The first month of the year has wrapped itself up- can you believe it?!
It feels like just yesterday we were ringing in the new year with joy and eating grapes under the table (only me? 😅), yet we're already five days into the second month of the year.
I don't know about you, but I feel like I can't keep my head on straight with how fast time is flying. So, in the spirit of opening up a discussion with you on how your year is going and how we can support one another while remembering where I was throughout the year (because I KNOW I'm going to need the reminder come December...), I bring you: My Month At a Glance- January 2023 Edition.
My Experience
We're starting off with a bang as I share my personal experience because boy have I been on a rollercoaster ride this month, which I hope you can't completely relate to...
The beginning of the month was smooth sailing as I came off of Winter Break feeling refreshed, renewed, and ready to tackle the second half of the school year with my 4th graders. I had put some new habits and mindset refreshes in place that helped me keep what I could of my energy, show myself grace, and continue to find my happy from within (which is my ultimate goal this year!)
This all came to a screeching halt as my Grandma Shirley sadly passed away on January 16th 🕊
I whole-heartedly believe that grief is one of, if not the, hardest human experience we have to go through, and going through it again has proved that statement right for me once more. As my grandma became sicker and sicker, I felt the fog of grief creep into my mindset and began to process. I wrote about it in hopes of helping those around me and myself in my weaker moments, slowed down to doing the bare minimum whenever possible, and took as many moments as possible to care for myself throughout this process.
I'm not entirely through my process, but I'm very proud of myself for doing what I can do and caring for myself throughout this hardship in my life. I write this not to brag on myself, but in hopes to remind you not only to take care of yourself, but to treat yourself in a way that you can show pride in- like when you take care of others 💛
Top of the Charts
Listen, I'm not usually a trendy gal- I usually stay in my lane and observe from afar. However, there was one trend that took the internet, and my mindset, by storm:
✨The Lucky Girl Trend ✨
The Lucky Girl Trend is a mindset hack that involves creating the belief that you're the luckiest person on the planet and that everything you desire finds its way to you.
I can hear the skeptics out there throwing a million and one reasons out on why this is foolish. I had my own doubts at the time too. However, as I've gotten into affirmations in general and have been working on programming my mindset to work for me instead of against me, I've learned that:
1) It doesn't hurt to give it a true try
2) You'd be surprised at how well some of these mindset hacks work
I can truly attest to #2 because as I've gone through the month, I've noticed a sense of calm & release wash over me. I know that everything happens for a reason and more and more I've been able to trust that the best thing is happening for me. As someone who has MEGA issues releasing control, this has been such a mental reprieve, especially as I grapple with grief.
And for that, I am truly lucky ✨
This wouldn't be a Top of the Charts segment without my love languages: Music & Books! This month, I had the pleasure of discovering a TON of songs- new and old- and read four books. Here are my top Song & Book for the month of January...
Song: "Flowers" by Miley Cyrus
From the moment I heard this song it had me feeling some type of way. I've believed from the beginning that this song is the self-love anthem of the year, regardless of your relationship status, because it reminds us that we can do anything for ourselves that others do for us. Want to go to the beach? Take yourself there! Want a home-cooked meal? Dance your way through the kitchen! Want some flowers to spruce up your space? Buy them for yourself!
Of course it's nice to have others do stuff for us, but oftentimes this leads to co-dependency as we forget that we also have plenty of opportunities to take care of ourselves. It's time to not just take care of ourselves from time to time, but truly love ourselves by ingraining self-care into our systems.
Now onto the books...
This month, I've stuck with the romance category, besides jumping on The Perfect Marriage bandwagon (which HOLY MOLY that book was INSANE). However, there was one that stuck out because the main character's mind reminded me so much of my own (thus allowing me to relate to her the most)...
The main characters are just *chef's kiss* so beautiful! This book is the third in the Lovelight Farms trilogy and every book just had a grip on me. The reason I chose Mixed Signals in particular is because of the experiences the main characters are having- doubt, insecurity in themselves, wanting the best for the other, etc.- and how we get to watch those play out as the reader. 11/10 recommend reading this whole series!
Intention Progress
This year, I have a few key intentions that I'm working towards. Therefore, every month I check in with them to decide how it's going and to see what needs to be shifted. I 11/10 recommend that you do the same if you want to see real progress towards your goals, so every month I'll be sharing updates on my intentions in hopes on inspiring you to do the same!
Intention#1 Project Find Your Happy
My biggest goal for this year was to find the happiness within me. This means finding routines and mindsets that cultivate happiness and doing the inner work to keep the internal gloom from clouding my sunshine.
I was doing really well with this goal for the first couple of weeks of January- I was finding my pockets of happiness and oozing gratitude for everything I had in front of me. However, as my grandma's health took a turn, I started to work towards processing grief, so I was no longer working on myself the same way.
While I give myself grace for this, I'm ready to start working towards finding a similar feeling of happiness within myself that I had at the beginning of the year. To do this, I'll work on a few things in February:
1) Journal through my emotions more
2) Take active rest instead of numbing myself with my phone
3) Listen to my body in its consistent need for rest
Intention #2 Project Fitness Queen
This year, I decided I wanted to up my fitness game. I already worked out every day with my mom, but my nutrition choices didn't always support my workouts and I allowed myself to get complacent. While I still appreciate myself for working out and love the body I have the privilege of living in, I want to work harder on making this vessel the best it can be while still enjoying life.
This month, I've worked to push myself in my workout more and recently started tracking my macros! Pushing myself in my workouts has left me consistently sore for the first time in a long time, so I'm confident I'm making progress and love the feeling pushing myself brings. Today marks a week of counting my macros, so I'm not seeing a grand change yet. However, from a mindset perspective, it has allowed me to be confident in the decisions I'm making in fueling my body, which has been greatly appreciated.
In February, I plan to continue to keep doing what I'm doing in sticking to my workout routine and tracking my macros while listening to my body and what it needs (this is SO key to make any lifestyle change stick!).
For now, I'm lasered in on those two goals as there's a lot for me to process while working through them, from harmful thought patterns to limiting beliefs (oh my!). As the months go on, I look forward to sharing the other intentions I hope to work towards this year! What intentions have you set for 2023?
If you've made it to the end of this, thank you so much for sticking around! I wish you nothing but the best this February and hope my words help set you up for success this month. Here's to a prosperous February! 💛