Five Things in 2015

I took a good chunk of time off, over the holidays to wind down after the busy year. And I ended up doing a whole lot of nothing – vegging out on the couch, playing cards with my family, etc. It was awesome.

After a week and half of winding down though, you’d probably assume (I did too) that I’d be ready to go back to work super refreshed and feeling ready to tackle the world, but that’s not what happened.

When Sunday rolled around, I ended up feeling like I needed more time. More time to relax, more time to do nothing. Just more time in general.

I hadn’t set aside any days to reflect on 2014 yet, nor had I written down a list of goals or resolutions for 2015. I didn’t feel ready to tackle much of anything, much less the world. Eek.

I started thinking about why it had been so important to me to reflect on the past year before moving forward into the next. Was I coming up with excuses? Should I assume that because I didn’t immediately jump on the resolutions bandwagon that I’m destined for a subpar year? Or maybe I just needed the time off more than I needed to plan for the next year? I fell asleep without any answers and woke up the same.

BUT whatever the answer may actually be, I’m just going to embrace what is.

I don’t have it all figured out, and I don’t have to just because 2015 has now arrived. Right?

Surprisingly, once I came to terms with that, it kind of freed up my mind to think about those things I was previously stressing over… A path for the future, things I hope to accomplish this year, etc. Funny how that happens, huh?

I decided not to label these ‘things’ as goals or resolutions for the future. Instead, it’s just stuff I want to work on in 2015.

Curious to know my five for 2015? Here ya go…

1. Try new things. In my personal life and in my business. It’s easy to get set in your ways, and I am certainly guilty of that from time to time. So, this is number one on my list. 2015 is going to be an adventure. Which means trying new things, even if they make me feel uncomfortable.

2. See the bigger picture. This goes for business and my personal life. In year’s past, I often felt like I was just trying to keep my head above water and get all of my to-dos done on time. This year, I’ll be stepping back (figuratively) a lot more to see the bigger picture. Recognizing what things I’m doing well, what things need to be improved upon, and how each and everything I am doing is helping me work towards a larger goal. Whatever that larger (unspecified) goal may be.

3. Take better care of myself and others. This is a big one. It is so easy to focus on work, work, work for me and completely neglect taking care of myself and/or the people around me. Exercising, eating well, nurturing my relationships with family and friends, etc. This year, I’m working on it. All of it.

4. Travel more. This past year, I was fortunate enough to do a decent amount of traveling (for business and pleasure). But in 2015, I want to hit the travel bug hard. The posts I shared from our trip to St Thomas / USVI last year were some of the most pinned posts of the year, which makes me think that you’d be interested in seeing more travel posts around these parts as well. But let me know if I’m wrong in assuming that. I won’t cry, I promise.

5. Challenge myself creatively. One of my major passions is this blog, of course. But I have other interests too, and this year, I want to challenge myself to pursue those interests (alongside the blog). Namely, styling, which I’d ideally like to add as an arm of the Paper & Stitch brand. I’ll be integrating this side a little more with the blog redesign, which is coming soon (yay). In the meantime though, if you know anyone looking to hire a prop stylist (either locally in Atlanta or nationally), I’d love to chat with you. Shoot me an email here brittni(at)papernstitch(dot)com.

Alright. It’s your turn! I kind of spilled my guts about this whole resolutions and goals thing. So I’m curious to know what your stance is. And…Did you find it tough to get back into the swing of things this week or were you ready and raring to go?