Now I've never been one for New Year's resolutions. To be perfectly honest, I have always found them rather contrived and quite frankly unrealistic. Not to mention, I struggle to commit to most things for more than a week or two. I mean seriously, how can anyone be expected to indefinitely deprive themselves of life's pleasures such as chocolate and good wine?! However, this year I have decided to do things differently. None of this "new year, new me" nonsense. Just a small yet attainable list of goals I hope to achieve in 2021 and the years that follow.
1. Be less of a perfectionist
While being a perfectionist is by no means a wholly negative trait, it is one I find I need to work on. I constantly find myself questioning and altering everything I do in life, all in the pursuit of this ridiculous idea of perfection. Sometimes I spend hours going over a piece of work, desperately seeking out the imperfections, convincing myself that it's not yet good enough. When in fact, it is and I've just spent hours wasting my time and torturing myself for no good reason. I need to remind myself not just in my working life but my personal one too, that it is okay to feel like I'm not consistently doing the best I can. Making mistakes, learning from them and then making more mistakes is all part of being human. But this definitely doesn't mean I'm not going to continue to strive to be the best version of me...I just don't have to be that person every day. Okay, wannabe-life-guru, that's enough for now.
2. Make more of an effort with my family and friends
Anyone who knows me, or should I say knows me well, knows that my family and friends are of paramount importance to me. Amidst all the hardships that 2020 brought, I truly learned the value of this, rekindling friendships with old friends, solidifying current ones and making new ones. I also realised that I had perhaps neglected more than a few people along the way. Maybe I forgot to wish them a happy birthday or didn't reach out to them when they'd lost their job. The importance of taking 30 seconds out your day to message someone and ask them how they're doing can and should never be underestimated. Take it from me. I am so fortunate to have such an incredible circle of family and friends who have collectively been my lifeline over the past 12 months and I want to make it my goal for them to feel as valued as they have made me feel, not just for 2021 but indefinitely.
3. Improve my relationship with food and exercise
Okay, let me preface this by saying that my aim is not to diet, exercise and lose weight as this would contradict what I've said. It is more a goal to ameliorate my relationship with food and exercise. I'm still going to indulge in a whole tube of Pringles every now and again, but the difference is, I'm not going to feel bad about it. I am by no means overweight, but that doesn't mean I don't struggle with overeating. It saddens me that over the past year I have had spontaneous bursts of motivation which see me starving myself and working out unhealthy amounts, all because I perhaps didn't like the way I looked in the mirror that morning or because a pair of jeans from years back suddenly didn't fit me anymore. Either way, it would all end the same. I'd lose weight, feel good about myself for a short time but inevitably would always put those pounds back on because what I was doing just wasn't sustainable. I should be enjoying food and exercising because I love to do so, not with this ridiculous notion that if I lose a few kilos then everything will be right in the world. So this year, I will be doing these two things but for the right reasons and in a way that is conducive to my wellbeing and happiness.
Pictured below: Me absolutely destroying a burger. Eat what makes you happy people!
4. Continue my blog and hopefully my love of writing
As I'm sure you might have guessed, I quite like writing. I love this blog and the creative outlet it provides for me and I hope you enjoy reading it too. However, I have also made a promise to myself to ensure that I continue to enjoy writing for it. While I will, of course, endeavour to write weekly or perhaps more, I will only ever do so if I want to. If it ever reaches the point where it becomes a chore then I am doing it for the wrong reasons. If I am to achieve my goal of becoming a Junior Copywriter, Editorial Assistant, or something along those lines, then writing will not just become a pastime, but a full-time career as well. While I am confident this won't curb my enthusiasm for this blog, I won't put pressure on myself to churn out content just for the sake of it. I will never abandon quality for quantity. With that said, I have lots of exciting things happening over the next few months so rest assured that I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon. Here's to a better 2021 everyone.
Pictured below: My beautiful mumma and sister celebrating the end of 2020 with me.
When is your next blog anticipated? Xx