Cup of Life: My New Years Resolutions 2019

Hello My Healthy Fruit Smoothies

Time to get healthy in 2019! Well I was doing quite well for a couple of months in 2018 and for a couple I just didn’t… But that’s life and that’s absolutely okay… I didn’t achieve or get what I had planned and hoped in 2018. But all in all 2018 was a great year! I made some beautiful memories, did some wonderful travels, met amazing new friends, cherished my time with my loved ones,… Even though I gladly started planning my gifts for Christmas and New Year, it only hit me 2018 was about to end after Christmas. I literally started to panic as I realized I forgot to write my Christmas cards. Thinking about the past year, having to confront myself with the fact that it really was about to end made this anxiety bubble inside of me. It took me a few days to get over it. The reason I panicked is because, when I write the cards I review the whole year (I’m not the type to write a simple “happy new year”… Might as well not give a card and save a tree, in my opinion…). So it forced me to confront myself and accept the fact that this year was almost over. It may sound silly, but the changes that 2019 would bring were something I looked forward to and dreaded at the same time.. But whether I’m ready for it or not, Time doesn’t stop for me to get over the anxiety :p. So I might as wel accept it!

I know now, 2019 will be completely different. My life will change and it’s going to be a challenge. I’m sorry I’m cryptic about it, but it’s to protect the privacy of my loved ones… But I feel hopeful and scared at the same time. So writing out my resolutions and planning it (yes, I plan it) is helping me to stay focused. The last thing I want at the end of the year is look back and think that I was stuck and didn’t grow at all as a person… So here are my resolutions and plan of action. Because let’s face it, without a plan of action, we’ll forget about it, at some point.

1. Lose Weight

I’m planning on losing 6kg. Not because I feel ugly, not because other people told me to, but because I love myself and my body. I’ve been ill a lot the past year and I want to take care of my body in the best way possible, by eating healthy and hitting the gym. You only have one body and you’ll have to do with it for the rest of your life. And I’ve read several books (“Fast Metabolism Food Rx” and “Metabolism Revolution” by Haylie Pomroy), and losing 6kg seems to be quite right for me.

Plan of action:

1. Belly Dance 1x/week
2. Standard Dance 1x/week
3. Fitness training 1h/week
4. Abs excercise 5x5min/week

2. Make 6 Belly Dance Choreos

I made 2 choreos the past year. And each time, when it’s filmed, I see the progress and the feeling that this gives you can’t be described… It’s all about the freedom to express myself, the translation of my thoughts and feelings into movement, becoming one with the music. Dancing someone else’s choreo is fun, but dancing your own is magic.

Plan of action:

1. Belly Dance 1x/week
2. Choreo every 2 months
3. Make music mix and selection

3. Blog Post 2x/week

I know, I sucked the past year… I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I should organize my blog, how I must try to be more strategic. But the truth is, I won’t be able to hang on if I can’t write what makes me happy :p. And if sometimes, it seems off topic, than that’s what it is… It’s better than not write anything and have no posts for longer periods of time…

Plan of action:

1. Write 3h/week
2. Edit Pictures 1h/week
3. Read other blog posts 1h/week

4. Learn Chinese

I’ve started last year in October and then stopped for a while. But I’m committed to make this my 5th language! I’m not sponsored, but I love this app I found last year called Lingodeer. It’s totally free and so well made! I highly recommend it. Other languages you could learn are: French, Spanish, Korean, Japanese,…

And we all know, the secret to learning a language is practice a lot. So here is my Plan of action:

1. Learn on Lingodeer 30min/day
2. Watch Chinese drama’s 2h/week (and definitely trying to stay below 4h, because it’s addictive…)

5. Make Creative Crafts

I’m someone who needs to create. When I go through a period in which I haven’t created anything, it makes me feel guilty towards myself. Because that idea would go to waste… On the other hand I can’t commit myself to work on it for long periods of time either, because then I get bored. Yes, I’m a complex person… So organizing one creative day/month would be my sweet spot.

6. Getting better at House Chores

Some are good at it, but I’m definitely not talented in this area. I hate to admit this, but I sometimes have a mountain of clothes that are waiting to be ironed. I could easily ask for help, but I just don’t want to, because I feel like this is part of having your own household :p. So I’m planning on doing all my cleaning chores on Friday afternoon and wash my clothes in the weekend (to save on the energy bill) and I’ll cook mostly on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays, so that I can combine it with my other crazy activities.

7. Save up Money

Another area in which I don’t excel at all :). I love shopping, for myself and for others… I shop when I’m sad, I shop when I’m happy, I shop for therapy,… any excuse is good. I just need to get out of the house and get in a store and I’ll spend some… Now that I’ve installed some apps, it has gotten worse… I’m now committed to first see how much money I have remaining on my account each month and then only deciding whether I want to buy this or that item. And this only when I’ve set money aside. This basically means that whenever I get my pay, I don’t touch it until the end of the month… I’ve done it before and it works for me…

8. Getting more defined Abs

This might seem vain, but I’m a belly dancer. I’d at least like for my movements to be more clean… And for that Imma need more Abs! I’ll try to achieve this by:

1. eating healthier following the FMD principle
2. trying to drink as little coffee as possible (I don’t drink mine black but with lot’s of milk and sugar)…
3. Plank exercise 5min/day

So friends, this concludes my list. I’ve shown it around and some call me crazy. But I know what I want and I know what I have to do to keep up with it. At least this specific plan could work for me. This list is a lot longer and specific than my previous one and that is why I feel like it will make a change.

So what are your resolutions? How are you planning to keep it going?

Have a lovely week, and I’ll talk to you in my next post!

Love,

Sarah