Hello beauties!
I hope you’ve had a wonderful start to the year. We had one of our best friends visiting and I took about two weeks off work and social media which felt really lovely! With the industry of blogging/ social media, there really isn’t any official “time off” so I’ve learned over the years that the time between Christmas and New Years is that time for me. It’s such a wonderful time to slow down, forget about being productive, stay in your pj’s, and spend time with loved ones.
That being said, I’m back and wanted to round up some of the biggest lessons I learned in 2021 and what I hope to bring into 2022. I am currently doing a 5 day course called “writing your new story for 2022” and it’s been all about identifying the “old story” you are telling yourself so you can be aware of any limiting beliefs that could be holding you back. Over the last few years, I’ve become so aware and passionate about the notion of “what we think, we become” and that our lives are really a reflection of our internal beliefs and stories. Since becoming aware of this a few years ago, my life has totally changed! I’ll link the free class I’m taking here incase anyone wants to do it with me. 🙂
In reflection, I wanted to round up some of what I learned in 2021 and my word for 2022 as I’ve spent the past few days thinking about it. 2021 was truly one of the best years of my life– not because everything was perfect but because I felt like lots of the dreams and goals that we had set in motion in the years past came to fruition in 2021. We moved to Montana, got married (finally), and brought a new puppy into our family /became a family of four! Our new life here in Montana has felt so aligned in a way that it did not back in California in the past few years. The past few years were honestly freaking hard but 2021 had this brand new lightness to it that I like to believe happens when you are living in alignment with what’s right for you. We have made wonderful friends here and truly it’s felt like such a blissful place to live, something we longed for all during our twenties moving here and there all over California. We were getting to a point of not knowing if that feeling of really belonging in a town/ home was possible but trusted our gut feelings about making the seemingly scary move to Montana. We pretty much moved here on a whim when our dream home opened up on Zillow and then decided to stay in a matter of days. This was quite scary at the time but looking back was the best thing I’ve ever said yes to! I couldn’t imagine a better place to start our married life together.
I recognize that sounds a little wild and it honestly was! However, it has been such proof to me that when you hold a vision of what you want and believe that it will come together in some way without forcing your own timelines on things, the universe can take over and make things happen for you (obviously with lots of hard work too).
I think the biggest thing I saw in 2021 is that our lives CAN be easy, fun, vibrant, filled with love if you really follow what feels right to YOU and make decisions based on what you truly desire in life rather than what others think you should be doing or what makes other people happy. Dylan and I had a small intimate wedding of 23 guests and it was the best weekend of our lives. A few years ago I would have been too nervous to hurt anyone’s feelings by having something so small and intimate but I am SO glad we did because it made things so special. This year I think we really learned to trust ourselves and stop seeking validation from outside sources, something that I’ve been working on my whole life.
Like I mentioned above, in 2022 I really want to work on letting go of any old lingering limiting beliefs I have and old stories I didn’t even realize I’m telling myself and replace those with dreams and beliefs for the future! Going into 2022 my word is “on purpose” which I hope will mean that I’m being purposeful with my days, my work, my relationships, and what I’m subconsciously telling myself! It resonates SO much currently because toward the end of 2021 I felt like I was just going through the motions to get everything done. I love the notion of living “on purpose” – I think it’s so powerful!
Do you have a word for the year? If so, I would love to hear it!! Feel free to comment on my latest Instagram or slide into my DM’s.
Another great recommendation I have for figure out goals, dreams, and even a word for the year is to create a vision board. I’m not even kidding you, they work. I did one last year for the first time and THEY ARE POWERFUL! I’m not saying that every single thing you put on there will come true but looking back at mine last year and what I was longing for – it’s pretty crazy the changes that have happened. Podcast episode on them coming soon. 😉
I’m so thankful for this incredible community and know I’m sending you so much love as we move into this new year. XX