Happy 2019! I have always been the girl that gets so excited for a new year because for me it gives a feeling of a fresh start, new goals, and an attitude of “LET’S DO THIS!” Today I want to share what I learned in 2018 and my thoughts on 2019!
My 2018 Review
I’m also always a little bit sad when the old year ends. I loved 2018. It was a year full of adventures and Kyle and I saying YES to as many adventures and fun things as we could. Some of those “YES’s” included getting a Disneyland annual pass and going to Disneyland for 21 days this year. I went drag racing, we went to New York twice and Disney World once. I took a big step by opening up a kids choir and a mommy and me class in my music studio and now those two are my most popular classes. We traveled for Utah football games, went to California for a Taylor Swift concerts, and went on random adventures with friends. If someone invited us to something, we went. If we had a fun idea, we did it. We had a year full of amazing experiences and fun.
Although the year was full of a lot of excitement and fun, I did learn a lot from all of that. Life got really exhausting at times and it pushed my anxiety and my stress levels to my limits. Even though traveling a lot sounds like fun, there were so many times where I was just so exhausted and wanted to be home. I learned that sometimes a simple day home can be good for the health. I learned that experiences with people I love are crucial to life. Experiencing new things and doing things that may scare me (like drag racing) helped me see that I am capable and the thrill is worth the fear.
2018 was probably one of my favorite years. It pushed me and sometimes I would ask Kyle “Why is this happening to us?” There were times I didn’t feel grateful for the opportunities I had because they were pushing me to grow and that stressed me out. Growing a business and adding employees was hard for me. It was stressful and overwhelming and many times I told Kyle that it was easier to not add employees and that I should just do it all myself. That’s when I learned that growing is hard work, but when you come out on the other end and you realize that you made it through that growth, that is when you realize it was worth it.
What Does 2019 Hold For Me
So now what does this all mean for 2019? I’ve never really done a “word for the year”, but as I finished writing out my personal and business goals, I realized that a word just fit what I had written down and that word was “Intentional”. I want to live with more intention. Do things in my life with intention. Share things with each of you that is done with intention. Let’s dive deeper into this word!
Intentional In My Personal Life
I thought it’d be fun to show you some ways I want to be intentional in each area of my life, starting with my personal life. I want to be intentional in my routine. When I wake up, the order I do things, and an established routine has always helped me to live a less stressed life, so I’m excited for this to really be set in stone for 2019. I want to be intentional with my health, including working out with a specific purpose and goals, and not just to say I worked out. I want to eat healthier and feel better because of these choices. I want to be intentional with my attitude. If something happens I want to intentionally choose to be happy about it, but I understand that at times it’s okay to feel sad, but I want to do it with intention. I want to understand why I’m sad, so I can make choices to be happy. I want to be intentional about my relationships. I want to be a better friend, especially to the friendships that grew a lot in 2018. I learned a lot about friendship in 2018 and I want to take what I learned and be intentional about those relationships this year.
Intentional In My Businesses
I want to be someone who works smarter, not harder. I think one way to do that is by making sure to be more intentional with the way I run my businesses. (Read a blog post about tips for working smarter while getting things done here.) I’ve been making plans for my blog for the last month in preparation for how I can be more intentional about what I share. I want to HELP more. I want to intentionally share things with you on my blog or my stories that I can pinpoint exactly how that will help you. I love sharing my life and all the fun things that Kyle and I do, but I want to equally share helpful tips, tricks, and hacks that help you with not only styling and shopping for modest clothes, but live a happier life. (If you haven’t read my The Happy Life Challenge blog post for the year, read that here.) I want to be intentional with what I share, so you won’t be seeing a lot of me just standing around wearing an outfit and posting a funny quote. You’ll be getting a lot of styling tips, how to’s, and shopping advice (make sure to sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on all these tips and tricks). Since I want to be more intentional with sharing helpful information, please don’t hesitate to reach out if I can help you with anything. I always love hearing how I can better help YOU!
I am so excited for 2019 and all the things it will be bringing! Stay tuned for some exciting new things I have planned for the blog that will slowly be released over the next month! If you aren’t following me on Instagram (www.instagram.com/everyday_ellis), make sure to hit the follow button because you’ll be seeing a lot of updates on my stories.
And finally, I have to say thank you! Thanks for an exciting year and for all of your support. Every single like, comment, DM, email, stop at the mall for a picture (or Disneyland…shoutout to Abigail), has meant the world to me this past year. I truly appreciate and notice each one of you and I hope you know that! So here’s to 2019! Getting intentional, helping you feeling successful in your styling and shopping, and of course….getting happy!
