We're officially halfway through the first month of 2019 and if I'm totally honest with you, I've really loved the start of this year. While I usually start the year at a million miles per hour, this year I decided to take it a bit slower and I'm really glad I did. It was helped by the way the days and weekend worked out this year so it felt like the year didn't "officially" start until the 7th, but I've spent this time pretty much in hermit mode, doing what I love - writing, planning content, setting goals and intentions, and just enjoying being at home.
The last 2 months of 2018 for us were a little bit hectic and I worked out that between mid-November and the end of December, I only had about 5 days at home in Vancouver. The rest of that time was spent travelling and then we were back in England over Christmas. While it was a wonderful wonderful couple of months, it was a bit manic to say the least!
So, I've quite liked getting back into my routine with work and fitness and actually spending time in Vancouver. I came back on such a high after Christmas as it was the most amazing 3 weeks filled with so much quality time with friends and family, and I loved it. We also officially activated our Canadian PR visa when we came back from England - yay!! It's extremely exciting and it's so nice to finally be able to start making more permanent and long-term plans knowing that we can stay in Canada for as long as we want.
Anyway, there's a bit of a life update, but the purpose of this post really is to share more about my 2019 goals and intentions. I don't want to call them "resolutions"...I find whenever I do that I always end up breaking them and they're a bit short-lived, so instead, I think "goals and intentions" is a bit more sustainable and long-lasting. I've set numerous intentions and goals for the year and I'm very excited for them to, hopefully, come to fruition, and I'm feeling so refreshed and ready for 2019.
I feel the start of a new year is the perfect time to reset, to reflect on the lessons you've learned and the things you want to achieve, and carry those into the next year. Personally, I just want to be the best version of myself and constantly keep improving, and I'm quite goals-driven so it just tends to work for me. However, if you're not into setting goals for the new year and you work in a different way then you know what...that's perfectly okay too! Just do you and do what works best for your routine and personality.
Anyhow, let's get into the post! Also, these pictures were taken over new years and I love them. We spent NY eve in Whistler skiing, ended up going to bed at 9pm and completely skipping out on the midnight celebrations, and then we headed back to Whistler on NY day for a snowy walk on the frozen lakes and in the alpine and it was so magical! It wasn't anything crazy but for me, it was the perfect way to see in 2019. I've also filmed a YouTube video on the topic of goals + lessons (watch it here) if you'd rather listen + watch than read!
My Words For 2019...
Every year, I try to pick a few words that I'd like to live by throughout the year and 2019 is no exception, so I figured this would be a nice place to start when outlining my goals and intentions for this year.
My 2017 words were fearless + positivity.
My 2018 words were gratitude, improvement and fearless again.
And my 2019 keywords are going to be conscious, learning and self-belief.
I think it's nice to have a few words that you can refer back to throughout the year and that remind you of your focus for that year. If you were to pick 2 or 3 words for this year, what would they be?
Intentions for this year
I first want to start with my intentions for this year and outline a few values and habits that I want to make and sustain moving forward. For me, intentions are something that continue throughout the year and into the next, whereas a goal might just be one event or milestone in your life. That's not to say goals aren't important, but I also think it's good to have intentions that you can maintain on a daily basis and implement into your lifestyle. I think intentions really compliment goals and they provide you with overarching values to guide your decisions, so it's nice to have both. These are a few things I'm hoping to focus on this year:
Be more environmentally conscious
"Conscious" is one of my main words for this year and I intend to be more conscious in a lot of ways. Eco-consciousness is the most obvious one and while I consider myself to be quite conscious anyway, there are plenty of ways I could step it up.
Over the last year, I've reduced my consumption of single-use plastics significantly and become a lot more educated, and that's something I'll continue to do in 2019. This is quite easy to do when you're conscious and plan ahead, and simple actions like taking your reusable coffee instead of getting plastic to-go cups and declining plastic bags can all make a big difference.
I want to focus on reducing my consumption too, as we all know that recycling isn't necessarily the best solution and often, it ends up getting burned, dumped in the ocean or in landfills. The only real way of reducing waste is to reduce consumption altogether. I intend to start composting this year and using my platforms to educate my audience on plastic pollution and simple ways to be more eco-conscious. It also bothers me how much plastic and waste is created from the PR and brand packages I receive (it's actually shocking), so that's also something I'd like to talk more about too.
Keep on learning
While I was so happy to see the back of my Law degree and formal education isn't something I'd like to jump back into (not yet, anyway!) something I vow to do this year is to keep on learning. 2018 was a massive learning year for me in terms of photography, videography, business and personal development, and that's something I intend to carry into this year. There's so much power in learning and our world is changing so rapidly, so it's more important than ever to keep up. It's also important to stay open-minded and try new things, as ultimately it helps you to develop a deeper understanding of both yourself and the world around you.
Be less hard on myself
I've always been very hard on myself and while it often helps me to achieve more and it pushes me to go further, it can also be really detrimental. I'm sure i'm not the only one, right? Putting such a huge amount of pressure on yourself isn't healthy and I learned that lesson in 2018. I'm slowly learning to cut myself a bit of slack and recognise my achievements and hard work. I also want to work on being better at taking time off, and when I do take time off, not feel guilty for having that time off! It's a working progress...
Be more conscious with content
One thing I really want to focus on is being more conscious about the content that I create. I want my Instagram posts, my blogs, my videos and my content to be as uplifting, real, valuable and informative as possible. Social media can be a dark place for many people and it can spark feelings of anxiety and unhappiness, and I'd never want my content to have that effect on anyone. "Inspire and inform" are two very important pillars of my blog and channels, and that's something that will continue to be important to me this year. Ultimately, I want my content to have purpose, and for my readers to walk away with some kind of information, insight, or inspiration. I also want to use my online reach to give back and raise awareness of important charities and issues, and volunteering is something I want to do more of this year too.
Maintain my values with partnerships
Another thing I intend to maintain this year is my values when it comes to my work and partnerships. From the very beginning, even before I started working with brands, I've always strived to be as real and honest as possible online. Hopefully, you know by now that I'll never ever endorse something that I wouldn't spend my own money on or that I wouldn't recommend to my best friends. Having that trust with you guy is so important to me and the foundation of what I do, so know that's not something that's ever going to change.
My 2019 Goals
I love goal setting and having something to work towards, and writing them down is one of the best ways to keep you accountable. Rather than setting ginormous goals, try to keep them as small and digestible as possible. That way, you have realistic milestones to work towards to help you eventually reach that greater target. These are a few things I'm working towards this year...
Move House!
This is probably our #1 goal for this year and it's a very exciting one! Now that we have our Permanent Residency (yipee - still can't believe that!), we can start making more permanent plans and that includes moving house. We've been in our lovely apartment for 3 years and as much as I adore it, it's time for something a little bigger so that I can have an office and we have a place for our friends and family to come and stay. Something dog-friendly would be nice too because, well, you knoooow that's on the cards at some point!
Become smarter with time
One goal and intention I have this year is to become smarter with my time. What I mean by that is using my time more wisely, streamlining my processes so that I can get more done in a given time, and generally managing my time better. I used to pride myself on how well I could multi-task, however in the last year I realised that actually, multi-tasking kills my focus and makes tasks take a lot longer. I now try to set myself blocks of time to write, answer emails, engage on social, edit photos and videos etc, and do it in a 30-minute or 1-hour timeframe so I can really get in the zone rather than constantly flitting between them all.
Crack on with YouTube
I rarely have regrets as I always stand by the decisions I make, however, one minor regret I do have is neglecting my YouTube channel for all this time. I started it in 2016 and never really found my groove, mostly because I was too concerned with my videos being perfect rather than just cracking on with it and getting content out there. That fear or judgement and failure really just hindered my success, and it bugs me so much that I allowed that to happen! I guess you live and learn. SO, my goal for this year is to just get on with it, put content out there as regularly as possible and try to build my channel. You can find me here on YouTube if you wanna subscribe, my goal at the moment is 1 video a week!
Get a dog...maybe!
I think "get a dog" has been on my yearly goals list ever since we set up our life in Vancouver, and although this might be one that I have to carry over to 2020, it's still gotta be on the list hasn't it!! Obviously, we need to have the right house and set up for a dog, and it does complicate things a bit not really having our family here who can look after the pup when we go away, however, the day that we do finally get a dog is going to be a very very happy (and emotional) one!
Explore more places
I feel like this is a given because i'm sure you know by know how much I love travelling and exploring new places. I feel very fortunate with my job to be able to travel so much, and I intend to keep creating very information-based travel content this year. In terms of destinations, I'd really love to see a bit more of Canada and also check out a few more destinations in the US since it's so close to Vancouver. California is high on my list, and I'd love to head back to Asia and/or South America and explore more destinations there too. I'm excited to see how things plan out. Any recommendations?!
Incorporate more yoga
One thing i'd like to do this year is more yoga. I used to be able to get away with not really stretching after workouts and work on my laptop in any position possible, but now my body's starting to feel the effects and it's not good! I got a laptop stand for Christmas, to help with my posture when I'm working and help prevent upper back tension caused by constantly being on my computer, and I'm also trying to incorporate more yoga into my routine to help with stretching and flexibility. I've just started going to YYoga and am trying to go twice a week and I find it compliments my Soulcycle spin classes really well too.
I would love to know what your goals and intentions are for 2019! Do you have any similar ones to me? Let me know in the comments!
2 Comments
No bad intention, I must say you are beautiful. I like the way you write and talking about new year resolution, I think achieving goals it’s more about consistency.
No bad intention, I must say you are beautiful. I like the way you write and talking about new resolution, I think achieving goals it’s more about consistency.