Hey, friends! If you've had a conversation with me in the last month, you'd probably know that I am anti-New-Years-Resolutions. Why wait for a randomly assigned day to make a change in your life? Why use the earth's rotation around the sun as the only checkpoint for self evaluation? I'm a firm believer in being ever reflective, and all that stuff. However, a new calendar year is a fresh start for many a folk out there, and so with this in mind I thought I'd compile a list of personal goals I am currently working on, and hope to work on in the future, just incase some of you want to incorporate them into your 2016 aspirations! I even limited the list to 16 things to be thematic and stuff. Shall we?

1. Go outside more.
I am so Vit D deficient, guys. I swear my body doesn't even know how to retain the stuff anymore. My aversion to the outdoors comes mainly from the fact that I tan far too easily and quite enjoy being a pale princess, but also bugs. However, I am making a conscious effort to admire the outdoors without a pane of glass shielding me from it directly.



2. Continue to develop my yoga skills.
I'm a bit of a yoga-junkie, to be honest. I practise around six days a week, and it has done wonders for both my physical and mental well being. My competitive nature (Leos, you feel me?) drives me to constantly challenge myself within my sessions, and the reward of mastering a new move is sweet. I aim to continue to better my skills, and perhaps try new forms of yoga in the hopes of becoming a super zen yogi who can type up blog posts with her toes.

3. Stop drinking Diet Coke.
Or, at least cut down a little bit. I consume this stuff as if my life depends on it - though to be fair, caffeine is very important to me - but I need to slow down if I want any of my brain cells to remain by this time next year. Sorry to all those who will be affected by my D Coke withdrawals, I love you all dearly.

4. Do not surrender to anxiety.
Though I have come a long way from the sixteen year old girl who refused to answer the phone or leave the house without days and days of planning, I often find myself letting anxiety dictate little things in life. Usually its something trivial, like opting for a different lunch option because the girl at the sushi place looks a little mean, but I no longer wish to submit to illogical fears. Not today, anxiety, not today.

5. Speaking of sushi, stop spending so much money on lunch.
For real, make your own damn lunch. You buy groceries, stop putting them to waste.

6. Minimise material possessions.
Aka stop hoarding, Soph, for the love of all that is good. If you saw my storage cupboards, you'd cringe. I need to be stopped.

7. Learn how to check the oil/air in my car.
Because I need to level up in my adulting.

8. Embrace beauty where it finds me.
A huge milestone in my journey to happiness was learning to find beauty in little things - i.e catching a glimpse of the coast on my way home, or having a great playlist during peak hour traffic. As I continue to take solace in small delights, I am actively trying to recognise good happenings for what they are, rather than picking through them for faults.

9. Be more forgiving with myself.
The old 'we are our own worst critic' chestnut is as true as it is unfortunate. I am hugely guilty of berating myself over small mistakes, which of course are unavoidable as a human being. I am mindfully trying to remind myself of this as I learn to better deal with perceived failures. So far, so good!

10. Read more often, and widely.
Now that my undergraduate degree is officially over (cue existential crisis - thats a whole other blog post), I have the time to read things that exist outside of my syllabus or external research, yay! I'm devouring a book every few days at the moment, and loving every second of it. Next on the list is the first from Emma Watson's bookclub, My Life On The Road by Gloria Steinem.



11. Have more flowers around.
Because I like flowers.

12. Plan my Honours dissertation.
I fully intend to complete on Honours in 2017 (well, I mean, hopefully I still feel the same way next year!) and thus I am casually brainstorming ideas and approaches. I say casually because if I did it any more intensely my existential crisis would progress into a full blown tailspin. Ahh, that early twenties emotional distress, I love the smell of it in the morning.

13. Stop buying cat mugs.
This could arguably fit into number 6, but the problem is so great it deserves its own resolution.

14. Care less for fleeting, insignificant things.
My hair, for instance. I have such a great fear of cutting my hair, and although I have been every colour under the sun (bright pink, anyone?), changing my hair is very scary to me. Ultimately, of course, something this unimportant shouldn't be such a huge deal for me, and I aim to pass this sentiment onto other areas of my life. Or at least when choosing restaurants.

18 year old me, yikes.

15. Continue to laugh at my own jokes.
Because I am hilarious.

16. Continue to self evaluate and make positive changes.
Because personal growth and happiness is my priority.

What are your resolutions? I'd love to know!

Enjoy!
Sophia ♡