Reflecting on 2018. Oh man, where do I begin? It was a great year for my career but I struggled a lot internally. I was too hard on myself, doubted myself a lot and lost self-confidence at one point. But through my struggles I found faith, strength and most importantly, I found myself again. I cried a lot, laughed a lot, and loved a lot. I’m so thankful for the past year, for all its lessons and blessings. Now I can honestly say that I’m coming into the new year with so much light and joy, and I cannot wait to see where it takes me!

I took some time over the holidays to reflect and reconnect with myself so that I can set my intentions for the new year. I love this time of year because it gives us a blank canvas to start over, where we can draw and paint to whatever our heart’s desire. I prefer setting Intentions than goals because intentions align us with our purpose, while goals pressure us to have an external outcome. It’s important to set intentions for the new year because it helps to keep you focused, prioritize what's most important and start making transformations from within. So in today’s blog post, I’m sharing with you my intentions for the new year!

2019 INTENTIONS

1.     New adventures

I traveled to so many places in 2018 but decided to buckle down the past few months because of my big move plus the holidays. But now, I’m ready to travel again and making it a goal to travel at least once a month in attempt to venture out and get inspired. I’m currently listing all local, domestic and international destinations and already have a few trips in mind! If you have any recommendations and would like to share your favorite destinations, I’d love to hear them on the comments section below!

2.     Read more

I always try to make this a goal every year but never really made the effort to stick with it. This year it’s all about less screen time and more reading time. I’m making it a goal to read a book at least once a month! If you have any recommendations and would like to share your favorite books, I’d love to hear on the comments section below!

3.     Start journaling

This is also something I’ve been wanting to do but never made the time. This year I’m making it a goal to write everything down. From ideas to feelings, to-do lists to recipes, you name it! I religiously write to-do lists everyday on my planner, but I want to go in deeper and write literally everything that goes on in my head in attempt to fully express myself more and have a more clear, peaceful mind.

4.     Put my name on it

I’ve always dreamed about creating my own product. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always loved designing (I dreamt about being a fashion designer) and creating something of my own (I’ve always been the artsy type!). I’m making it a goal this year to be more proactive in terms of creating something tangible, and some of my ideas include (but not limited to): creating a capsule clothing line, a lipstick shade, staple black boots, or even my own hair color shade?! It excites me just thinking about it!

5.     More self-love

This applies to all aspects of my life: career, relationships, and well-being. I’m making it a priority to not compare myself to others and to forgive myself more when it comes to my job; I’m only choosing loving relationships and filtering out toxic ones (‘cause let’s face it, no one’s got time for that!); and making sure I workout 3-4x a week and eat clean with necessary cheat days, because I deserve to be the best version of myself without overdoing it. This year, I’m lovingly choosing myself.

6.     Help the environment

This year I’ll be making an effort to learn more about creating a sustainable lifestyle and making it a goal to work with more sustainable brands. I’ve already made to switch from plastic items to reusable materials, but I want to continue by supporting sustainable clothing and clean beauty—choosing sustainability whenever I can. I plan to choose more investment, quality pieces in my home and closet. It’s going to be a process, but this is the year where I’m going to take the necessary steps to help the environment.

Today, I encourage you to make a list of your intentions for the new year.  It’s never too late to reflect and reconnect with yourself—your purpose. Write it down and share it with someone close to you, someone you know who will support you and will help keep you focused throughout the year! Writing down and sharing my intentions excites me so much for the new year—it gives me something to look forward to and work towards to, and I hope it inspires you to do the same :)

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It’s the new year and we’re given another fresh, clean start. Instead of writing my resolutions, I want to share with you my goals for the year. I believe that these goals will help me become a better version of myself, and help me make 2017 an amazing one.

2016 was so good to me. It was definitely a time of learning and transitioning. Shortly after I decided to quit my job and start full-time blogging, I came across so many great opportunities I never thought would come my way. I worked with brands I only dreamed of working with. I got lost and fell in love with new cities, experienced life-changing adventures, and most importantly, I learned so much more about myself and I’ve never been happier.

So to make 2017 just as great, here are my goals for the new year:

1. WELLNESS FROM WITHIN

This year, I will make more time for to nourish my mind, body and soul. I was so focused on working my ass off this past year that I forgot to take care of myself in all aspects. All I cared about was growing my business, not thinking about the consequences. I was often unmotivated and worn out, and all of this was because I wasn’t nourished from within. So here are a few short term goals to help me:

To nourish the mind, I plan to buy good books and make time to read them no matter how busy I am; to nourish the body, I plan to drink lots of water and exercise daily even when its sounds like a terrible idea; and to nourish the soul, I plan to dedicate my time on a cause close to my heart, and to always try to see the best in others.

2. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

This year, I will shift my focus on things that add value to my life. And if it doesn’t, I will let it go. I’m currently cleaning out my room and renovating it soon after. Looking at all the things I acquired from the past year, it made me realize that one) I’m kind of a hoarder (LOL) and two) there’s a lot off stuff I keep that I don’t need or never even used. So this year I plan to focus on quality, whether it’s shopping for clothes or making/keeping relationships. I will purge the unnecessary and decrease clutter, and most importantly, make time for people and things I really care about.

3. STEP OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE

This year, I really want to challenge myself more. Whether its being more open-minded and creative with my style or craft, or doing more activities to face my fear of heights. This will be the year where I push the boundaries, MY boundaries. I know I played it safe this past year because I had some doubts and insecurities. But now that I have a better understanding of myself, it's time to really push myself to the limit. I want to try new things, learn new ways, and become more daring than ever.

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something. So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life. Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.””

— Neil Gaiman

I hope that this inspires you to reflect and make your own goals or resolutions for the year because it never hurts! It only set us up for success and helps us become a better version of ourselves. I love listing out my goals not only at the beginning of the year but all throughout, because it always gives me something to look forward to, and I know that I’m constantly working on myself. Each day is a fresh start, so let’s strive to be better than we were yesterday.

Cheers to 2017 and to new beginnings!

(Dress by Lioness c/o Princess Polly + Heels by Missguided)