2021 Word of the Year

Hey hey everyone! It feels really good to be writing again after the rush of the holiday season + our wedding. With the start of a new year, it is tradition to create new year’s resolutions (you can read about my 2020 resolutions here). However, it seems that most of the time, these resolutions are never fully kept. Whether that be due to lack of motivation, lack of resources to keep up with the resolutions, or that the resolution is too difficult to maintain. So this year, I decided to assign a word to 2021. This word is something I wish to focus on + be intentional about. Something I want to work towards.

This past year, as we all know it, was different than most. Eventually, I will share in a later blog post about some big life changes that occurred in 2020 but for the purposes of this post I will leave it at the fact that I switched jobs at the beginning of August + it was a great decision amidst a time of chaos. It has given me the opportunity to be honest with myself about what I want in life + more importantly what I do not want in life. I took a leap of faith that God was leading me in a new direction + I began to seriously work toward new dreams.

What Needs to Change

At the end of 2020 + now, I feel as though I can’t quite keep up with all of the information being thrown at me. Which could very well be from all of the blogging resources I have signed up for or the hundred of email subscriptions I was not reading. In other words, I am drowning in all of the unnecessary notifications – this goes for social media apps too.

In terms of personal life, my house is always a mess, no matter how much I tried to clean it. The closest seems to always have clothing on the floor, the laundry never stops piling up, + my projects are never finished – just halfway completed. I was stretching myself thin with all of the holiday + wedding planning (which was also VERY fun – you can read about my wedding planning here) + now I want to change that. So, what is my word of the year? My word of the year for 2021 is Simplify.

This can be interpreted in a dozen of different ways so I came up with 3 ideas I plan to implement simplifying my life. Most of these deal with the thought process behind what causes clutter or a cramped head space.

1. Make room for the things that matter

This to me, is the first step toward created a more simplified life. Get rid of unused items or clothing I hope to wear again “one day”. I needed to find a set list to follow. I am following a 31 day guide to simplifying through this company + the tasks are less than 30 minutes but are designed to help remove clutter. The company does one at the beginning of every year but I found the list also: 31 Day Simplicity Challenge.

2. Focus on what is important

Things that I can list off that are important to me – faith, family, friendships, traveling, health, + joy. Without God I am nothing, so first + foremost, my relationship with Him is vital. Being an extrovert, my relationships with others actually plays a very big role in my life. I enjoy the time spent with my husband, best friend, + my family. It is one of the reasons I would love to be a full time blogger one day. I want to be able to be a part of all of the relationships + friendships I have + not miss out on opportunities to enjoy life to the fullest.

Health to me is more than just eating well – it is about FEELING well! It is about managing stress, dressing up for myself (this really does help me to feel my best), spending time doing things I love, taking time to chill out, talking to a therapist if needed, + working out. It is focusing on what I know allows me to live to my fullest.

3. Be intentional about future spending

This is one that I will admit is going to be hard for me because I can justify purchasing just about any item – seriously ask Max! But do I reallllly need to buy something just because it’s cute? Not necessarily. With blogging + sharing items for followers, there are some items I purchase to try them out + report on my opinion of the product(s). Over time, that will come with experience as to how to control what budget those items come from. But for now I am trying to take it slow to allow for more content on my blog! In terms of life spending, I also tend to purchase items for projects that still have yet to be finished or I purchase a new book without having finished the last one. I want to be intentional about where my money is going + saving for things we know are coming.

As a result of all of these ideas, I hope that by the end of 2021, I feel as though my time is devoted where I want it to be. What do you think about these ideas? What do you think about the concept of assigning a word of the year? Do you personally have a word of the year? If so, what is it + why? I would love to hear about it in the comments below!