lately léna

Happy 2019!

As I mentioned in my last post, I thought it would be fun (and useful re: accountability) to share my 2019 resolutions on the blog. Some people hate new year’s resolutions, and while I do agree that the whole ‘new year, new you’ thing is not much more than a social construct designed to sell stuff and generally kind of dumb, I also LOVE new beginnings and making goals and plans for the new year. So, if you’re anything like me, keep reading to see my goals for 2019 and how I plan to achieve them.

Save SEK 150,000 (approx. USD 16,500) – this is a BIG one! Last year, my goal was to save SEK 130,000 (approx. USD 14,000), and, against all odds, I did it! Obviously, the ‘no shopping’ rule definitely helped, but the biggest helper was setting up an automatic transfer to my savings account every month, so the money went to a different account immediately, before I was tempted to spend it on anything else. In addition to working off debts, we are also saving up for a down payment on an apartment, so this is part of a longer-term goal.

Travel as much as possible – slightly counter-intuitive to my first goal, but if there is anything I am good at, it’s travelling on the cheap. The key to this goal is to plan as much as you can ahead of time, when tickets are cheap, and to do as much research as possible re: where to stay, how to get around, where to eat, etc., and budget accordingly. My top destinations this year are, in no particular order: Samburu, Kenya; Barcelona, Spain; Paris, France; literally anywhere in Italy; Prague, Czech Republic; and Abisko, Sweden (hoping to hike the Kungsleden trail!!).

Join a dance class – this is something I’ve been wanting to do for ages, but due to physical location, financial constraints, scheduling conflicts, and a number of other reasons, I always found an excuse not to do it. Dancing is one of my favorite things to do in the whole world, and it makes me sad to think of how little I actually do it! So, this year, I am challenging myself to just DO IT, to join a dance school, and dedicate one hour per week to something that brings me so much joy.

Move to Uppsala center – this one is in the works! We recently signed a lease on an apartment in town, and we could not be more excited. As much as we love our little cottage in the country, we realized that the negatives of living so far outside of town (always needing to drive/no public transport options, not being able to go out whenever we want, etc.) began to outweigh the positives (being in a beautiful place, our wonderful landlord/neighbors, free reign for Winston to run around outside whenever he wants, etc.).

Do what feels good – I am beyond sick of diet culture (aren’t we all?), so instead of making any weight-loss/fitness/health-disguised-as-orthorexia goals that only serve to make me feel bad about myself (and continue the cycle of corporations making insane amounts of money off women by telling them they are not good enough unless they have ‘xyz’ product), my new mantra for 2019 is shockingly simple: just do what feels good! After years (and years and years) of thinking that I need to kill myself to be healthy, I have FINALLY realized that unless it is making me feel good (physically, mentally, and emotionally), it is just not worth doing. In the same way that denying myself a cookie when I really want one doesn’t feel good, eating 20 cookies when I only wanted one also doesn’t feel good. So, this year, I vow to truly tune in and listen to my body and only do things that make it feel good, strong, happy, healthy, and, most importantly, at peace. 

And that’s pretty much it! I find that the best way to ensure success when it comes to my annual goals is to pick a few big-picture goals (saving money for an apartment), a few smaller-scale goals (join a dance class), and one or two goals that you’re 95% sure to achieve (travel and moving to Uppsala center). This way, even if you don’t accomplish all of them perfectly, you still have a few concrete achievements that you can look back on and feel good about 😉

Hope you all have a great weekend!

xxLena