Hey Loves!

About a week ago I shared on an IG post that I wasn’t quite ready to share my resolutions for the new year just yet – I was still reflecting and figuring out what I wanted this new year to be for me. If I’m being honest, 2018 was a HARD year. It was probably the most roller-coaster type of year that I’ve ever experienced, except it wasn’t the fun type of roller coaster. Every super high high was almost immediately followed by a really low low. And it messed me up – mentally, emotionally, physically. I spent most of November and December trying to HEAL. Trying to heal so that I could turn over a new leaf and have a fresh start to make 2019 an amazing year. And yes, it took me an extra week to fully figure out what I wanted that fresh start to look like, and what I wanted to achieve this year. But I’m here. I’m ready. I’m pumped to take 2019 by storm!

For the past week, my social media feeds have been blowing up with posts about people’s new year’s resolutions and their “word” for 2019, and I LOVE it. If you are that person who has it all together and are ready at midnight on New Year’s Eve, I applaud you. You are my hero. Although I am a strong believer that you can have a fresh start whenever you need one, no matter what month, day, or time it is, I also feel like there is something special about New Year’s Day and that feeling of endless possibility to be and do whatever you want, am I right? So here I am, a week later, and I’m finally ready to share what I have in store for 2019.

When I was trying to think of my WORD for 2019 and decide on a list of New Year’s Resolutions, I hit a bit of a road block. In past years I’ve always set a list of resolutions for myself, and I wanted really badly to jump on the bandwagon of picking a word for this year because it seemed like such a great idea. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it just didn’t feel right for ME. There is SOO much that I want to achieve this year, both in my personal and professional life, and I really didn’t feel like one single word could illustrate all of that. I also didn’t feel like writing out a list of goals fully embodied what I wanted to accomplish this year.

So instead, this year I decided to create my very first vision board. OK, can I be real for a second? I’ve heard of vision boards before, but I never thought I would ever make one, because I didn’t really see the point of it. But WOW, this is exactly what I needed this year! What I really have is a VISION for what I want this year to be for me. I know what areas of my life I want to work on, I know what dreams I would love to see come to fruition, and I know how I’d like to see myself this year – and my vision board did such an amazing job of displaying this for me.

Here were the themes that I chose to focus on for this year:

1. One of my major themes this year is “GIRL, GO GET IT”! I want to feel EMPOWERED this year and believe in myself that I can achieve whatever I set my mind to. I want to remember that I can achieve ALL of my goals, no matter how big or small. Some of my goals this year: waking up earlier and being ready to slay the day, being successful at work and publishing at least 2 papers, and being more present in my everyday life.

2. A second major theme for me is to “TURN DREAMS INTO PLANS”. Confession: I’m a dreamer. I loveeee dreaming of new things and this year I’m ready to make them a reality. One big dream that I’m currently working on is expanding my blog to include a lifestyle/self-care themed subscription box.

3. Another big theme is “SELF-CONFIDENCE”. I’ve struggled with fully loving myself for a longggg time and no matter how awesome I think I am, I always feel like I’m lacking. So this year is going to be focused on believing in myself and loving myself inside and out. This also ties into my goals of being more positive and happy.

4. My last major theme for this year is “FAMILY”. Last year was the year of adjustment in our marriage – getting used to living with each other, figuring out what really sets the other person off, etc, etc. This year is all about GROWTH in our marriage – growing stronger together, finding a better balance between work and family, and growing more in love. I would also love to expand our family this year.

OK now that you know exactly what my vision is for 2019, let’s talk about HOW I created my vision board! I started by making a list of all the things I envisioned for this year. Then, I went on a shopping trip to Michaels (because it has all the amazing things!). I bought a frame that was the size I wanted (I did 16” x 20” but you could totally go bigger or smaller), some stickers, some pads with motivational postcards and journaling stickers, and some washi tape. I also printed off some quotes and pictures of things that fit within my vision for this year.

When I started to put it all together, I began cutting out words and sayings that were the “big” things, the major themes I wanted to encompass this year such as turning dreams into plans, being a boss babe, and being happy and confident. Then, I began to add in more specific goals, like starting a family, expanding my blog, and growing in my marriage. To top it all off, I filled in the extra spaces with smaller sayings and quotes that reinforced my themes and visions for this year.

You could totally choose to do this differently and add in more specific text and goals, but I chose to stick mainly to short sayings, quotes, and pictures because I am such a visual person and I freaking LOVEE a good inspirational quote, so I know that this is what will continue to inspire me each day when I look at my vision board.

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OK guys, I am beyond excited about my vision board, and my themes for this year and I cannot wait to absolutely slay 2019. I’m hanging my board in my den, which is also my beauty room/ home office so I know that I will see it every morning to inspire me each day.

Let me know if you’ve made a vision board, and what your goals/themes are for this year in the comments down below.

Cheers to an amazing 2019 ahead!

goal settinghustlevision board