What I'm Ditching in 2019
It’s that time of year again. The holiday season is coming to a close (RIP, gone too soon), and the end of the year is upon us. If you have been here for long enough, you know good and well that I am a very large proponent of reflection. A personal audit of sorts. Though it’s important to do this more than just at year’s end, the December year-end conclusion is a large milestone that draws the largest amount of introspection. The “clean slate” of the New Year and seemingly endless possibilities that the next 365 days can hold can feel just as exciting as your 8 year old self opening presents on Christmas morning.
In the traditional sense of setting goals, it’s about moving forward, achieving more and GAINING something new. Whether it be learning a new skill, getting a promotion at work, finally opening that business, etc these types of goals keep us achieving new heights and crossing new mile markers. But as I set my goals for 2019, more often than not, they are about doing LESS or LOSING. As I’m getting older, maturing, working through trials…I’m increasingly more aware that doing less of something provides equivalent gain overall. So in today’s post, I wanted to share some of my goals for the New Year that are not about more, but less.
Majoring in Minor Things | There are so many times in the past year that I expended so much time and energy on things that are relatively insignificant. Why on earth did I spend hours mulling and stewing over the words of one single person with which I may never hold another conversation? Why did I get so fussy that the lady took my spot in the parking lot even though I had my blinker on? By allowing myself to waste my peace on something that matters so little, I said no to productivity, positivity and personal happiness in those moments. All for what? Not a single thing. I did nothing but sacrifice myself in that moment. And the cumulative total of the amount of time I wasted in 2018 worrying and fussing about insignificant things is a scary concept.
Frivolous Spending | Real talk moment: I like stuff. I like the feeling of purchasing, buying and having new (often times unnecessary) things. And I have been guilty of using spending as a crutch. As an excuse to be lazy when I don’t want to cook dinner when I have a mountain of food in the refrigerator, or when I had a rough day at work and think something pretty will help get my mind off of things. It’s a dangerous precedent and in 2019, I’m determined to break it. Because the life/financial goals T and I are working toward in the next 5-8 years are FAR more important than another $40 bag from TJ Maxx.
Lazy Morning Routines | I have learned so much about the power of a purposeful morning this year. The trajectory of my day can be smooth sailing or completely derailed by the way I handle those first few hours after I wake. One of the vision words I established for myself in 2019 is discipline, and that starts very first thing in the morning. January will be the month of experimenting, building and establishing my ideal morning routine for productivity to have a much more determined day. Just as I stated in this blog post, it’s all about being kind to your future self.
Posting Uninspired Content | Confession: I’m guilty of being a copycat in the social media world. When scrolling through the 100K+ blogger list, you find a lot of the same and as they have been successful in their uniform content creation, I used that to define what a successful blogger looked like. But as the year crept on, I began more and more to dislike creating that type of work. It is just…uninspiring. For my personal brand, I find it boring. And I want to do less of that. This space was created to be a creative outlet and that’s what I want to do more of in 2019. That’s not to say you won’t see a brick wall “blogger pose” from me but staying true to myself is going to be less important than fitting the “successful blogger” mold.
2019 is going to be one of the best years yet and the foundation in that is doing less of the bad, and more of the good. Old habits die very, VERY hard, but the reward in doing so will last a lifetime! What are you most looking forward to doing less of in the New Year? You and I…we’re in it together!
Wishing you a healthy and oh so happy New Year!
Grow Loudly. Love Loudly. Live Loudly.
Jenn