Self-reflection is a powerful tool that keeps me happy and mentally healthy. Its important for me to look within myself and to my past in order to understand my purpose, my goals and my desired future so I know my journey is on the right path.
2017 was a year of change. Our family literally flipped our world upside down and fully abandoned our comfort zone. And its been an adventure we will always remember!
My entire adult life I've wanted to take the plunge and move abroad. I was always too scared and worried to make it happen. But this year I garnered up the courage to take the risk and I couldn't be more proud of myself and my family for how well we've adjusted to this change.
2017 was an incredible year and I regret very little from these past 12 months. As I look forward to the year ahead, I'm reflecting a lot on what made 2017 so significant and what I'd like to refocus on as I look forward. I wanted to take a pause from our busy life and look deeply at our experiences over these past few months. Self-reflection has let me peak into what made this past year s successful, and as well as places I could have done better on. So I wrote down for the first time resolutions I aim to work on for 2018.
Here is a look into my personal resolutions for 2018
Get healthy
I know, I know. How cliche? Losing weight for a new year resolutions is an overplayed tune that almost always is abandoned by February. And trust me, almost every year losing weight or getting fit is a goal.
However, this goal goes a bit deeper than dropping down a pant size. I want to get healthy for me, for my daughter and for my future. I eat reasonably healthy for my meals and don't eat too much junk food or sodas. But snacking is out of control! Its run rampant and it seriously needs to check itself. Stat.
Also, I can't tell you the last time I've worked out. Sad and pretty pathetic and also not good for 60 year-old Crystal. I want to be able to keep up with my children and grandchildren and to have a healthy heart and mind, and working out is key. So I hope to get back to working out on a steady basis while cutting out excess snacking.
Meet new friends
This resolution makes me feel like I'm 8 when I started a new school and had to make new friends. It sounds a bit ridiculous to be 28 years old and needing to make friends, but I'm horrible at it! 'm what you would call an extroverted-introvert. I love the idea of opening up and meeting new people but when it actually happens, anxiety fills up in my chest to where its utterly exhausting! This is why most of my friends are family, or I've had for 10+ years.
I am so high-strung when meeting someone new that at the end of the conversation I'm overanalyzing everything I said and feel like I completely embarrassed myself. I'm such a bundle of nerves! Please don't tell me I'm the only one this way?!
So while meeting new people isn't my specialty, I've been a bit lonely this past year. As a SAHM, most of the time its just my daughter and I hanging out with my sister and mom. And don't get me wrong, I love it! My family and I are so close and I cherish the bond we have. But sometimes a girl could use a ladies night out, and now that I am living in Costa Rica the desire for some friends is much needed.
Less screen time
This may come as a surprise because I don't watch much TV and I've always been a big advocate for putting phones down. But as I've been working on my blog, I feel my time on my phone and computer has increased tremendously. While my work and blog require me to be on these devices, work has slowly passed over onto personal time. I realized it got bad when a few weeks ago, Milena asked me to put my phone down. It hurt knowing I was so oblivious in how much I had this rectangle of distraction in front of my face.
I've been working on this resolution already, and hope to keep this mentality throughout the next year. While smart phones are an incredible invention that provides convenience, it can be a huge distraction. And nothing is more important than being attentive to my daughter and husband.
Read, read, read
Reading is my favorite pastime. I love a good book and seem to always have multiple books I'm reading at once. However, this past year was so busy with our job changes and our move to Costa Rica, that reading was placed on the back burner.
I normally read 20+ books a year and 2017 I only read 6! Fail. Reading is an important hobby that sparks my creativity and fills my head with tidbits of knowledge on topics I wouldn't otherwise learn about. I have a list of books I hope to read this year and I plan to make it happen.
Travel more
Every year its on my resolution list and I'm sure it always will be. Traveling is constantly on my mind and pulling at my heart. I have countless itineraries saved for future trips and my bucket list is never-ending.
"This heart of mine was made to travel this world."
There is something about stepping foot on an airplane and knowing I'm about to explore a new city/country. Its my passion, and something I hope I can continue. 2018 we will be living in Costa Rica for most of the year and hopefully we will get to continue to explore Central and South America as we've fallen in love with this part of the world.
Live passionately
Without passion, life can be bland. Grey. Mundane. I've always been a passionate person, and I married a passionate man so it made sense our daughter would follow suit.
Passion fuels our life. No matter where we are in the world, no matter what we are doing, we live boldly and full of love and joy. A conventional life wasn't made for us as it lacks the spontaneity that we live for.
After I graduated college, I chose the traditional path and worked for my dad's company. Great paying job, a lot of perks and vacation time. It was a dream opportunity and I was doing well at my position. But after several years, I couldn't figure out why I was so unhappy. Nothing excited me about my daily routine because I had no passion for what I was doing.
When I found out I was pregnant with Milena, something in me woke up and shook me to my core. I was living a life that was mentally killing me. As a child, I was creative and full of wonder for the world and I wasn't using any of my skills towards something I believed in. It takes awhile to figure out what your passion is but once I knew the direction I wanted to take, I never looked back.
At times it can be easy to lose sight of my passion. Its easy to take the traditional path and stick with a conventional lifestyle. But I know I would be living a lie. My daughter is so full of passion, I want to be an example for her and never shrink her curiosity and excitement for life. I want to love my career and life fully, and deeply. I want to find inspiration in my work and hopefully inspire other woman to live a life of fulfillment and passion. It makes me so incredibly happy knowing everyday I'm following my dreams and living a meaningful life with my family. Passion drives me and I hope I never lose sight of that.
Looking forward to 2018, I hope my word for the year is "passion". On December 31, 2018, I want to look back and know I didn't waste a year of my life on trivial things that didn't make my family and I happy.
I'm excited for my family's upcoming year. Our adventures have only begun and I know we will remain humble and grateful as we continue to explore the world. I hope our family lives our life looking forward and to never let our fears of the unknown make our choices every again.
Cheers to 2018!