This is the year of emotional strength. I swear, every single day I realize how exercising is NOT the primary indicator of my mood and happiness, though I’ve spent years thinking that was the key. Yes, it’s true that exercise and eating well will determine how you feel, however, if it’s not coupled with prioritizing your mental health in other ways, those things alone won’t make you happy.
I’ve really grown to be an extremely self-aware person and now, at the age of 26, I am more in tune with my emotions than ever. And this, my friends, is how I find that I am truly going to live my happiest life. It’s most certainly not all about what my body looks like. It has everything to do with how I feel.
I challenge you to set some goals this year that have nothing to do with your physical fitness. You are more than your weight.
1. BE OKAY ON MY OWN. Embrace being alone. Embrace all the feelings that go along with being alone after a break-up. Allow myself to feel all the things, acknowledge them, and let them go. Nothing is the end of the world. I know I’ll always find a way to persist. I’m excited to learn more about myself as time on my own goes along, things that I wouldn’t be able to discover by being in a relationship.
2. MORE INTENTIONAL WITH TIME. I tend to waste a lot of time doing things I don’t want to do or that aren’t bettering me in some way. Time is so precious and my days of endlessly scrolling through social media or binging trash tv are (mostly) over. We need to be protective of our time – do things that make YOU happy, not what you think you should do to make other people happy.
3. PAY OFF MY STUDENT LOANS. I graduated from UW-Madison in May 2017 with more debt than I currently make in a year’s pre-tax salary (love that for me). It is a constant weight holding me back, knowing in the back of my mind that I owe somebody something. I’ve made it a priority to shovel all extra money towards my student loans and have made great strides. This is the year where I become debt-free.
4. READ ONE BOOK PER MONTH. Knowledge is power. I just want to want to learn constantly. Reading puts me to sleep, not going to lie, but practice makes perfect. I mostly like to read non-fiction books because they’re more applicable to real life. Book recommendations? Let me know!
5. BE MORE PATIENT. This has always been a weakness for me. My anxious ass is constantly on that go-go-go, get-the-f-out-of-my-way mentality. Let’s take driving for example: I realize that getting from Point A to Point B 60-seconds slower doesn’t really matter, but yet I choose to stress out about the slow Prius in front of me instead of staying level-minded. I don’t always need to be in a hurry. Life could be much more enjoyable.
6. PLAN MY SOCIAL MEDIA. I started this blog and Instagram account to be HELPFUL and I feel like I’ve lost my way a bit. If I take the time to sit down to think about my intentions and what would be helpful, I know I can do better. I also will be posting 1 blog weekly.
7. BE A BETTER FRIEND. It really takes a lot of me to commit to plans that involve me being social. The worst part is always leaving the house. I truly find myself dreading most plans. Once I get up and out, I am always so happy I did – I feel refreshed mentally after spending time with good friends. I’m working on myself to be a better friend to the people who I love.
Cheers to a happy new year, friends!