2020: Promises I'm Making to Myself
Well HELLO THERE! It’s been too damn long since I’ve had the chance to write a good ol’ fashion blog post and to be completely honest, I really miss these! Blog posts are beautiful, they are my chance to dive deeper and share my thoughts and experiences with you all on a more intimate level. On that note, blog posts take me a lot of time and I am finally figuring out how to get that back! So let's get to it.
I wanted my first post of the year to set the stage for what’s to come in 2020. I really enjoyed writing this because it gave me an excuse to soul search a bit. I was able to sort out my thoughts on a personal level which in turn will translate through my blog and social media throughout the year. Things I’m working on improving, setting intentions, having new goals, yatta yatta yatta…. without the obligatory (and a little bit cheesy in my opinion) list of new year’s resolutions. In fact, this year I’ve been a bit anti-resolution and more about making a few, simple promises to myself and keeping them. Here they are!
+ Alone Time – To me, there is no greater version of self-care then taking care of my mental health. I have a husband and two kids, not to mention a family and friends. It’s too easy to put others first and when this happens in large doses, it really affects me mentally. I need down time, alone time, quite time to recharge my battery. I think that’s one of the biggest reasons I became a runner after I had Brock. I used to despise running but I started to appreciate it because it gave me 30-40 minutes to be alone. Taking a bath, booking a facial/massage, going for a hike or to the beach by myself, posting up at a coffee shop and catching up on emails. Whatever it is, I NEED it and it will continue to be a priority all year.
+ Simplify – To make something less complicated and therefore easier to do. Our family experienced a lot of change last year. Adding another person to the family, selling our home and moving. We got rid of so much crap, it felt GOOD and made us a little money (which is always a plus). I used the app Poshmark and a few local consignment shops (My Sisters Closet & Junebug) to sell unused or outgrown clothes, shoes and baby gear. As for furniture and miscellaneous, I love the app Offer Up. When it comes to material things, l am taking a simpler approach in 2020, less is more.
+ Schedule – Since adding another child into the mix, my life has been turned upside down. I’m just being honest. There are no prep courses to deal with this stuff either. Things started out fine, newborn life with Stevie was easy, but once summer came and we weren’t on our “schedule” shit got CRAZY. I hate using the term "survival mode", but it was. Two kids to entertain all day, selling our house and then moving, I lost myself. I had to let go of any expectations I had for myself personally to get through it all (which is what helped the most). This year is all about the schedule! Brock has always thrived on a schedule, Stevie too but now I need to put my ass on one. My success depends on it and so far, I killed January because of it. Planning and scheduling things is a lot of work, but it’s the only way to guarantee that I have time for myself.
+ Feel Good Friday – It’s a thing now! It started last year unintentionally but Friday is my day (Brock’s in school and I have help with Stevie). I usually do Hot Yoga Bootcamp and when I get back home I put on music, do a hair and face mask, take a long shower and get ready at my pace with no one distracting me. Ahhhhh alone time. Fridays are good for my mind and my body. Pregnancy and breastfeeding left me with skin and hair issues so I’m really working on improving in both of those departments. I CHERISH this day and have made a promise to myself to keep this up weekly.
+ Fitness – Cardio is so last year, 2020 is all about strength! I was able to make it to 6 more classes than I normally do in January and I can thank my super organized schedule for that. I made a pact to myself this year to get stronger and that isn’t going to happen by burning myself out with a ton of cardio. I’ve always relied on going for a run to check off my fitness box for the day and don’t get me wrong, it’s a great workout but my goals changed. When I can go to a Pilates or Yoga Bootcamp class THAT’S when I see real change. When my life was spinning out of control last year I was lucky to be able to make it to one class a week. That means I was running 3-4 days a week and my body doesn’t like to run that much. I’ve noticed since having Stevie that running is a lot harder on my body, neck and hip pain specifically. You all know that I never miss a Monday! It sets the tone for the entire week so a week for me includes: two Hot Yoga Bootcamp classes at Yoga Six, one Pilates class at Bodyrok and two days of running 4-5 miles each day. For the classes specifically, I’m not just showing up and going through the motions. I’m constantly working on my form and using larger weights (this is huge), I’m pushing myself every single class.
+ Food – High-protein, low carbs, lots of veggies. I love eating healthy and will continue to do this. Changes? I’m trying to incorporate more pressed juices into my week (I just had a celery, cucumber, spinach, romaine, kale, lime and parsley juice. It tasted like shit but I always feel better after I drink one). Another thing I’m trying to do is cook something new every week and trying to cook new things. Example, I used to not eat scallops. Not only did I find out I like them, I actually love them and want to start cooking them from home. Piggybacking onto my super organized schedule point from above, my goal is to have my meals planned and groceries bought on Sunday. There are too many benefits to being this organized AND it gives me the chance to share my meal planning with all of you in my IG stories at the beginning of the week.
+ Podcast – I never listened to them and once I started I can’t stop. Instead of listening to music when I run, I podcast now. They can be super inspiring, educational and I feel like I’m making much better use of my time listening to something informative than the same songs on repeat or overthinking about something useless. There are so many to choose from so this year I’m going to explore the podcast world even more.
“Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that's real power.” – Clint Eastwood
Not keeping promises, especially to one's self is beyond detrimental to one's self-confidence. THIS is my mood and the reason I will keep it up all year.
What kind of promises did you make to yourself this year?