Welcome to the new year everyone! How was you holiday period? Did you take a break from work or go a trip? Tell me in the comments!
Now on to today's subject... Let me start by saying I was never one to make New Year's resolutions. I always thought they were pointless and that if I wanted to change something, it certainly wouldn't be because of a January 1st resolution. But then came the end of 2016, and without going into details, I was doing really really really bad. When 2017 rolled around, I knew I wanted to make changes and following my mom's advice, I decided to try New Year Resolutions for the first time. Fast forward to now, 2017 was pretty much my best year ever. Changed job, flat, lost 25 pounds, realized my dream to swim with orcas, got PADI certified and started this blog! Way way more than I ever could've imagined. So I'm a first believer in everyone doing what suits them, it's okay to not be into New Year Resolutions but for me, I'm going to keep going for 2018!
Here are my very own 2018 resolutions and how I plan to stick to them:
MEET MORE NEW PEOPLE
As I've mentioned before, I'm an expat. I moved to Dublin a bit over 2 years ago from my native Montréal. Since then, I've met loads of people and met new friends, mostly through my work. That being said, my social circle is quite a bit smaller than the one I have in Montreal, so this year I'd love to meet new people and develop more friendships, because we never have too many of those!
TIP: it's cliché, but join activities that you like! I've been tap dancing since April and met great people through it. I'm also going to start Scuba Diving in Dublin so I look forward to seeing who I meet there!
KEEP SCUBA DIVING
That one's a no brainer for me. Once saying that I LOVE is "Do more of what makes you happy". And you know what? I'm still a little bit high from my dive certification trip and that was in September!! I've already started looking into diving clubs around where I live and into new courses I can take to get better at it.
TIP: It might not be Scuba Diving for you, but if there's something you love that you wish you did more of, DO IT. Find local courses or clubs and dive in (pun intended). That's what I did last year for dancing and I haven't regretted it at all.
INVEST TIME IN THE GIRL IN THE OCEAN
Obviously. This blog is still very new, and I'm still a beginner at all things ocean-friendly, eco-friendly, etc. I have so much to learn and I love sharing it with you guys! So for 2018, one of my biggest goal (and other ones tie into that as well) is to invest time and energy in my content to build a great blog that will help others on their journey to enjoy and project the ocean (and the world).
TIP: I have so many ideas for things to come, but for now all I will say is ORGANIZATION. I have started bullet journalling to help me keep track of everything I want to do and to help me stay on track!
SAVINGS - SAVINGS - SAVINGS
I've always had the philosophy of "If you want something bad enough, it'll work out in the end". Which is great to stay positive, but not so much as a financial plan. I've always bought the plane tickets first, figure out the money later. So this year I really want to work on building my savings account and my next few resolutions will be related to that as well.
TIP: Do you know The Financial Diet ? It's a blog on finances mostly for people who want to learn and get better with money in a simple way. They also do great Youtube videos which is how I found them in the first place!
CONTROL IMPULSE PURCHASES
See resolution above. I can be a very impulsive person sometimes, and when I get an idea in my head, it needs to happen NOW. Same goes with buying things. Sometimes it ends up being a good thing (Like my bullet journal) and sometimes not so much (Hello bag I got for this one plane trip and never used again!). So this year I really want to take time to think before buying things. This should also help with my savings resolution.
TIP: Make a list of NEEDS and WANTS. When you get the urge to buy something, put it on the list and wait. It can be a week or a month, but give yourself time to cool down and see how much you really need it. And do you really need it NOW?
BECOME A CONSCIOUS CONSUMER - AVOID FAST FASHION
I definitely started doing this as soon as I started researching for the blog. I have so much more to learn. Do I really need this new thing? Where can I get one that's the best option for the environment? I want to stay away from fast fashion in particular and buy good quality things that will last from ethical companies that I want to support.
TIP: If you want to simply dip your toe in, a few big brands like H&M, Zara, Mango, now have conscious ranges where the garments are ethically made. I also find it easier sometimes to research each object as I go, I get better results than doing a broad search for "Ethical Companies in Dublin".
