New Year, Same Me
Happy New Year, babes!
I cant believe it’s already 2018 ... where does time go? It feels like yesterday was 2008, and that was ten years ago. I can’t believe. That was the year I entered middle school and the year that both the first Iron Man and the last High School Musical came out! But I’m very excited about this year. So far it's be awesome, and I have a great feeling it’s going to get even better. 365 days = 365 new opportunities! Have you made any New Years resolutions? No? ... Me neither. And if you’re not planning on changing anything about yourself in 2018, I like you even more!
Honestly, I get annoyed when people say, "New year, new me!" I mean, it really doesn't make sense if you ask me. It's like they're saying that they're trying to change their identity and become the complete opposite of what God created them to be. Just hear me about if you're trying to change everything about you ... You can change some things if that'll make you happier, but please consider not changing everything. All that's going to accomplish is ruining the beautiful image that God made out of you. You're an original and meant to be just the way you were born.
Personally, I don't really believe in New Years resolutions. Of course I think they're a great way to gain motivation for the new year, but are they really that easy to stick to? Not really. I definitely give credit to people who create resolutions and stick to them, then they actually achieve them by the end of the year. Resolutions are awesome, don't get me wrong! But I just don't think they're that necessary.
This year, I am not making any resolutions. Instead, I'm putting more focus on self-improvement. I have goals for myself, but I think the first thing to do in order to reach those goals is to improve my lifestyle and the way I think and take action. After all, thoughts create action. So it's best to develop a more positive outlook on life in order to improve a lifestyle, whether unhealthy or even already healthy. Even when life is already great enough, there's still enough room to improve. As boring as it sounds, it's actually more powerful and rewarding. For the last few years I kept telling myself that I was going to overcome my anxiety, and I was determined every new year that I was going to defeat it by the end of that year. Even though I still haven't overcome it completely, I've found different ways to cope with it and decrease it slightly. Therefore, I have improved. That's why I believe more people should focus on improving themselves rather than creating a resolution that they most likely won't stick to or that will change their whole entire ego for the worst. You don't have to give up your diet completely for the new year, you can improve what you eat just by adding more nutritious foods to your body. That's a huge improvement, and might even be more worthy rather than creating a resolution where you give up eating a variety of food. It takes time to reach a goal like that, but it's so worth it when your body is ready for bikini season!
There are just a few simple ways in which I would like to personally develop my lifestyle. Here are some ideas for self-improvement I have in mind:
Stop comparing myself to other people
Overthink less
Become a more organized planner
Take more self-care time for myself
Build a closer relationship with Jesus
Find ways to decrease my anxiety
Face my fears
Get out of my comfort zone
Find more balance
Let go of the past
Take more time to read
Pick up a unique hobby
Wake up early
Spend less time on social media (yes, I said it and I mean it!)
Journal more often
Learn more discipline
Commit to self-growth
Give myself more credit and stop being so hard on myself
And although I don't expect these minor goals to become fully complete by the end of 2018, I believe I can simply improve my lifestyle and habits by taking these actions day by day. To anyone who is reading this post, let's make 2018 our year by focusing more on improvement rather than resolutions. By the end of the year, we'll all feel more positive and grateful than ever, I guarantee it! And when the years after that finally come along, we'll be ready to make those years even better just by improving. That's the beauty of life, we gain more opportunities and it only gets better!
Just remember that you're not the only one going through challenges in life because we all are, let's face it. We are all human, we're not all perfect, and we always have room to improve in small ways. It's God's way of taking control of your life and helping you grow into the person He desires you to be. So don't be afraid to take the first step to whatever goal you may be aiming for. Keep calm and just go for it. The more you improve your lifestyle, the more happiness you'll gain! Make 2018 your year!
"Improvement begins with I."
Lots of love,
Caroline XOXO