Jumpstart whatever flips your fancy.
Treat yourself to a self-care deck of cards. Nothing is more exhausting than endlessly working on yourself. Just coming up with one thought can feel painful if you’re not sure where to start. Instead, why not invest in a deck of inspiration cards and offer it up to the universe daily. There are so many inspirational card decks out there to access. Pick a set that resonates for you and then kick off each morning with the ritual of reading a random card from the pack.
Bring on the bucket list. This I can be so much fun because you’re listing things that you want to be, do, and experience before the year is over. The checklist is about your desires, and it supports you by providing a framework to build out the specific rewards that you want to receive. Go play with the dolphins, finish a novel in one week, cook up a platter of paella or cruise down the Nile. The end of the rainbow is closer than you think.
Five Seconds Rule. It takes five seconds to redshift the brain’s thoughts. That means every day when you wake up; you have five seconds and five words to shape your day into precisely the best day ever. Ready, set, go.
Highlight the things that you do well, not what you need to change. Who decided that you needed to change in the first place? Every experience, every flaw, every talent and every growth year of this jumbo life has shaped you into who you are today. Sometimes it’s of more value to celebrate unique aspects of yourself rather than trying to fix yourself. After all, love is the single best medicine in life that exists.
Cheers to 2020!!!
All Photo Credits: Leah Jonas
You rock my friend. And know that I am right here for you for the meh and the fab. Always.