The new year is upon us and I am really looking forward to what it has in store. So, pretty straightforward: 5 Ways I’m Going to Kick Ass in 2018.

1. I’m going to lean into what makes me, me.
It’s not a secret that I’m always on a journey to self love and furthering my self development. I always want to work on things so I can be the best version of myself. This year, I’m going to take those little tiny things that make me, me – the ones that I may have not loved in the past (ex. indecisiveness) – and I’m going to OWN them. So, I’m indecisive. Maybe other people can relate? God made me exactly how I was intended to be, and regardless of the self development I work on, so I’m going to look favorably upon all of my personality traits + use them to my advantage and to do great things this year as a result. A few things (not extensive list) I’m going to be leaning into:

• My role as a mama to my three amazing children
• My emotional tendencies
• My need for space to be creative
• My desire to be organized
• My personal (budget friendly) style
• My indecisive, over thinking, can’t shut it off brain

2. I’m going to strengthen my marriage.
Three babies in just over three years is a lot going on in a family. Keeping a strong marriage through it all has always been a priority for Mark and I, but I’m sure it’s understandable that having babies and raising little kids does influence your marital relationship. Sometimes less time to talk or spend alone together, shortened tempers and heightened state of reactionary comments, to name a few ways. Trust me, Mark and I are NOT in a bad place, but we want to be in the BEST place with each other. We are best friends and life partners + a parenting team for our children, why wouldn’t we want to do so? With that said, we are making very specific intentions about how we are going to nurture our marriage to make it stronger than it’s ever been.

To start: we are setting aside time for structured weekly check ins (I’m looking at the Navigator’s Council book!) and getting back on track with our weekly dates, too.

3. I’m going to build a business.
Here it is friends! The announcement I’ve been waiting to make. I am starting a business! It’s been in the works for quite a while. It’s quite literally been years of dreaming and desiring, a life of journeying with an entrepreneurial spirit and a good amount of time this past year spent on narrowing things down and getting a REAL start. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am. It’s been a life long dream of mine to own my own business and while this blog is surely part of it, this next step is making my dreams become a reality. What detail I can tell you right now is that I am in a prototyping process of this product I am designing + developing. I’m going to be sharing about my business building journey on the blog in the weeks and months to come, so if you’re curious to know more, just wait and read. It’s so good! (…and SUCH a learning process for me.)

4. I’m going to challenge myself physically.
As I said, three babies in just over three years is a lot going on. My body has either been pregnant (and on bed rest ? ) or breastfeeding for SO long now. Surely I’m on a breastfeeding journey with Rush, but I feel strong and motivated right now, and I’m eager to get back to a “regular” workout routine. I’m not exactly sure what my biggest physical challenge will be this year, but I will definitely keep you posted because I am determined to be as strong as ever. I’m thinking it may be a race because believe it or not, I MISS RUNNING. I’m so excited that Mark gifted me an Apple Watch so I can use that on my upcoming runs. Maybe rather than running to complete a race, I may actually consider racing… we’ll see. For now, I’m awaiting the postpartum guide from Expecting + Empowered, the pregnancy fitness guide I utilized throughout all three trimesters of my last pregnancy, so I can safely recover and strengthen my postpartum body.

5. I’m going to serve, support and encourage other women tirelessly.
I shared in my 2017 Year In Review post that friendships was one of my main themes in 2017. My heart has never been bigger for these women around me and because of that, I am seeing firsthand what BEAUTY AND GOODNESS comes from always serving, supporting and encouraging one another. All of you reading this… this includes you. I want to show up for you. I want to be there for all my friends. I want to be the woman who is always there for other women. I’m going to uphold community over competition, break down walls of comparison and live + love on my ladies fully.

How are these things going to make me kick some major butt this coming year? They are going to push me, challenge me, encourage me to set goals and continue my self development. They are going to be reminders to be my best for myself and for others.

2018, I cannot wait to start you. This is going to be a really good year.

XO

(PS- My beanie is from Love Your Melon supporting pediatric cancer patients + families.)