Happy Friday!
It’s been a busy week around here! I’ve shared my last Month in Review of 2019, a reflection on 2019 as a whole along with a fun decade in review and today, I’m talking all about my 2020 New Years Goals (see 2019 here)! This is something I do everything single year and it’s honestly ones of my favorite things. I try to keep myself accountable each year and check in monthly with my Month in Review posts 🙂 When it comes to goals, I do like to get specific but I also allow room for flexibility, improvement and change. For example, I used to set goals for a certain amount of followers on all platforms but this often left me disappointed with myself. Not for lack of trying but because most times, this kind of thing is out of your hands and I think that’s an unfair way to judge yourself. Instead, I’ve focused my efforts on things that are better longterm and more important – how I’m growing as a person, how I’m constantly learning how to run a business and how I affect all of you in a positive way. To me, that is the measure of success.
Also, I don’t get down on myself if something doesn’t happen right away or at all because honestly the only thing that matters is that I’m constantly learning, growing and becoming a better version of myself. This doesn’t mean that I don’t push myself if make my goals happen because trust me, I do, BUT it just means that I’m much more willing to accept if the course changes. For example, in my 2018 Goals post, I actually posted a lot of these same goals including that I wanted to utilize Instagram stories more and start my YouTube channel. I am JUST NOW doing it and that is okay! I wasn’t ready in 2018 and I still had so much growing to do. I started my Instagram story series, Tuesday Confession, this week and let me tell you, I was SO scared! Terrified, even! I don’t even know why. I’m convinced I make up these illegitimate fears in my head haha. But the important thing is that I kept my word and conquered that fear and did it. And you know what? The response was incredible! Absolutely mind-blowing! So many people participated and I got so many DMs from people that said they were so excited for the series and so happy that I was finally ready to be on stories. That really made me feel so special. You don’t even know! It took me years to get there, but I did it and to me, that’s still a win in my book 😉
2020 New Years Goals
2020 New Years Goals – Professional
Step Out of my Comfort Zone
I’m funny in the way that I actually enjoy taking risks! Sure, it’s terrifying but I always hold out hope that things will happen as they should. And they do 🙂 However, the part that is really scary to me is putting myself out there. I do have a comfort zone when it comes to how much I want show other people and that’s really what I want to work on this year.
I can be hard person to get to know at times because I’m not a surface level kind of person. Of course, I’m friendly and personable but I don’t expose a lot of myself right away and instead, I reveal little by little by peeling back the layers of my personality over time as I feel comfortable. I refer to myself as an onion haha! Because of this, I can initially come off quiet and shy but really, there’s so much more to it than that (and I’ll save it for another post). I like to talk, make jokes and tell animated stories but it takes a while for me to get to that point. The issue with this is first impressions, especially when it comes to business. Going to events, networking or even just showing my face on Instagram stories is enough to send me in a full-fledged panic attack. I get anxious and nervous just at the thought but I realize that when you own a business, this is something that must be done. And I think a big part of this has to do with confidence… and I’m seeing that confidence plays a BIG part in a lot of these goals.
Be More Creative
I’ve always been a creative person but I’ve also always been a busy person so I haven’t previously had time do the things I wanted to do and really test my creativity. I really want to expand on this in 2020. Sometimes I feel like my creativity is limited by my worry of what others think and to be honest, I don’t want that to be the reason I don’t even try. I’m not going to share details just yet but I have A LOT of ideas that I want to implement this year including more photography and videography, innovative ways to connect with all of you, fun things to experiment with on social media and even the emergence of new platforms and ideas (and possibly starting the process of writing a book!). I have already started to implement some of these ideas with the creation of a secondary Instagram account to share a different aesthetic and more realness, a TikTok account to share more fun (just search “lizzieinlace”), and a YouTube channel (coming in February!) to share more knowledge and more of who I am.
Stop Procrastinating & Make Decisions
So I have never been a procrastinator but I’ve been so overwhelmed the last couple of years that this is becoming my new normal lol! I’m really good at coming up with concepts and ideas but have trouble executing them. It’s either a matter of time, being overwhelmed with everything or I start feeling self-conscious about how it will be perceived. Or I overthink things and I want to make the “right” choice so it takes me forever to make a decision. Or if something pops up, I’ll think to myself “oh, I can do that later” but then I forget. I’m particularly bad with text messages and the like haha! But NO MORE. I am putting my foot down and giving myself the kick in the butt that I need. I’m going to start getting things done right away instead of waiting until a “perfect” decision has been made.
Stay Organized
Over Christmas break, I got SO organized! I made new spreadsheets, caught up with everything and physically organized things that I had neglected before. It’s so funny because I was always a super organized person before and I still am but again, I get really overwhelmed. I always have a hundred thoughts racing in my mind and a never-ending to do list. I’ve vowed to not only keep everything organized as needed but to also focus on one task at a time instead of multi-tasking myself into oblivion haha! Fingers crossed!
Believe in Myself
This is one of the biggest things I’ll be working on this year and it’s been quite the journey to get here. For whatever reason, I’ve always felt like I wasn’t good enough in every aspect of my life and business. I never wanted to be the girl who compared herself to others but I did and it made me feel even worse about myself. The thing is I’m really good about talking others up. I’m great at motivating, inspiring and helping others to see how amazing they are but it’s always been difficult for me to do that for myself. Over time, I’ve come to realize that really, truly believing yourself comes from within. It doesn’t come from validation from others in the form of compliments, accomplishments or acquired success. None of that means anything if you don’t believe it and now that I’ve come to that realization, I feel guilty about feeling this way about myself for so long. This definitely stems from deeper issues from within my past but I’ve overcome and healed from that and while it’s held me back from so much in the past, I’m not going to let that happen moving forward.
2020 New Years Goals – Personal
Prioritize Health & Wellness
So many of you have been such a vital support system over the past two years as I came to terms with some health issues and spent a majority of the year as human guinea pig. Now that I’ve got a good sense of my diet, I’m ready to get back into working out. Sadly, I am not a person that actually enjoys the gym (that would be my husband haha!). I used to go 4-5 a week and now that I’ve stopped for a while, it’s hard to get back in. Instead, I’m going to try at-home workouts, more outdoor hikes as well as my faves: yoga, pilates and barre. I also just got a bike so I plan to start riding it as soon as the weather warms up! 🙂 This is my first time EVER owning a bike and it’s pink! Ahhh it’s so cute <3
Secondly, I am more focused on mental health than ever. As many of you know, I did go through a pretty traumatic situation with my family and I healed through talk therapy and EMDR as well as on my own through listening to podcasts on Narcissistic Personality Disorder, meditation and really doing a deep dive on my self-awareness. I’ve become a much better and stronger person through it all and I am hungry to learn more and grow. I plan to do daily meditation, affirmations, journaling and continue with my weekly DIY spa days.
Be More Confident
This is a really big one as a lot of my issues stem from lack of confidence including the belief in myself, anxiety with networking, procrastination and inability to make decisions, stepping out of my comfort zone, fear of taking creative risks and the changes with my health. This is absolutely the number one thing I’m working on this year because it affects so many areas of my life and I could not be more excited for this! I have already come a really long way and I do feel confident in most areas but there are some that are so foreign to me. When I was younger, it was drilled into my head that confident people had big egos and were selfish. I didn’t want to be that person and instead, I catered to others needs instead of my own. Now I realize that confidence is loving yourself, knowing your worth and being comfortable in your own skin.
Travel Once a Month
We traveled A LOT in 2019… at least once a month and it just made me want to see absolutely everything! For me, travel inspires, motivates and reignites that spark of creativity. It’s absolutely vital and I’d love to continue that pattern this year. It’s doesn’t have to be a big, crazy trip or anything either. Even a quick day trip will do 🙂 I can’t wait to see where the year takes us!
Outfit Details
Le Contour Dress c/o (also seen in this post) | Steve Madden Boots (old – similar here) | Les Couronnes de Victoire Flower Crown c/o (also seen in this post)
Have More Fun
When I was younger, I was FUN. I danced and sang and skipped and while I still do all of that, I feel like I’ve lost a little bit of that childlike spark that I always had. As I’ve gotten older and especially over the last few years, I’ve become more serious and less spontaneous. As a person, I’m kind of an enigma because part of me is an old soul and another part of me is like a child – I’m constantly wrestling with both of these sides. What I do know is that I could use more fun in my life because I don’t want to lose that childlike sense of wonder and excitement that I’ve always had. I’ve learned that I need to let loose, try new things, be more spontaneous, relax and above all, have fun!
Be More Present
This is something that I’m always working on and I feel like it’s so necessary. A lot of people tell me that I’m a hard-worker, and I am. BUT there is a difference between being a hard-worker and being a workaholic. The bad thing about doing something you love is that you don’t quite know when to shut it off. My brain is always going. ALWAYS. And I’ve totally been in both scenarios… yes, I was a workaholic but in my defense, it’s pretty much all I’ve know (and that’s for another post too) but there comes a time when you sit down and think about all the time that’s passing by as you’re working away planning your future. It was a big wake up call because I don’t want to miss out on what’s happening now with the people I love. I stopped working so much and created boundaries for myself – no phone, work or computer when I’m spending time with my husband as well as setting a schedule with strict breaks. There are two quotes that really hit it home for me that I’ll leave you with:
“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans” …and as spoken by Andy from The Office, “I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them.” Ugh – my heart!
I know this is a pretty loaded post (as well as the others from this week haha) but I hope you enjoyed learning more about my 2020 New Years Goals!
What are some of your 2020 new years goals? Let me know below!
xo
Feel free to share or pin for later <3
**********************
This week’s most clicked on look is….
I love this cute and cozy sweater! It looks perfect with the boots and headband 🙂
**********************
