MY "NO PRESSURE" NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS 2018

Every January I notice lots of ads and articles about reinventing ourselves in the New Year. It’s supposed to make us feel ambitious, but in the end I think it actually makes us feel like we’re not good enough. In my opinion, New Year’s Resolutions should be simple and fun, and make us feel better, not stress us out. So… *drumroll please...* here they are, my “flexible, no pressure” New Year’s Resolutions for 2018! If I don't stick to them 100%, that's okay. They're just a few little things I want to try throughout the year. No stress! ;) 

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1)    Start more mornings with lemon water. I constantly read how great this is for your body but I tend to just have a few sips from my water bottle before heading out the door on my commute, and then drink a big mug of decaf coffee once I get to work. This year, I definitely want to try to take a minute or two when I get up in the mornings to detox my system with a small cup of warm water with lemon. I think I can achieve this by prepping lemon slices the night before so that all I have to do in the morning is heat up some water (I am NOT a morning person). It doesn’t have to be every single day, but some days is better than none!
2)    Stand up and stretch more during the workday. Don’t even get me started on how outdated the concept of being glued to a desk at work for eight hours a day, five days a week is. I could rant for hours. I hope, for everyone’s sake, that future workplaces will offer more flexible hours, more work from home options, and a bigger focus on employee wellness (both physical and mental) and work/life balance. Because trudging to work and sitting in a cubicle all day every day sucks, no matter how much you enjoy your job. Since I can’t quit that 9-5 grind right now, one of my goals for this year is to make sure I stand up, stretch, move around, and take breaks regularly throughout my workdays. Because I am more than my productivity and my health and well-being matters!! 
3)    Incorporate more color into my wardrobe. Particularly for winter, when I look at my wardrobe it’s a sea of grey. I can’t help it! In the colder weather I always tend to gravitate towards dark colors. It makes getting dressed for work pretty simple – I know that most things will go together – and I feel like dark colors in winter always look chic. But, it can get kind of boring. So, this year I’m challenging myself to be brave and try something new by experimenting with more color in my clothing, even if it’s just a scarf or a sweater once a week (I sense a potential blog post idea brewing). Because it’s fun to shake things up once in a while! 
4)    Be kinder to myself. I think a lot of women probably have this problem and I doubt it will go away anytime soon, but I tend to be super critical of myself and what I do. We’re always striving to do more, be more, do better, move faster… it’s exhausting! And it’s just not worth it. This resolution will be extremely hard for me to keep but I definitely need to remind myself that no one is perfect and that it’s okay to make mistakes, forget something, have embarrassing moments, oversleep, stutter during a meeting, and have bad hair/outfit days. Because modern life is exhausting and it’s impossible to have it 100% together at all times. I shouldn’t beat myself up over little things like that. My mantra for this is “Be kind to yourself.” I worry so much about being kind to others – why don’t I worry as much about being kind to myself?

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So, those are my resolutions for 2018. If I can successfully follow these even 50% of the time, I'll be happy. If you have any “flexible, no pressure” resolutions you’re trying out this year, let me know in the comments below! Happy New Year, everyone!