It’s that time of year again; the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. 2020 has been a year from Hades and I’m ready to send it back! I typically don’t set New Year’s Resolutions but, considering how 2020 went, I am ready to set my plan and intentions for the coming year.

This year, I will be doing a vision board for my New Year’s Resolutions. Vision boards can be done any time of year, but I am compelled to complete mine at the top of the year. Vision boards are used to set goals and intentions. You can use visual representations (magazine clippings, drawings, anything!) of the things that you want to attract into your life, and then you will be able to see it daily and focus your energy on achieving those goals.

While vision boards are completely customizable and you can put whatever you want to manifest on them, there are a few aspects that I will absolutely be including on mine, and that I think everyone could benefit from.

So without further ado:

5 Aspects to Include in Your 2021 New Years Resolutions

Self Care

2020 has been a rough year, and I think that we have all been very frustrated, anxious, and stressed to say the least. But this year, I am going to make sure that I include aspects of self-care on my vision board to remind myself to take time for ME! We’ve spent this past year worrying about our health, our loved ones, our jobs, and the state of the world (as we should), but in 2021 we will be taking time to worry about ourselves and our needs.

On my vision board, I’ll be including things like regular pamper days, time for meditation, and a therapist and/or women’s group to be able to talk through some of my challenges with. It’s important that we care taking care of ourselves so that we can show up fully to take care of everyone else.

Self Love

For some, self-care and self-love are one in the same. For me, they differ in that self care is about taking care of yourself, physically, mentally, and emotionally while self-love is simply loving everything about yourself (flaws and all!). To put it more simply, for me, self-care leads to self love. In 2021, I want to take the time to learn about myself, the things that may be positive or negative. I want to make sure that I nurture these aspects of myself and make them something to love and be proud of.

I plan on taking time to really dive deep into my feelings and find the things about me that I want to reframe and repurpose (like that I am sometimes too high strung or too self-critical), and the things that I want to continue to enhance and develop (like my drive and creativity). By doing this, I will be able to be my best self and learn to love them both.

I also want to take the time to learn to learn the things about myself physically that I may have been to harsh on myself about. Whether it is some of the hyperpigmentation left behind from the ghosts of acne’s past, or the stretch marks left behind from carrying 2 beautiful children. We live in a world nowadays that is constantly pushing this unrealistic (and untrue!) image of “perfection”. I refuse to give into this image, and I won’t internalize their foolish, unattainable standards. I will take 2021 to not focus on trying to get the face or body of someone else, but instead to get the best version of my face and body and learn to love them unconditionally. I will take this time to love the fact that my drive and ambition has aided me in accomplishing my life’s goals, but also learn to love my stretch marks 🙂

Financial Abundance/Literacy

The year 2020 has been a financial clusterf***. On a personal and global level, money has been something everyone has been stressing about. Some of us have been more negatively impacted financially by this pandemic, and that seems to be especially the case in the United States. In 2021, I want to make it a goal to not have to worry about money again! This seems like a rather large goal (and I’ll admit, I’ll probably be putting this on my vision board for the rest of my life), but I think that there are always more ways to improve our financial situations.

On my vision board, I will include ways to diversify my income, as well as learn ways to be more financially literate and intelligent. It’s no secret, I like to shop online for anything from clothes and shoes, to skincare, to household items. But this year, and I am setting the goal to make smart decisions and make sure that I have positioned myself financially to not have to worry as much about what income I have.

Time for Self and Loved Ones

Even though we spent almost the entire year in our homes, I still feel like I didn’t have enough time with myself or my loved ones. Also, due to the pandemic, we literally could not go and visit our family without the risk of exposing or being exposed to the virus. On top of that, I spent almost every hour of every day in my home, but still somehow didn’t find the time to just sit an do something that I wanted to do. How is that even possible!?

NOT IN 2021!

In 2021, I will be making sure to make time for my family, even if we still can’t physically see one another, and for myself. I’m going to make it a point to make more phone calls, and slow down my life to find time to cherish and enjoy it. I’m not stranger to overworking myself, but I can’t keep burning both ends of the candle. On my vision board, I am going to include pictures of my family, and things that I like to do in my down time like read or play the violin.

Health

I kind of feel like this one is a given, considering the whole reason that 2020 was a huge L for the entire world. In 2020 I feel like, while I worried about my health, I actually was only worried about whether myself or my family would catch CoVid. I made a few attempts at a better, healthier me by trying to eat better, and still be active at home but somehow still never really steered the course. I’m pretty good with my diet and nutrition, but exercising at home has been a bit of a struggle for me.

In 2021, I will be making it a priority to work out 3-5 days a week and making sure that I am focusing on my heart health (which is something that I rarely think about). I will also be making sure to be mindful of my diet (specifically trying to reduce my sodium intake because I LOVE savory foods) and my mental health. My overall goal is to be my absolute healthiest self.

2020 got the best of us, but the fight ain’t over yet!

What will you be including for your 2021 New Year’s Resolutions?