Hello 2022, We’re Ready For You!

Happy New Year! What a year this past one has been - and I mean that as a completely neutral statement. There has been good and there has been bad, but either way, I always appreciate the fresh start that a new year brings. It may just be another day, but something about shedding the old to embrace the new excites me and motivates me to try to make this next year better than the last in whatever ways I can actually control.

Do you set goals or make resolutions at the beginning of the year? This has come to be a hot topic over the past few years. Some people think it’s unhealthy to do at the start of the year, inevitably setting yourself up to fail with such an abrupt start time. I have always enjoyed making new years resolutions and although I have certainly failed at some, I have also seen a lot of personal growth come out of those pledged changes in my life. I like the ritual of aligning myself with what feels meaningful at the time and intentionally working towards something. I will certainly carry on doing this practice for as long as it still works for me and if you want my opinion, I’d say do the same for you. Use what works, ditch what doesn’t.

I’m excited to see what this next year holds, but before I dive into what some of my goals are for the upcoming year, I thought I’d look back at some of my 2021 resolutions and share some lessons learned or further resources in case one of these strike a chord with you.

How did I do on my 2021 resolutions?

Get my health in order. Since having Mabel two and a half years ago, I’ve been struggling with my hormones. I wanted to prioritize sorting some of the imbalances out over the course of the year in the hopes that I could live my life more fully and not be at the whim of how I was feeling physically on a day to day basis (you would not believe how much your hormones affect so many areas of your health). I started seeing a naturopathic doctor in January and have continued to see her over the course of the year. I definitely feel like I am in a much better place by the end of 2021 and have learned so much about my body and how it works. And although not comprehensive, I feel like I now have a good handful of extra tools that I can use when I start to feel things are going out of whack. This feels like a win! 

Intentionally practice gratitude every day. When I made this resolution, I had a specific prompted gratitude journal in mind to help me make it happen. I used that journal faithfully every day through August and absolutely saw the benefits of it take shape in my day-to-day life. Eventually I dropped the daily prompted journal practice, but I do still make an intentional effort to find the parts of my day that I am grateful for. I’ve seen a lot of change in my thought patterns and appreciate the fruits of my labour that the gratitude habit instilled. If you are interested in this goal, you can read more about how to create a daily gratitude practice in this post.

Read 15 books. I’ll be honest - nope. According to my Goodreads account, I read 4 books and started 3. I’m embarrassed to admit that, but I know that as much as I love to read, it’s the first ball I drop when things get busy. I will note that I listened to a few audiobooks this year, but I didn’t count them on my read list because I’m inevitably multitasking while I listen and therefore not actually focussing, defeating the purpose of why I care about setting a reading goal in the first place.

Do 6 full-blown branding projects. This was a business goal and I’m not actually quite sure if I hit it. But the point of setting it was that I wanted to focus on shifting my design business to the type of design work that I truly love doing and whether or not I hit the number, I definitely saw changes in my business in this regard. I finished off the year regularly working with some of my favourite clients I’ve ever had, so I’m definitely counting this one as a win.

Hit 1000 Youtube subscribers. We reached 1000 subscribers in October and it was such an exciting milestone to hit! This subscriber count means that I can now monetize my channel, allowing me to justify the time and attention I want to put into growing it even further. I have a lot of dreams to grow this part of my business and am excited to keep working at it this year. If you haven’t visited us on YouTube, be sure to check out our channel and be sure to subscribe while you’re there.

A personal design project. At the beginning of the year, I had a few loose ideas of what this could look like, but I think the lack of clarity in this goal prevented me from really tackling it head on. I would love to revisit this one sometime, but for now, I want to focus my attention on a few other things I’m excited about instead.

Kick some home project butt. This goal wasn’t quantifiable, but I definitely tackled some big (and small!) home projects this year and I’m proud of what I was able to accomplish. You can read more about the progress we made in our home and a few reflections on the journey in this post. But for now, I’ll just note that I felt like a badass with all the new skills I acquired while doing these projects and so I’m definitely going to count the home projects’ butt as kicked.

I think it’s a good practice to reflect on what worked and what didn’t so you can reprioritize how you formulate your next goals. Sometime you realize that what you previously felt was a priority doesn’t really resonate anymore and sometimes you realize that something seemingly insignificant has actually blossomed into a new passion or joy for you. With that in mind, these are my goals for 2022.

Walk outside 5 times a week.

I have never been big on exercise, but I have always loved walking. I feel refreshed when I can be alone and enjoy moving my body without the high-impact of most exercise. I spent a lot of time walking when Mabel was a baby, but since she has been more busy and active herself, I’ve let this one slip because it’s not as easy to strap her into the stroller to get outside. This year I’d like to reprioritize walking at least 5 times a week, even if it’s just for 15 minutes. Maybe sometimes I’ll even grab a friend to join me.

Read 15 books.

I’m going to attempt this one again. I have a lot of hobbies that I enjoy, but most of them involve producing something final - a painting, a project, a design. I really struggled with creative burnout this past year and spent a lot of time challenging myself to let go of what I can produce and instead lean into the activities that only resulted in a sense of contentment and joy. I know that I love learning and am excited to explore all different kinds of books this year, even if it means that I don’t have something physical to show for it at the end.

Invest time and effort in my marriage.

The further along Curt and I get into parenthood, the more difficult it becomes to prioritize our marriage. Not out of a lack of want, but due to a surplus of busyness, chaos, and external demands. It’s easy to forget that the health of our family is a direct result of the health of us, both individually and together. It’s really important to me that I make the effort to prioritize my marriage this year, whether that be through intentional conversations and acts of service, specifically planning time to spend together, or individually working on my own shortcomings in how I communicate and how present I am. I’m eager to see how these goals can change our relationship and our family over the course of the year.

Hit 5000 subscribers on YouTube.

As I mentioned, I want to keep growing our YouTube channel and our blog this year. I assigned a numerical number to this goal to give it some direction, but it’s worth saying that I’m less concerned about the figures as I am about the progress. I’m aware that my next steps in growth require consistency, so my goal is really about being more consistent with uploading content and seeing the potential that investing regular time and attention can establish.

Invest money into growing my business.

While the last goal was about time investment, this goal is about taking the leap into pouring some financial investment into my business. What I’m after with this goal is that I want to stop making excuses for why it isn’t yet worth it for me to pour some money back into growing. Up until this point, this has been a pretty low budget operation. I use my phone to film and photograph, I learn from free resources, and I operate as a one-woman show. I’m proud of what I have been able to create with what I have, but I know that part of seeing further growth will require me to confidently step into some higher stakes. I know that I need to start taking some financial risks and trusting that what I am building is worth it. Some ideas I have include investing in further learning and resources for how to grow and further monetize, investing in some professional brand photography, and slowly investing in better equipment.

Like last year, I’m sure some of these resolutions will result in big wins and maybe others will fall by the wayside. Regardless, I’m excited for what this new year will hold. I hope you are too.

Happy New Year!