2023: Achievable Goals Not Temporary Resolutions

In 2023, I have decided to do things differently. I will not be making resolutions based on the excitement of the New Year that I give up on by the end of February because they are unrealistic. This year, I want to be “smart” and set goals. SMART goals have to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based. Here are some habits I am developing this year:

1. Cleaning up my social media
   • This is one of my biggest goals this year. Social media is an amazing tool for connecting with people, learning new things, and exploring our interests. But it’s only as good of a tool as we make it. If your social media is cluttered with negative messages, that’s what you will take from it. Instead, we can be intentional about what we consume.
   • Here are my main tips for this:
     • Limit the people you follow. It’s okay to unfollow people who don’t add to your life (and especially people who add negativity to your life) even if you like those people. Not everyone’s content is for us to consume.
     • Avoid comparing yourself. If someone’s content is making you compare yourself to them and be self conscious (instead of inspiring you), then that person’s content is not for you this year. And that doesn’t mean they’re trying to make you self conscious. Sometimes we receive information a certain way because of our own internal struggles. So be conscious of how you feel when you see something.
     • Curate the content you follow. This is one of the biggest social media hacks. You can see what you choose to see simply by searching for that content and clicking on it more often. There’s the dark sides of social media algorithms but their purpose is to show you content they think you want to see. So hack the algorithm. Ever since I got pregnant with Baby #3, I’ve been searching for content around pregnancy, motherhood, tips and resources and I can say, I am loving that side of social media!
2. Making a list of 2023 successes
   • Making a list of your successes can help you keep track of all your achievements in the year. I saw this idea online and I got so excited about it because it makes sense. We always make a list of things to-do and then we get disappointed when we see some of them haven’t been done. But what about the things you did accomplish? That deserves celebrating so I’m going to be keeping track of my wins so that I can look back at them and celebrate.
3. Prenatal (and postnatal) Yoga or Pilates
   • Of course, I’m saying prenatal because I’m pregnant! But anyone can benefit from yoga or pilates (or any other form of 30-60 minute activity). One thing I’m working on this year is taking advantage of the resources at my fingertips. Life gets busy and if I can’t make it to a yoga class in person, I get discouraged and I stop going. But I have realized that there are so many videos online that can allow me to work out at home on the days that I can’t make it to class in person. Home workouts are going to help me stick to my goal of doing pilates or yoga at least twice a week.
4. Using the Headway app
   • You might have heard of this through social media. There’s an app called Headspace and its whole mission is to provide “Bite-sized learning for fun and easy growth.” It takes hundreds of books you’ve probably wanted to read but haven’t had time and condenses them into short summaries. You can read the summaries or listen to them like audio books within 10-15 minutes. I love it; I’ve already gotten through so many books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad and The Five Love Languages and Work Won’t Love You Back. The best part is that you can personalize your experience by selecting topics you want to explore. Some of mine are parenting, building wealth, confidence, wellness, healthy relationships, emotional intelligence, and how to live a joyous life.
   • I also encourage you to check out other recommended apps for self care like Calm and Headspace app for sleep.
5. Eating fruit as snacks
   • One thing I struggle with is snacking. They say snacking in between meals helps build a healthy and faster metabolism. I have always struggled with snacking consistently and I think that’s because I struggle with figuring out what to snack on. I either get too fancy to be consistent or my snacks aren’t healthy at all lol. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize but fruits are such a great way to snack consistently. They are easy, you don’t have to do anything special to them beyond washing them and storing them.
   • The struggle with fruits is getting them to last but there are so many hacks on line for this now! One that I’ve had success with is this: you wash the fruit, then put it in a bowl of water and baking soda for a few minutes, rinse again, place on a paper towel to dry, and then store in mason jars lined with paper towel. I know that sounds like a lot but it’s only because you’re reading it lol. It’s actually really easy and I have noticed that my fruit lasts much longer! Oh, I use this system mainly for berries by the way. I keep oranges on the counter, pears and apples in the fridge, etc.
6. Taking naps (is new for me)
   • One of my main commitments this year is to take naps. I have always struggled with this because of fomo (fear of missing out). I always feel like I should be doing something and I have always viewed sleep as an “extra.” That just isn’t true. My relationship with sleep now recognizes that I truly need sleep in order to be at my best. So I am committing to listening when my body says I’m tired. I put my phone down, set an alarm, and I commit to getting at least 30 minutes of rest per nap. I have found that I do have time to nap; I just used to spend it scrolling social media or watching tv. That’s a good tradeoff to me.