At the beginning of the year I purchased my first diary since high school. It was pink and sparkly, everything that is the total opposite of what I would normally go for. It was a notebook, with no days or dates and so I wrote them in by hand, on every single page. I’ve spent the past year scribbling reminders, important dates, birthdays, bills and all sorts in this little book. It comes to work with me every single day and I’ve loved having it around (as cheesy as it sounds). I never thought I would have been so attached to something but here we are, almost 12 months later and it still remains with me. (This is really unusual for me, as I usually get fed up with notebooks, especially if I change my handwriting style or write something I have to scribble out). On the very first page I wrote down a couple of bullet points and reminders to myself of what I wanted to achieve throughout 2018 and so, those words and goals are what I’m going to share with you in this post. Oh and I may as well share a couple of my favourite moments I captured too!
My first bullet point was ‘don’t give up‘. In my family I’m the one who’s well known for starting something and giving up at the first hurdle. I hate that I’m like that and I tried so hard this year not to be. I gave up a little with learning my Thai but I’m back learning. I guess booking flights to Thailand has given me the kick up the bum that I needed. Then again, it shouldn’t take a holiday to make me want to learn but after a little misunderstanding and me believing that my Thai granny may be unwell, it was then that I decided to start again. After all, I would be truly disappointed with myself if I never tried to have a conversation with her, out of pure laziness.
‘Work your arse off‘ comes second. Not really sure why I wrote this because I’ve always worked hard (or at least so I like to believe) but I wanted to work towards my own goals. I wanted to photograph more, write more, read more, learn and be physically fit. I don’t think I accomplished as much as I’d have liked to this year but I’m definitely on track to achieving great things – or so I hope!
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When I started writing these bullet points it was a time when I was very unsettled and unsure about what I wanted for the near future. I wanted a house but then I wanted to see the world at the same time and so I decided that seeing the world was more important. I wrote ‘save those pennies for travelling‘ and guess what? I never did save those pennies for travelling, nor for a house or anything else for the matter! So, with this I failed but I’m totally beginning to save for real in the new year and who knows, we may even have our very own home by this time next year… *fingers crossed*.
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‘Grab every opportunity by the nuts!‘. Not sure I’ve had many opportunities or at least I can’t think of any right this moment but I’d say my total mindset has completely changed. I’ve tried to be a lot more positive, to make every situation something I could learn from and I guess that’s grabbing every opportunity by the nuts, turning something maybe not so great into something great! Ah god, I don’t make sense but you get what I mean, right?
A biggie for me and something I’ve had engraved into my brain since the beginning of the year is ‘be more confident‘. I don’t know where this vulnerable and insecure feeling comes from sometimes and I often care too much about what other people think. I’ve told myself that ‘if it won’t matter this time tomorrow or this time next week, then don’t let it ruin your day today’ and believe me it works! It takes a lot of drilling in to make you realise but once you’ve done it a couple of times, it gets easier.
‘Do more‘ and ‘drink less‘, I think these coincide together pretty well as I spent a lot of weekends hungover doing nothing but lying in bed and wasting my day, as well as a lot of money. I’d say I’ve done pretty well this year! My weekends have been spent wandering the mountains and we got to visit some amazing places this year, from Romania to Greece and places a little closer to home.
‘Get a new job‘, I did it, I got a new job. After months of searching, 100’s of interviews to help me gain confidence and endless knock backs, I finally found a job that works for me. Ok, so it’s not my dream job (how do I become a photographer and travel the world?) but I get to work with some fabulous people, I’m 5 minutes from home and I also get my weekends free. What’s not to love? I told myself I would do it this year and I did it, with 3 months to spare!
‘Don’t buy unnecessary shit!!!!‘ I think I failed, in fact I know I failed. However, I am so much better than I used to be. I plan my outfits now to ensure that the stuff I do buy is money worth spending. Sometimes I buy the odd thing and wonder what an earth was I thinking but it’s something I’m definitely learning about. Next year, I’m doing it for real. If it’s not money well spent, it’s not being spent at all.
And last but certainly not least, I wanted to ‘be inspired by everything‘. Nature, lifestyle, travel, work. I’m sure there’s something I come across every single day that inspires me in some way. I’ll be sure to take this little memo into 2019 with me, or even throughout the rest of life. I want to grow, every single day and learn from my mistakes, help others and help protect the world we live in.
Did you stick to your new year resolutions? Let me know if you did or didn’t!