Another year (and decade !!!) in the books. Can you believe it?!
I mentioned this last year around this time but I have a love hate relationship with New Years. Especially when it comes to goal setting. Dana wrote a great post this week about setting intentions, and not resolutions. She mentions instead of making resolutions we all know that we won’t keep, we want to set intentions as we kickstart the new year. It brings awareness to our lives instead of reaching a certain goal. I love that mindset and I definitely will be doing the same by sharing some intentions as to what I want to do this year. Before we get started, let’s reflect on 2019, shall we?
2019 Reflection
Last year in my post I said I have a really good feeling about 2019. I feel like everyone says that around this time of the year and to be honest, I love it. I feel like we all feel like total bad asses that can accomplish anything. Last year, however, was a bit different, I really felt it in my gut, as funny as it sounds, that 2019 was going to be my year. In some aspects of my life, things were great but overall 2019 was a sh*ty year. Without going into too much detail, my family received some tough health-related news that will come with us in 2020 and that really shook my to the core. Since then I am even more appreciative for my family and the time we have together (I actually have always been good in that department) but now it just feels different. For a while after I heard the news nothing else honestly mattered but for this person to just get better. This is still the case but I have to continue to remind myself that God will take care of this person and everything is going to be okay. I need to continue to go on with my life and make the most of it.
Another bummer this year was becoming less distant to my friends, I feel like it was a funky year and I saw the weaknesses in people and that really bothered me. If someone is unmotivated, complains all the time, and just selfish I would let that take over the positive aspects of them and it affected our friendship because I became more distant. This may be confusing but I think as we get older we really just focus on our genuine and true friendships that mean everything to us. The type of friendships that you honestly could not live without.
On the positive side, 2019 was a great one for my career! During the hardships I really focused on work as it distracted me from everything on the outside. I was promoted twice this year and most recently started a new job at my company. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to do well as I have big shoes to fill, but I am proud of the name I created for myself this year in the office.
Now let’s see if I accomplished all the resolutions I set for myself in last years post. The first one was to enforce a time limit on social media. To be honest, this didn’t end well. Sure, I have the 2-hour time limit on my phone but I swear almost every single day I extend that (by pressing ignore) when I reach that limit. What good does that do? Nothing. Sure I become aware and say oh crap I’ve reached 2-hours but that feeling gets thrown away right when I press ignore. Maybe 2020 I’ll be better in that department, probably not if I’m being honest. The second one was to read more. I’m laughing as I typed this because I was halfway there on this one. My friends from work and I created a book club (step one, right?) but when it comes to the actual reading the book part, I failed miserably. I read 1 of the 5 books. I think I don’t like reading because it feels like a chore to me. When I was younger my reading comprehension was SO BAD and I had to see tutors and my parents really forced me to read and we would discuss the book together. I hated every single minute of it and I think that has followed with me into my adult years. The next resolution is to like eggs. Well this was a fail, I didn’t even try them in 2019. Backstory here is that I hate eggs. As simple as that. I hate the taste, the smell, the consistency, the color, everything about them. This is something that I’ve just accepted and I’m going to move on. The fourth resolution is to clean out my closet. This is something that I accomplished last year and I’m proud of it! I cleaned out my closet after every season and got rid of a lot of clothes. I’m definitely going to be doing this again in 2020, especially right before I move apartments. My final resolution was to run my first half marathon! Woo, a resolution I actually accomplished. I’m even running it again in 2020, crazy I know but the competitive person inside of me told me I need to run another to beat my time. Not sure why I’m doing that because I absolutely hated the training but here we are, training for the next one (rolling my eyes).
I’m excited to close the book on 2019 (and the decade!!) and am looking forward to 2020. And hey, it’s the roaring 20’s! Think we can make it as fun as the 1920’s as seen in the movies?
2020 Intentions
Over the past couple of years and being more financially responsible and frankly making more money, I’ve been better about saying yes and going on more adventures with my friends. I want to travel more in 2020 and already have a trip planned with one of my besties. The new job I mentioned comes with a lot of travel and requires me to travel to Chicago once/twice a month so it will be interesting to see if I want to travel more on my one dime since I tend to get FOMO for not being in the city.
In 2020 and especially in this upcoming decade I want to continue to take care of my body and health. I think when you see someone in your life go through health problems it really resonates with you that if short and we need to take all the precautions we can to stay healthy. Trust me, I’m not going to go crazy and do anything drastic but to just be more aware. Whether it is eating less red meat, taking my vitamins every day and not once a month, flossing every day, wearing sunscreen every single day, upping my skincare routine, you name it.
Be more open to people and things. I am a type A person and a planner to the T but I want to be more spontaneous and just be more open to people and experiences. This can be with dating, friendships, travel, you name it. I need to live a little and just experience life more. Every person I meet might not be worth my time but at least I can say I tried. You know?
Every now and then it is important to treat yourself with one big purchase and I really want to do that in 2020. I have a lot to be proud of and I want to make a larger purchase in 2020 that I can always look back by saying I did this for myself and paid for it with my own hard earned money. There is nothing better than buying something with your own money and always remembering that. Sure you can have PTSD but if it is a smart purchase you will have this item for a lifetime and will always look back and think of the person you were and what you have accomplished.
Did you have a good 2019? What is something you would like to accomplish in 2020?
Thanks for reading Elle’s Edit. If you have any topics that you would like for me to discuss, feel free to email me at elizabeth.lane.dooley@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you! xo
