2020 Goals and Resolutions

As I said on my last post, this year I felt like doing the New Year things, even though I usually don't. I don't really know why, but I actually felt motivated to plan for this year at the end of December so here I am.

After all the prepping I did for the first two weeks of the month (which you can read about here), it was time to think about all I wanted to achieve this year. There were years that I was really specific with my goals and others (like 2019) that I just put general things I wanted to focus on. Which is why I really like this method of organising all my resolutions into Goals, Focus, Dreams and Affirmations.

For my Goals I kept the things that I could actually measure and that I wanted to accomplish throughout the year. For Focus, every area of my life that I wanted to improve in some way but that was measured simply by my well being. For Dreams, those far fetched things you can't help but hope for and for Affirmations, anything that inspires me and that I can look back on if I'm feeling a bit unmotivated.

My main goals for 2020 were mostly surrounding low-waste and sustainable living, as well as veganism. For a few years now I've had these as goals but I decided to take more action on them. The main things I spend money on are fashion, beauty and books and, seen as that's where most of my waste comes from, I decided to go into a "buying ban" of sorts.

For the latter, I'll go back to doing Project 5 (only being allowed to buy one book after I read 5), but this time, I'll include sequels too. My TBR pile has gotten considerably shorter over the past couple of years, but I still want to get through most of it this year. For beauty, I will stop buying products unless I've run out of something and need to replace it and, when the time comes, look for more sustainable brands. I'll also try and get through all my extra products (which are only a few thankfully). Even though I'm not a very fashion oriented person, last year I bought a lot of clothes and I'd like to stop that. I'd really like to start moving towards a Capsule Wardrobe (changing out seasonal items is quite hard in Brazil, seen as the only season is HOT, but I'd like to curate my items a bit more), and I'll only be allowed to buy something if I've thought about it for a good while. If I can buy it second hand, even better. As with veganism, I've been vegetarian for over 2 years now and would love to start incorporating a few plant based meals throughout my weeks (if I could be fully vegan by the end of the year it would be FANTASTIC, but no pressure).

Onto more practical goals, I'd really like to read 50 books this year and be fluent in Italian. I started lessons a year ago and, although I reckon I can get along fine, I don't experience a lot of Italian (either reading, listening to or watching) to be fluent just yet, and I would really love to.

My main focuses this year are all health related, be it physical or mental. I'm the type of person that, to start doing something, I can't wait for a Monday in January or else I'll never do it, which is why I started going to the gym on a Friday in December. Despite always hating gyms and still having major anxiety when it comes to weight lifting, I'm really enjoying it and would love to carry on going there every week day (three times for weight lifting and cardio, two for pilates). I'd also love to start stretching at home and going to Yoga lessons whenever I can. Last year I did a total of 5 lessons and felt so much more energised and calm after them that I really wanna go to more. Similarly, I'd like to meditate once a day, even if only for 15 minutes.

Another thing that I know will help immensely with my mental health is start making music again. I play both the piano and the guitar, as well as singing, but I want to go back to practicing properly and not play once a year when I feel like it. I love music and should really make actual time for it.

I won't be sharing my dreams here, as I'm the type of person who believes that if you share your dreams too much, they'll never become a reality. Don't know whether that's real or not but I'd rather not risk it.

And lastly, my affirmations for the year. 2019 was a very hard year for everyone, especially our beautiful earth. So I have three mantras that I use when meditating as my affirmations: Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu, a Sanskrit mantra that means "May all being everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and freedom for all"; the Ho'oponopono, a Hawaiian practice that stands for "I'm sorry, please forgive me, I love you, I'm grateful" and can be applied to everything, like yourself or the world as a whole; and the most personal and the biggest one for me, "Be light". Whenever I think about my purpose on this Earth I always go back to that. I wanna be light and bring light to the people and the world around me.

Love,

N.

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