(ENG only) I bet all of you are starting to look back at this 2018 that is coming to an end. Trying to figure out what went well, what you’re proud of, what you were able to accomplish and achieve and what didn’t work out, what you failed at and are not exactly excited about. If I look back at 2018… oh well. It wasn’t all peaches. I certainly had things that made me happy though and I am incredibly grateful for everything that happened this year. Somehow even for the not so happy things that happened. I used to think that bad life events were annoying permanent scars, unwanted reminders of my failures and imperfections. But this year I have come to realize how much they are valuable and precious. Because “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. It sounds incredibly cliche but it is true. And the reality is that we change, our lives changes, things happen. So what we set as goals or resolutions at the beginning of the year might not have the same value anymore at the end of it. Plus, we are human. And we have to learn to accept ourselves for who we are.
For example, this year there are a bunch of things I didn’t do because I realized that other priorities came along the way and I wasn’t so focused on certain goals as I thought I would be. On my 2018 bucket list, I wrote goals that I didn’t worked on this year: I didn’t learn Spanish, again (or does watching Narcos count as a Spanish lesson? 🙈); I didn’t do as many travels as I originally wanted; I didn’t go to a nutritionist to improve my vegan diet, to name a handful of them. But. I did so much and I want to give myself credit for it: I started taking more care of my mental health; I took the decision of no longer working full time; I reached over 12k on Youtube and exponentially increased the readership of this blog; I did fewer travels as planned but oh boy, they were good; I made some new experiences and met new people and new friends; I was able to keep on reducing my waste and become more conscious about the changes I can still implement as a human in terms of environmental impact; I started working with a couple of conscious and ethical brands; I went to many concerts; I’ve read some great books and learned new things; I’ve successfully completed a 100 days shopping ban. And this is a lot.
This year I am going to try a different approach. Instead of making a vision board like I did in 2017 or a bucket list like in 2018, I am going to spread my goals into the four quarters of the year. In this way I am going to periodically check on myself, how I feel and change things along the way depending on what happens and how I feel, instead of just looking at the big picture. General and vague resolutions usually don’t work for me, so I thought that breaking my goals and dividing them into the whole year is going to be an approach that will work. After all the struggles of 2018, I want to make this year count. The truth is, we only have control over ourselves and our actions. So the best thing we can do is focus on them and make sure that we do our best every single day and we keep on showing up for ourselves.
I have some new goals and challenges ahead already, like finding myself a new job, working part time so I can have more time for myself and the things I love (and one of them being my online content), getting myself inked again (I have a couple of ideas already…), getting my work visa renewed, planning exciting trips and events to attend, and in different ways, check more on myself and how I feel, physically and mentally.
This is going to be the last post of 2018 on this blog . In this first year and something of this blog, I hope I have made something to bring some value into your life. I have always made my best to share with you valuable content and I’ll keep on doing it in 2019 also, here as well as on Youtube. I am incredibly grateful for each one of you readers, viewers, followers and I thank you for being here, reading watching liking my comment and and for your constant support.
I wish you all the very best and a wonderful 2019. Which are your goals for the upcoming year? Anything your leaving behind and getting rid of? Do you make any resolutions at all? I’d love to know what you will be up to next year!!
xoxo
Jen
PS. In case you’ve missed them, here’s some content I’ve posted in 2018 that hopefully will keep you inspired for a fresh start in 2019:
30 DAYS OF LESS: a simple guide for less stuff, less clutter, less stress
HOW TO START A SHOPPING and STICK TO IT
BENEFITS OF A MINIMAL WARDROBE
3 THINGS TO GET RID OF BEFORE 2019
5 AMAZING THINGS MINIMALISM CAN DO FOR YOU
HOW TO SAVE MONEY AND LIVE ON LESS
SOCIAL MEDIA MINIMALISM & DIGITAL DETOX: 5 TIPS
6 HACKS FOR A CLUTTER FREE HOME
Happy Hogmanay to you! I have really enjoyed reading your posts for the last few months in 2018 – roll on 2019!!
Author
Happy new year to you too Gillian! and thank you for your support, it means a lot!