Why I’m Not Setting Resolutions for 2018

We are officially in the second week of 2018 and I personally couldn’t be any more excited to see what the rest of the year has in store. No, the past week hasn’t been super special and nothing too exciting has occurred (yet!) but I’m feeling more optimistic this year for things I’ve set to accomplish – let me explain.

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You might be wondering to yourself, “Why is Lauren just now talking about plans for 2018?”. I’ll be the first to admit that I wanted to avoid rushing to set resolutions for the new year by January 1st. To be honest, I’ve actually decided to not set resolutions this year. If you’re anything like me, my resolutions always were made up of the same basic “trends”. To lose weight, to do something big career-wise, etc. And surprise, for the most part those resolutions took a backseat to the rest of my priorities somewhere around the 2nd week of January. Not that I didn’t make changes in 2017 – but they weren’t necessarily tied to my resolutions. So this year, I’m scratching them and taking a different approach.

I took the past few weeks to really sit down and think about what I wanted for the new year. What goals to I want to accomplish. What dream do I want to make a reality. What did I need to do to make those things happen…

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My Mission for 2018

1. Be a Storyteller: Now that I have finally nailed down an aesthetic that I think truly captures the vision for LaurenElyce.com, my next focus is on the words I use. Moving forward, I want my posts to interest, engage, inspire and evoke emotion from my readers (that’s you!). My goal is to start pulling in personal touches and real life experiences (the good and the bad) to relate with all of you whether it’s through daily instagram posts, blog posts or videos. I’m pretty excited to take this “personal” blog back to being PERSONAL. Who’s with me?!
2. Be an Adventurer: The goal I’m most excited about this year has to do with travel. Last year, I embarked on the most travel I’ve ever done. I visited new places, experienced new things with new people and learned so much about myself along the way. For 2018, I want more of that. My plan is simple: to travel to a NEW place (city or country) every month. Whether it’s a big trip or small, I just want to try new things and experience new people and cultures. First up, South African at the end of this month and then off to Maui in February. I’m not sure how I’m going to beat those trips – but, #challengeaccepted.
3. Be a Healthier Me: This is nothing new. I hate to say it – but I have 100% let myself go. I’m not healthy, like at all. Not physically, on the outside. And not on the INSIDE. I’m terrified I’m going to develop a health issue related to my diet or lack of activity and that’s going to change. I’m spending the next year refocusing on my health & wellness. More workouts, a better diet and relationship with food and a strong focus on bettering my mental health. It’s never too late to get back on track and I believe this is going to be MY year.
4. Be a Dreamer: With the hectic schedule that comes with blogging full time, running a business, attempting a personal life and now, trying to travel and excercise more…I think it’s safe to say I put big dreams on the back burner. Last year, I became pretty complacent with my “growth”. I wasn’t trying new things and kep talking myself out of big ideas and projects. While I think it’s important to find balance and not overwork yourself, I think it’s even more important to set big dreams for yourself and then go after them. So this year, I’m making a promise to myself to not only dream more but to put plans in place to make some of these dreams a reality. I want to grow my business offerings and try new things to expand my own skill sets. So, let’s do it.
5. Be an Inspiration: This one. Where do I really start. It’s somehow simple and complicated all at the same time. In a few words – I want to INSPIRE people. Whether it’s my readers, my boyfriend, my family, my Instagram followers…I just want to leave a positive impact on someone’s life. I want people to feel inspired to take that next leap or go after a much needed change after an interaction with me. Now I realize that I’m not Oprah and don’t have the magic touch, but I have to believe there are things I can do to be more of an inspiration to others and myself. So that’s what I’m going to focus on. Inspiring other through content, through actions and through engagements.

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And that’s just the start of that. I’m trying to be more fluid and laid back this year. I’m trying to focus on not letting set backs and mistakes get in the way of the person I want to continue growing into. So, there’s a good chance these things will change and update and flex. There’s a chance I’ll add more, take some away as I cross them off the list, etc. The last thing I want is to feel like I’m confined to just a few attributes but I wanted to sit down and at least start my list for the new year.

As of January 9th, 2017 THIS is what I want for myself. In addition to listing out my mission, I have set a ton of resources for myself to help accomplish everything. I have a dry eras calendar with daily workouts + meal prep. I have post its with words of encouragement and reminders to check travel deals. And of course, I wanted to share with you guys to help keep me accountable!

I’m a firm believer in surrounding yourself with awesome people to help you become even more awesome. I tell my goals to my boyfriend, my friends, my parents, my readers, etc. in the hopes of staying inspired and checking in on their goals as well. Sooooo, in the spirit of accountability, I challenge each of you to leave one goal for 2018 below and then cheer on another commenter. Together, we’re totally gonna kick this year’s ass and it’s gonna be a great one!

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Photos by Shelby Gordon Photography