Happy New Year, Beautiful People! It’s hard to believe that we’re actually in 2024. I hope the start to your year has been slow, and calm, and you feel empowered to take on what this new year brings! I spent some time off reading, reflecting, and just trying to align with as much peace as possible. If you’re curious as to what I’ve been thinking about in terms of 2024, keep reading.
My Word of The Year: Enjoy
Every year I think of a new word that defines how I want this year to be. This year, my word is enjoy. Last year for me was hands-down one of the hardest but most transformational years of my life. There were a lot of unexpected twists and turns, and a lot of tears shed, but I saw an inner strength and resilience that I didn’t know I had. I found myself in a space where I was continuously learning more about myself and the wonderful people around me and I developed a new level of tenacity that feels more defined, renewed, and strengthened.
For this year, I want to prioritize my enjoyment.
In the moments of darkness last year, I savored every moment where I could experience joy, laughter, and fun. And it wasn’t just joy in partying and traveling; it was also just enjoying each day that I got to wake up and live my life. My goal is that for everything that I do, whether fun or not, is to be present and find ways to just enjoy the moment. It doesn’t mean that every moment is going to be the best, but if I can strive to find little pockets of joy throughout the day, I know that I’ll be okay with whatever life throws at me.
Growth Areas
2024 is going to be a year of continuous learning. There were things that I started in 2023 but they haven’t been refined yet that I plan on continuing to do in 2024. While I’m not in a huge rush to check every single thing off, I do want to make sure that I am taking the intentional steps to continuously invest and grow in four specific areas:
- Software Engineering
- Learning French
- Fitness
- Productivity
Software Engineering
In case you missed my October update, I started a new job at the end of October. I like everyone that I’ve been working with and do feel like this is a company that I can settle in and finally grow in a particular domain area. That being said, this is probably one of the hardest roles that I’ve done and there is so much that I need to learn. Instead of letting imposter syndrome get the best of me, I will be focusing on learning, getting up to speed, and getting to a point where the job doesn’t feel as hard anymore.
Learning French
I’ve had this goal of learning French for a while now and last year I put some action behind my talk! I’ve been practicing my French almost every day and I am putting it to the test very soon in an upcoming trip! Learning French is a part of a couple of my long-term goals so I’ve been enjoying the process of learning and getting better. While my French is not the best yet, I look forward to the day when I can roam the streets of any French-speaking country and assimilate and I will be working towards that.
Fitness
I used to be someone who hated working out but I did it because it kept me sane. Now, even though working out continues to keep me sane, I like it. I’ve become a bit of a fitness junkie and have begun to truly appreciate moving my body and finding new opportunities to challenge myself. I started learning how to play tennis last year and have been falling in love with Yoga again. Last year developed a good workout split that challenged me and I also enjoyed it. I want to continue prioritizing fitness and wellness in my life and I’m very curious to see all that my body can do and the different ways that I can challenge myself.
Productivity
The culture around productivity is often associated with hustle culture, but it doesn’t have to be! I have always been someone who is always doing a lot, but I still have a pretty active social life and find time for relaxation. I want to be able to help more people do the same and that starts with understanding and learning about some of the principles and research done around productivity and seeing how I can apply them to my own life and help other people as well. I have some ideas as to where I want this to go, so stay tuned for more both on my blog and other social media platforms.
Closing
For the first time in a long time, I can say that I am in a space where I finally feel free to do what I want, and there’s nothing that I am doing that I would rather not be doing. I feel like I’m finally in a place where I can move with ease. And even though that doesn’t mean it’s going to be stressful, it does mean that I will hopefully have a better way of dealing with it because of these systems and routines that I have developed and continue to do.
I’m going into 2024 not expecting too much and recognizing that there might be a chance that these priorities may shift. However, if I can start the year with a little bit more targeted intention, then at least I can say that I’m doing my best. If you’re looking to get started crafting your own goals, setting your intentions, and building better habits, I invite you to grab my free Goals and Habits Tracker Notion template.
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