We are just 7 days away from Christmas and 14 until the new year. I feel like every year around this time I get really nostalgic and love to look back on the past year at everything I’ve had the opportunity to do and the milestones I’ve accomplished, getting my blog hosted, and becoming an affiliate blogger in a couple different programs, traveling to California, doing a couple trips to Philly and even Germany last Christmas. But this is also a time to look forward toward the new year and to plan the goals you want to accomplish.
Over the last year, I have made some really strong friendships through my favorite way to stay in shape. These girls have become my rock, they pick me up when I’m down, they are inspiring and I am so thankful to have such girl boss vibes from them. I’m also so thankful for my incredibly supportive family for always pushing me to go after my dreams. Making sure you surround yourself with like-minded people is so important to the success of your goals.
As the wise Hilary Duff said, “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” While planning your goals for the new year it is so important to ask yourself some really tough questions. Reflect on the new year and ask yourself what about 2017 were you not happy about or what do you wish you had done that you didn’t get the chance to? Ask yourself what is holding you back from really following your dreams? Once you realize what’s stopping you, looking to solutions for those roadblocks and writing them down is your next step. Whether it’s money or just fear of failure. Or maybe the task feels to large and daunting? Write your goals down and then find what’s holding you back.
I get by with a little help from my friends, no truer words have ever been spoken. I think along with having a list and a plan for your year allowing yourself to change your attitude to be more positive is almost as important. With the right mindset you can do anything and this is where I lean on my friends the most. Inspiration is great but having people who are always there to lift you up when times get hard and keep you positive is so important in keeping yourself focused on your success.
Something I constantly remind myself is to not compare myself to others. Whether it’s my blogging career or even my fitness goals. Everyone is different, my body isn’t the same as the models on Instagram and it maybe more difficult for me to tone the way they are or I may never be like that and I should be happier with the way I look. Also with blogging someone might have different connections or have started before me and that’s why they have the opportunities they do. You should never discredit someone else’s success when you don’t know the details. I like to channel my envy into using these strong and successful women as inspiration and something to strive for. You should always appreciate your journey and never rush the process.
When planning my goals for the year I also really love to pick something far out of my comfort zone. Last year I wanted to do more solo traveling and I took a trip down to NYC and out to California alone this year to visit friends. I love to travel but the fear of missing a connection or getting lost has always made me nervous to book any trips alone. But these two trips in particular showed me how I should trust myself and do more of what I love.
After you’ve created your list of goals, and established the roadblocks it’s so important to write them all down. I’ve said this before about creating your new year’s resolutions but writing down your goals is the best way to actually get them done. I love creating vision boards with the goals and inspirational words and pictures. Post it up in your room or somewhere you see daily to constantly inspire you to follow those dreams.
This year a couple things I want to do more of is try to add more visual content to my blog. As you all know my biggest goal of the year to was to self host my blog to try to increase my following through organic search but this coming year I want to create separate content for my Youtube channel. I also want to create more consistent content over there so please subscribe to get more makeup tutorials, my monthly favorites, and the occasional vlog. I would love to have more ideas of what you all like to watch on Youtube. Second I want to continue to find ways to live healthier and learn more about weight lifting and working out to be more successful in my daily workouts. Finally, I want to read more. I love reading, but I feel like after a day of work, blogging, and going to the gym I find myself skipping the book at night. So this year I want to read more books, especially about blogging, starting your own business, and success and positivity. These are book I’ve recently become very inspired by and I want to keep inspiration to be better around me all the time.
What are your favorite books to read?
