What I'm looking forward to in 2020 and why I'm not setting any "resolutions"
To say that I was in (what felt like) a fog for the month of December, is an understatement. Between the Holidays, traveling, shopping for gifts and trying to keep up with work, Instagram and a social life.... it was a lot. A bit too much. I never gave myself the chance to really slow down and if I'm being honest, I really felt it.
It got me thinking about how I wanted to approach this new year. I had every intention on writing a post about our "2020 project goals" or sharing "resolutions". But, I fee like New Year Resolutions is the adult equivalent of high school peer pressure. Everyone's doing it, so you better do it too - right? And setting project goals? Well, everyone in the DIY community does that too.
I've personally never been one for resolutions... mainly because I just never follow through with them (anyone else?) So, the more I thought about it, the more I didn't want to put myself in a position for failure. Maybe failure isn't even the right word... I didn't want to put myself in a position where I would feel pressure to get EVERYTHING done or "be better" through silly resolutions. So, this year, I've decided that I'm going to start attaching a word to my year... and this year's word? Intention.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for trying to better yourself and setting goals, but in the past year, I felt burnt out on numerous occasions and it made me start to ask myself why?
2019 was a pretty significant year for "Our Well Designed Life". It was the first full year I put a lot of focused on this hobby of mine, and it was also the year I hit my goal of 10,000 followers. While that was a huge accomplishment for me, it didn't come without trial and error, feelings of defeat and A LOT of work. What's the saying? "When you exceed in one area of your life, another area suffers"?? Not really sure, but if that's a quote, I think that's my life quote for 2019. I made pretty great strides at work (my day job) and I already told you about how my Instagram account grew... but my social life and day-to-day? I think it severely lacked in the growth department. Sounds harsh, but hear me out.
Embarrassingly, I found that I have almost no pictures with family & friends from the past year. I looked through my phone in December and realized that most of my photos are of my home - which makes sense because that's what I share with you all on a daily basis... but I also see friends and family on a weekly basis, yet there was no evidence of that. Realizing that truly made me sad and that realization has struck me to my core. I want to be more intentional about capturing moments with the people I love, instead of only capturing photos of the things I love. Instead of saying, "no, just leave it at home, I don't need it." I want to bring my camera to more get togethers and along on trips. I'm blessed to have a great quality camera and what's the point of having it, if not to use it and capture moments of our life? I'm not saying I'm going to be shutter happy and bring it every time I leave the house... but I do want to make sure and capture more of our life through photography in 2020.
As for our house, while I have an idea of projects we would like to complete in the coming year, I decided not to write them down. I wrote a list at the start of 2019 and while it helped give us perspective on what we wanted to accomplish, it also gave me anxiety throughout the year thinking we "had to" complete everything. Not to mention... life is always changing and evolving and there is no guarantee that we will be in a position to complete everything we want to - life may have other plans and that's okay. This year, I don't want to have a plan, I just want to see where it takes us.
This last one is a big one for me and something we all do... spending money. While I can be good about spending money or waiting for a sale, etc. I can also be an impulsive buyer. Not to mention, money is one of my main stress triggers. Sometimes I find myself buying things "just because it's popular or on trend" - not necessarily because I love it. I've caught myself on numerous occasions asking myself, "do you love it or do you just want it?" I would like to be more intentional with purchases for our home and focus on one-of-a-kind, unique pieces versus big box store items. This also goes along with my wardrobe, I want to start investing in quality, staple pieces... you know, that staple wardrobe idea? It's a slow process, but I'll get there one day.
So, in the coming year, instead of goals, I want to move forward and grow with intention. I want to be intentional in how I spend my time, intentional in how I capture memories and intentional in the purchases I make. I like the idea of keeping a word in your thoughts for the year because instead of changing what you do, it's changing how you feel and how you live. Plus, at the end of the year, as long as you made an effort to "be intentional" or whatever your word may be... you will feel accomplished. Now go find your word for 2020!
Talk soon friends,
Kayleigh