Outperform your 2023 self

I have a few priorities and activities in the next few weeks so I’m not yet cramming in trying to create a vision board or create a word of the year.  (And hey if you are, that’s cool too – read more about My Vision Board process here)  But true to myself and my interest of the art of leisure and mental fitness, I wanted to share a few ways we can all out perform our 2023 selves!

Of course these techniques are not reserved for Jan 1, you can do them any time so I wanted to share as they are very useful.


Develop these Mindsets:

  • If 1000 people win, I AM ONE OF THEM.
  • If 100 people WIN, I AM ONE OF THEM.
  • If 10 people WIN, I AM ONE OF THEM.
  • If 1 person WINS, I AM THAT ONE.
  • If NOBODY wins, I DIED TRYING.

Develop New Healthy Habits:

It’s very important to have productive habits because they will turn into routines. Motivation can fade, and that is when discipline prevails.

Here are example of healthy habits:

  • write specific goals down for the following day before bed.
  • Journal & evaluate your day before bed.
  • Sleep early or get a good night’s sleep.
  • You are aware of your bad habits, change to the opposite.

Get 1% Better Daily:

This is MY FAV technique! Prioritize incremental progress over perfection. Don’t get lured into the fantasy or “fast result”

Knowing this will keep you consistent.

Some high valued 1% skills include:

  • Read for 10 pages daily
  • Learn for skill a least 10 min a day
  • Meditate for 5 minutes
  • Exercise for 1 hour
  • Create art daily (photography, doodling counts)
  • Reflect on your day
  • Practice gratitude

Prioritize Physical & Mental Health:

Add activities that makes you feel good physically and mentally to your routine.

  • Get some outdoor time daily
  • Journal everyday
  • Eat clean & drink 2-3L of water
  • Go on solo & friendship dates
  • Hang out with family/loved ones.
  • Read a self-dev article
  • Use diffusers or scented candles in your home
  • Clean your space (do a quick tidy)

Diversify your income streams:

Making money and more specifically women making more money is good for society and thr planet. In 2024 consider upskilling, changing jobs, seeking high-paying clients or even a side project that your are passionate about. Start small but stay consistent. Not only will there be a dollar amount change but also you’ll be developing your always learning attitude.

  • Get a new certificate your career field
  • Digital Marketing
  • Content Creation
  • Sell your art on Etsy
  • Influencer marketing
  • Audience building
  • UI/UX Design
  • Data Analysis Skills
  • Master No-Code

All images c/o Pinterest

9 Habits to become unrecognizable in 6 months

I cannot take credit for this. But I really wanted to share it.
(Edit: all pictures are from Pinterest)

I’ve been following @Art0fLife_ on twitter for a few months and I love when people re-share their content. It means 1) it resonates with folks and 2) it needs to be shared more.

The 9 habits shared by @Art0fLife_ are very specific, so I’ll be sharing them with a more consistent mindset as opposed to a “follow this exactly to find results”.

Should preface by this saying, I’m will a Work in Progress. I do do a handful of these, but there are areas where I know I want to improve.

Image from Pinterest
Image from Pinterest
  1. Wake up early at the same time every day: really dependent on what time you go to sleep, but if you know the hours of sleep you need (somewhere between 6-8 for most of us) you can get into bed and get that sleep in consistently. Why wake up early? because you get time to yourself and it ensures you are ahead of everything and anyone
  2. Journal daily: Don’t know what to write? brain-dump, goals, gratitude list, thoughts that make you spiral. Getting things out of your head will dramatically improve your creativity and mental wellness.
  3. Learning/Studying for 30 min a day: This is so important for anyone and unfortunately we do less of it in mid life and beyond. Whether it studying certification material (hello scrum, agile, data or product) or hobby (wood work, coding, knitting, content creation). Learning creates increase neural pathways and can also help you create multiple income streams.
  4. Exercise daily for at least 30 min: not only for the physical side, but also for the mental wellness side. Consider ways to incorporate cardio (swimming, running) and resistance training (weight lifting, resistance or body weight exercises).
  5. Meditate for at least 5 min: Essentially sitting in silence or with a guided mentation will help you practice mindfulness and give your mind a break.
  6. Create a proper sleep schedule: including a wind down routine. This will do wonders for your performance, productivity and mood.
  7. Walk in nature: I love my forrest baths. Nature is a proven way to improve anxiety and increase happiness. It helps to also get the creative juices flowing. I would love to do this daily but it’s only once a week currently. Will be looking to improve this.
  8. Read 20 pages a day: read anything (fiction, non fiction, self dev, poems, history etc). Reading an actual book helps to improve focus and knowledge (even if that is just what a word means and how to spell it).
  9. Drink 2.5-3L of water daily: water is essential to our body and our recovery. So staying hydrated is key.
Image from Pinterest
Image from Pinterest

—————–

I recently completed Blogmas – check it out!

Follow me on…
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Youtube

Support me – Etsy Store!

Starting the new year with renewed focus and intention

It was a GREAT 20 days of blogmas! I am pretty impressed with my ability, consistency and ambition.  I think it was the longest streak of blogging I’ve had in a long time.  For January, I’ll be returning to more regular yet less frequent blog posts.  Maybe, it will be twice a week and centered around a new theme – I haven’t confirmed my creative process yet! :P

<Admin reminder for myself> I’ve also yet to share all the posts on Pinterest so that will take some time in January also. So between editing titles (taking out the word “blogmas”), promoting on Pinterest (and twitter & instagram for that matter) I know I’ll be scaling back.  </end reminder>

So here is my first post – post blogmas!  It’s a multi day vlog showing my routines & habits.  All things I want to continue focusing on in the new year.  Whether that’s nature works, morning workouts, journaling, reading, meditating, doing well in my career – it’s a reminder that my Focus and Intention needs be all about consistency.  So hopefully it inspires others out there who want to start (or stay on …like me) the journey of their personal development and self growth.


Click here for Blogmas 2022!

Follow me on…
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Youtube

Check out my Etsy Store

 

Blogmas | Do THIS before you create your reality with a #VisionBoard

We are 18 days out from 2023.  I hope between the get togethers, holiday meals and gift giving your are making time for YOU.  As a mom of daughters, with a full fledge and progressive career with ambitions of growing my business – goal setting has always been my thing.

But with the new year I definitely try to be more intentional.

Below is the process I’ve developed over the years + sharing my vision board capturing visual cues of all the areas I’m setting goals in (wellness, learning, career promotion, financial abundance, family, friends and world travel).

  1. Retrospective on the past year: I use the life audit wheel and do an audit of the areas of my life that went really well (10) and the areas that I felt I could have put more effort towards or that could have gone better (1 being the lowest on the scale)
  2. Write in words what the life audit showed me: This is really about writing down what went well and what didnt.  So now you have two representations of the past year.
  3. Get clear on what you want to achieve: Now taking the written retrospective, write down all the things you want to achieve.  Be as detailed as possible.  And also make room to jot down the feeling you have when you think about these achievements.  And most importantly, write down actionable steps to get where you want to be (full disclosure: this will take you more than one sitting)
  4. Pinterest, pinterest, PINTEREST! You are gonna grab all images that show you achieving everything you clearly articulated in step 3.
  5. Make you vision board: Now you are going to make a visual representation of what you wrote in 3. Before you make your vision board, make a gratitude list, meditate, light a candle, clense your crystals – just be in the most receiving space you can be in!  Once you love what you’ve created (also: this could take a few tries) PRINT it out, save to all of your desktop wallpapers & make sure you look at it multipe times a day.

You’ll notice a pattern here, we think, write and visualize.  Repeatedly.  Why? Because the brain can’t tell the difference between something actually happening/how it feels when you achieve something vs when you just think about achieving it & feel the feelings.  Once you brain believes you’ve achieved it, you’ll starting behaving in a way and taking actions in the direction of that achievement.

BONUS: Do future journalling – everyday of the new year, potentially as part of your morning journalling practice.  This is where you write down everything of the day as it it’s already happened (ie: these will be the actionable steps you wrote down in 3 aboce).  Again tricking your brain into thinking you’ve already achieved the accomplishment but on a daily basis.

Vision Board, Pinterest, Mood board, Future, Goals, New Years Resolution, Goal Setting, Happy, Abundant, successful, wealthy, prosperity, vitality, wellness

Want more? Follow my Blogmas 2022 journey here!

Blogmas | AM Self talk

I was listening to a podcast the other day, and the speaker was talking about a morning ritual she did for several years and found that it elevated her mental well being consistently, filled her cup and she personally attested that this process created more abundance in her life.   Essentially is all about speaking to yourself with love, kindness & grace – like one would a plant.

How it works:

  1. Stand in front of the mirror & look yourself deep in the eyes.
  2. Say your full name and celebrate you!  This means you need to say 7 things that you did yesterday, last year or within your entire life that you are proud of.
  3. Next, say your full name again and release the shackles.  You want to say 7 things you forgive about yourself.  They may be the same things everyday but the need here is to free yourself of shame, blame, regret, guild and anger.
  4. Finally, say your full name and commit to yourself.  Again here, before you make promises to other people, you need to make promises to yourself!

Boots (similar) | Denim (similar) | Faux Leather Jacket (similar) | Cap

*All self portraits taken using iphone, tripod & timer remote on the apple watch

Want more? Follow my Blogmas 2022 journey here!

2021 Words of Intention

I used to be really big into new years resolutions (see here and here).  I mean I still am into making resolutions but they don’t need to be beginning at the start of the year.  I set goals or dream big any time of the year, month or given day.  Continuous improvement is just that – continuous!

I still have a few goals but they are ongoing/refreshed from things I was working towards last year.

New Year, New Years Resolution, #OneLittleWord, Goal Setting, Light Magic, Photography, Pinterest

I was journalling the other day and 3 words came to me:

Joy

Expression

Transformation

New Year, New Years Resolution, #OneLittleWord, Goal Setting, Light Magic, Photography, Pinterest

I want everything I do this year to be an embodiment of these words.

If I go for a run, I want to stop and take some pictures of me and my surroundings be cause that is an expression of my joy.

New Year, New Years Resolution, #OneLittleWord, Goal Setting, Light Magic, Photography, Pinterest

As soon as I have an idea for a post whether it’s on the blog (here or here), LinkedIn or Instagram, I am not going to sit on it – I am going to immediately express it.

New Year, New Years Resolution, #OneLittleWord, Goal Setting, Light Magic, Photography, Pinterest

If I need to upgrade, change or create something – I am going to make that transformation happen.

I think using words as intentions for your year is a great tool.  They can be easily reminders providing quick ways to act.


Do you set resolutions at the start of the year?

Have you tried using a words as intentions for your year?