Talking Goals & Intentions — My 20 for 2020
New Year’s resolutions — let’s be real, you either love them or hate them. For me, I’ve never been particularly fond of New Year’s resolutions; it’s not that I don’t like the idea of resolutions, it’s just that I’ve always found them to be so vague and obvious. Yes, I want to eat healthier. Yes, I want to exercise more. Yes, I want to budget better and save money.
But last year changed a lot of things for me. I was so busy in my professional life, which resulted in more stress and anxiety than I had ever experienced before. I carried a heavy load and started neglecting simple healthy habits like cooking, walking, running, and drinking water. I drank a lot more caffeine throughout the day because I felt I needed caffeine just to make it through. But the extra caffeine didn’t do anything for me because I was consistently falling asleep on the couch at 8pm after coming home from work at 7pm. I always felt exhausted and mentally drained. I had a lot of headaches.
Let me be clear, it’s not like I hit rock bottom or totally lost all control of myself, it’s just that I recognized I was becoming a version of myself that wasn’t the version of myself that I wanted to be. I mean hey, look back at my 2019 memories and you’ll see someone who’s smiling, laughing, traveling, and having an all around good time. From a photo’s perspective, I don’t look like someone who’s stressed or anxious or exhausted, do I?
In the back half of last year, I realized I needed a change. I wanted to be healthy and happy. I wanted to have more fun. I wanted to reduce the amount of stress that I carried around on my shoulders. And thankfully, I did just that. I (re)discovered passions, picked up a few creative habits and hobbies, met some new friends, and did lots of little things in between to end the year on a healthy, happy, and fun note — a note I want to carry with me in 2020.
Old habits die hard, this I know. But here and now in 2020, I know there are things I need to do:
Keep my work-life balance in check
Keep up with exercise and healthy eating
Better manage my stress levels
Continue creating and maintaining relationships that are important to me
To help keep my focus in all the right places in 2020, I decided to create a 20 for 2020 list. I wasn’t originally planning to create resolutions, goals, or intentions this year, but I stumbled upon the 20 for 2020 idea while reading about it on a blog post from @laurenkaysims. The 20 for 2020 concept is simple: make a list of 20 specific things that you want to do, see, or accomplish throughout 2020. Anything is game for the 20 for 2020 list; after all, it’s your list of your goals for your life in 2020.
As you will see in a few, I put together a 20 for 2020 list that covers a variety of topics that I hope will help me live the balanced, healthy, happy, and fun life I want to live. Without further ado, I present you with my 20 for 2020 list! I will share monthly updates on my progress at the end of each month. Enjoy!
What’s on your 20 for 2020 list?
Thanks for reading!
JB