Can you believe it’s the end of a decade?! Let alone one year!? I feel like this year has flown by honestly, but looking at all I’ve done and accomplished, I totally see why…

Now before you think this post is all about me, I promise you it’s not! While, yes, I’m reviewing struggles, accomplishments and new experiences I’ve had, I will be recapping the lessons they have taught me to hopefully relate, help and inspire you to go after your goals or whatever you want out of this new year!

I created some fun instagram story-sized printables, so that you could either share on the gram, or print them out to fill out and refer back to in a year’s time. I’ll also include mine at the end of this post, so you can see how I filled mine out and the things I’ll be focusing on in the new year.

Okay let’s get into the lesson’s I’ve learned in 2019…

Lesson #1: Don’t stress over something that may never actually happen.

If it never happened, it was pointless to stress about it. If it does happen, you just put yourself through it twice.

I wish I could remember who actually told me this, but thinking about anxiety and stress like this was a total “ah-ha” moment for me. Luckily I actually took this advice pretty early into the year. My busiest season at work is Thanksgiving – February, due to the nature of my role at my company (for those of you who are new here, I work for an in-house creative agency at a large insurance and healthcare company – driving our brand presence in the market). So, each year I start out fast and furious until about February. This past year was no different, but more stressful than usual. I won’t get into details, but at a high-level, I was handling a large event, which I hadn’t had experience in before, and I was down a project manager who was transitioning at the time. On top of that, I had countless other high-profile projects running at the time (like the re-branding of our entire organization – yikes). I remember thinking to myself that all of it was impossible, and that one human couldn’t get it done… I was in a VERY negative & emotional head space at the time, and there were many days I just wanted to walk away.

But then… you get through it. Somehow, miraculously, it all works out. Yes, it took 70 hour work weeks and sleeping at a hotel a few nights to be closer to work to help with the long hours (not joking) BUT I got through it! And guess what? I learned that I COULD in fact pull it off & that I was given that level of responsibility because people TRUSTED me to get the job done. Going through experiences like this in my career have been trying, yes, but they have also given me the CONFIDENCE to worry less each time. I realized that I worried myself SICK over not getting the job done, instead of just DOING THE DAMN THING! And guess what, there were plenty of other things that actually happened to worry about – and that wasn’t one of them.

So, back to the point… After that last experience, I learned to focus on the positive outcome a stressful situation could bring. Almost always, we get through it. You make it out the other end, and most likely you’ll surprise yourself by how strong and independent you have become because of that experience.

Lesson #2: Schedule time to take pictures & schedule time to be present.

You want some pictures to remember that AMAZING trip by right? And omg, that drink the barista made is BEAUTIFUL – you want to show a friend. Let’s talk a little about this.

Okay, this was a BIG one for me this year, but it doesn’t only apply to people that have a blog or curate their instagram. It’s a reality that everyone lives.

You have a really cool experience, and maybe you don’t even feel compelled to share it, but you don’t want to forget it. So what do you do? You whip out your phone, and start snapping away. You realize that it’s not doing (what ever “it” is) justice, and you spend the next 5 minutes trying to capture it every which way until you are satisfied – or give up with frustration. You wasted an otherwise perfect and beautiful experience worried about capturing it in your phone to “remember” it by. Sound kinda counter-intuitive? How can you remember an experience that you didn’t fully experience because you were too busy getting the lighting & angles just right?

I think our generation is actually getting better about this to and extent. There is a lot of talk about being present and mindful of our actions, like these, and we’re on the right track. I actually tend to notice it more with older generations who are less acquainted with technology, that tend to record a whole dance recital looking through their iPad, or recording an entire sky of fireworks looking through their tiny phone screen. Will you ever really look back at those fireworks?

I’M NOT SAYING TO NOT TAKE PHOTOS, VIDEOS OR CAPTURE MOMENTS. My blog and instagram wouldn’t exist without it! But, what I’ve realized is that I need to schedule time to be present and time to capture content or photos. Sounds very type-A for a very non-type-A person, but if I want to do this job, but also experience my life to the fullest, I need to schedule time to be present.

So what does this mean?

It means if I know I’m going to be doing something cool, I block out the first 1-5 minutes to capture it, and then “pay myself back” at least an equal amount (if not more, depending on what it is) to sit and truly experience it. This has been LIFE-CHANGING. I no longer am distracted by the thought of picking up my camera or phone the entire time I’m doing something.

For instance, when we went to the Grand Canyon this year, at each stop 1 took pics for 5 min, put our phones away for at least 10 minutes and truly just took in the view. Guess what? I haven’t really looked at them since. In my mind its 1000x better than what’s in my phone anyway!

I know I won’t always adhere to this rule, and obviously that comes with the territory, but it’s a new mindset that helped me achieved a better work-life balance in 2019!

Lesson #3: No matter how busy you are, if you are truly passionate about something, you can make it your reality.

Your most trying times are the best times to start something new.

This year I was finally done telling myself that my career took up too much of my time to revive The Nue Look. I was tired of making excuses as to why I couldn’t put myself out there and take freelance residential design clients. Remember my “busy season” from earlier? I started all of this back up, during that time. At that time I was exhausted, confused about where my career was taking me, and fed-up, but dang, did that make me motivated…

Your most trying times can be the best time to start something new.

You will never be more motivated, more determined, and more on fire to prove that you can do whatever you damn well please, than in those moments! So, that’s what I did!

I had literally no-time. Admittedly, it was messy. My head was cluttered, I had a hard time tracking my personal life & missed a few parties and events, sometimes just because I forgot what day it was! (sorry, fam) But I can now say, it was definitely worth it. That fire has continued on through the year, but now for a much different place than where it ignited from.

I have much more clarity around my job and a more positive outlook on stress, work balance, and just life in general. I’m not out to prove anyone wrong, or really prove anything to anyone at all. This fire has stayed lit from within, and through the process, I’ve just truly found something that I feel passionate about. I’m just determined to do exactly what I want to do, without fear of judgement, stress of time, or doubt that I can’t handle it all!

Lesson #4: What you do today, doesn’t have to be what you do tomorrow. You will change as a person, and how you choose to spend your time and live your life will, too.

Heard the saying, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it? Well sometimes just because it isn’t broken, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fix it.

My passions, preferences and goals will change with the years, or maybe even the seasons. But I no longer feel bound to what I do by opinions, time or self-doubt.

Remember, I started this blog 5 years ago. At the time it was strictly fashion. If you don’t remember why I started it in the first place, you can read about it here. After putting it on my resume & landing my current job in an industry that I wanted to be in, I stopped blogging for THREE YEARS. I was focused on new career and honestly, I was too focused on numbers & follower count as validation of “success”. I was so concerned about what people would think, that it got in the way of pursuing it further.

But, if you know me personally, I didn’t stop there. I tried some other things… I started a few Etsy sites and side hustles in those 3 years. I took up sewing, I was going to start a boutique, I started making jewelry, I was selling graphic baby clothes… You name it, I was probably doing it. After each attempt and “failure”, I started realizing that they weren’t failures at all. I learn SO MUCH by starting each of those things and as time went on, the “failures” didn’t bring me down, they gave me more confidence to keep trying new things! And because of that confidence, here I am 3 years later, claiming success by my own metrics and goals that I set forth for myself. Not what others deem “successful”.

Back to 2019 – I revived this blog swearing to focus on home decor. Well guess what!? I’m so dang passionate about fashion too, I just lacked confidence when I first started to put myself out there like I do today! So, you heard it hear first (SURPRISE, SURPRISE – I’m making another change) I’ll be switching back to TheNueLook.com to broaden up my scope, and reserve that other domain for my free-lance work! Again, What you do today, doesn’t have to be what you do tomorrow. You will change as a person, and how you choose to spend your time and live your life will, too.

If you aren’t satisfied with the trajectory of your life, do something about it! I believe in you! And if you ever need support, DM me. I’m here to hold you accountable and give you advice if you need it!

YOU GOT THIS! 2020 HERE WE COME!

So, let’s start manifesting some new goals, shall we?

Below, you’ll find the printables you’ll need for 2020 resolutions and goal setting to get you started! Print them, fill them out and put them somewhere to remind yourself of what you set out to accomplish! You can also post them to your stories, and tag me in them! Let’s keep each other motivated and hold each other accountable!

I’ve also included my finished 2020 sheets below & in my stories, to help get you started!