To say it was a busy year is an understatement and it was interesting to look back at my goals and intentions from last year. I think it’s unhealthy and unrealistic to think that you can tackle a series of significant changes and intentions - let’s be honest, January 1st doesn’t translate into me becoming an entirely new person over night. I had six intentions and I think I can happily say that I really doubled down on two of the six and fell a little short on the others. I think you can only accomplishment so much in 365 days and to be honest, everything on my list is something I think I should always focus on year after year. I never want to stop learning, I always want to invest in my friendships and marriage and I always want and need to remind myself to enjoy the little moments more.

When I truly look back on they year, I was mothering and my career took more of a front seat, which was unexpected. I started at a new company in April of this year, I was promoted in August and this opportunity wasnt even on my radar. While achieving certain professional goals was not part of my plan for 2018, I embraced the unexpected, which is part of the journey. Life will always continue to throw you a curve ball or a new opportunity or experience will present itself in a way that may force you to shift or pivot a bit. These unexpected moments may not fit perfectly into the plan, or it might force time and attention to be redirected pulling you away from something you thought would be a priority. Regardless, it’s good to have a plan, but it’s better to embrace the day-to-day and everything that comes along with it.

I don’t have a master plan for 2019, but I do intend on making my health more of a priority. My boys, now two toddlers, have kept me on my toes. I never knew how active two toddlers could really be, but regardless of how little, or how much, sleep I get I still feel like I’m running on empty. I blame this mostly on the fact that my eating habits and not working out regularly has resulted in me fueling my body on caffeine, wine, goldfish and anything else that can be consumed on the go with one hand! Honestly, I share this not to complain, but when I look back on 2018 I failed myself in some ways. Self-care, while top of mind, wasnt as much of a priority as it should have been. I’m not going to do a complete 180 and cut out all of the things that I love, but I am committed with fueling and providing my body more of what it craves and needs.

So, all this to say. I’m excited about welcoming a new year because it has forced me to make a small but important commitment of joining a gym. This will be the first winter that I work from home and I need to find ways to be more active, to step away from the work and mothering and to carve out time for me - even for 30 minutes a day. My goal for January is 12 workouts during the month. If I can start by carving out the time for 3 workouts per week then I know my body will crave more and it will be more of routine and part of my day instead of feeling forced.

My overall intention for 2019 is to start small, forget about any lingering thoughts I had on everything I didn’t accomplish in 2018 and to welcome the year with an open heart and mind. I have no idea where I’ll be this time next year, but I want to embrace the unknown and be grateful for everything I have instead being so laser focused on the “what’s next”. Goals are good, but sometimes we are blinded by them and I want to learn to appreciate all the small wins.

Cheers to a new year!