It has become an annual tradition on my blog. With the start of the new year (new decade even!) I look back at the goals I set for myself in 2019, as well as think of 5 new goals I would like to achieve in 2020. Sooo unique, huh? And although this might seem as groundbreaking as florals for Spring and possibly setting myself bound to fail, I think self-reflection and goal setting is important. To me, it is one of human kind’s greatest gifts to better themselves and the world. So if you’re curious if I achieved the goals I set for myself in 2019, and what my new goals are for 2020, keep reading.
MY GOALS FOR 2019
STOP BEING SO HARD ON MYSELF
Check, kinda? Although a dose of healthy self-criticism doesn’t hurt anybody, I’ve always found myself to be my own worst critic, struggling to praise any of my own successes. However, reading what I wrote about being hard on myself last year (“thinking I am not good enough, or that others are way more successful than me”), I’ve realized that throughout 2019 my personal criticism became less fixated on comparison of myself to others. Even comparing myself to previous versions of me, is something I have ceased doing. It’s quite interesting that my last year’s life lesson was to stop comparing yourself to others, just to yourself. This year I’ve learned that comparing yourself to you can also be quite toxic. I don’t agree with the cliché sayings that life is about becoming the best version of you, or that the only person you should comparing yourself to is you (anymore). Life is not about comparing yourself to others, it’s not even about being better than you were, because there is no best version of yourself. There are only different versions of you, but none of them is the “better” you. There is beauty and horrid to be found in every self you were, are and shall become. The best analogy to describe that I found is the life of a tree. With every cycle of seasons, the leaves turn from vividly green to a fiery orange, neither one being more beautiful than the other, yet fueling the growth of the tree. And just like that, you should enjoy every version of you.
BE MORE INTENTIONAL
Check. It’s not often that I find myself truly feeling like I reached a set goal, but with this one, I definitely did. In 2019 I have become more intentional when it comes to my day to day actions. Because 2018 has definitely been a year filled with adventures, fortunate and more unfortunate events, achievements & obstacles, I found myself switching of my mind, and living in this auto-pilot mode. I didn’t want to live like that anymore, and instead, I wanted to focus on being more mindful in 2019. Ever since I started my 30 days of yoga challenge at the end of 2019, I’ve learned how beneficial it is to be more intentional. Intentionality, focusing on my breath and my yoga practice has become a big part of my life now.
FIND THE STABILITY I NEED
No check. If there is one thing I didn’t find in 2019, it has to be stability. My 2019 was just as turbulent as 2018. In 2018 I started the chapter of my life as a fulltime entrepreneur, and ending my chapter as a student. 2019 would’ve been the year to figure my life out, but instead all my time and energy was focused on getting my US visa. I never thought that his process would be so mentally draining and challenging. Every day felt like it could be my last one in the US. Now that I finally have my visa, my own place in LA and the time to figure things out for myself, I feel like 2020 will be the year to find that stability that I so long for.
DEVELOP A PRODUCTIVE & ORGANIZED ROUTINE
No check. This goal goes hand in hand with seeking stability, and is therefore also something I have failed to achieve in 2019. Don’t take me wrong: I have always had my own personal routine (and I know you guys love them), but since my life has changed so much the past 1,5 years, I really wanted to develop a productive & organized routine that would fit my new life. And that, unfortunately, I did not manage to do. However, I am sure that in 2020 I will be able to realize this goal, as it is something I still value highly considering I work from home and distractions can be easily found. I want to ensure I get all my daily tasks such as going to yoga class, cleaning my apartment, doing laundry & shopping for groceries as well as all my work tasks such as doing emails, creating new content, editing & working on Supplied by Lily done. In addition, I also want to get enough sleep everyday, spend time with my friends or doing something for myself. And preferably, I would like to adopt a more 9-5 pm ish schedule, so I can also take the night off if I wanted to. Yeah, it’s a lot. But I am sure I can manage in 2020!
TAKE CARE OF MY MIND & BODY
Check. In 2019 I am happy to say that I spend more time taking care of my mind and body. Ever since I moved to the US, I neglected working out, eating healthily, and doing new things to make my mind feel inspired and refreshed again. I guess I can blame law school for that. After graduating, especially since I spend time in LA, I started doing yoga, at some point even everyday. I also drastically changed my diet (still vegetarian, but just more healthy), which made me lose some desired weight too. Furthermore, I started journaling more again, as well as reading books for fun. That’s something I completely stopped doing when I was in law school, and I am happy to have started reading leisurely again. The only thing I haven’t really improved in is drinking more water (only if coconut water counts lol). I also need to be a bit more consistent when it comes to taking vitamins and probiotics. I’m definitely not wear I want to be health wise, but I do think that if I continue this pattern in 2020, I will hopefully finally hit my fitness targets. I would like to lose a bit more weight, just because I would like to go back to my weight from my late teens/early twenties. I also want to be more consistent at meal prepping/cooking at home, and cut out the amount of carbs I eat. Furthermore I would like to become more flexible, get stronger and have more abs. Let’s see if 2020 is going to be the year for that!
MY GOALS FOR 2020
BUILD A LIFE FOR MYSELF IN LA
My first, and probably most important goal for 2020 is to build a life for myself in LA. I’ve been in LA for 3 months now, and I am definitely struggling with truly getting settled here. Maybe it’s because this will be the third time I’m trying to create a new life for myself somewhere (first Groningen, then Washington DC, and now Los Angeles…). Although I am proud of myself for making the move, finding my own place, and finishing up my apartment in quite a short time, I would still describe my life in LA as lackluster. In the new year, I want to focus my energy on making Los Angeles my home: find a group of people I love to hang out (and find a cute guy with “getting a pug together” potential would not be bad either), grow my business, find my favorite places in the city to grab an oatmilk vanilla latte and to hang out, get potentially even more into yoga or other hobbies… Just truly build something for myself in this city.
FOCUS ON YOGA
Another goal for 2020 I hold close to my heart get more into yoga. Yoga is something I fell in love with ever since I moved to LA. I know it’s a bit of a LA fitgirl cliché, but I can truly say that yoga has improved my life in so many ways. It has helped me become more intentional, made my body and my mind stronger, and taught me the power of our breath. After completing my 30 days of yoga challenge successfully, I low key got addicted to yoga. I wanted to continue with doing yoga pretty much everyday. I decided to get an yearly unlimited membership at my yoga studio close by, and I am so happy I did. So for this year, I want to continue going to yoga classes everyday. I am allowed to skip a day if I have an event or I need to film, but other than that I want to make sure I go between 4-7 times a week.
EXPAND MY BUSINESS
Another goal I have for 2020 is to grow my business. I moved to LA to pursue my online inspirer/content creation & Supplied by Lily stationery business fulltime. In the following year I want to focus on a few different aspects of my business. First of all, I want to create a weekly schedule for my YouTube videos, preferably posting at least twice a week. I also want to do more freelance photography jobs, because I love doing product photography. Furthermore I want to expand my Supplied by Lily stationery line, create a new website, as well as work on the logistics aspect of my e-commerce business. And obviously I want to make my business more profitable this year too.
CREATE MY NEW DAILY ROUTINE
Like I’ve already mentioned in my goals for 2019, 2020 is going to be the year for me to develop my new daily routine. Having a productive daily schedule is something that’s really important to me. I am self-employed and I work from home, which means that there is no one that can hold myself accountable for getting my sh*t done, except for me. I want to ensure that I wake up everyday around 6:30 am, be completely done & ready to get my work started at 9:00 am, and squeeze in a yoga session everyday. I also want to create a weekly schedule, dedicating particular days of the week for specific activities. For example, on Monday I want to focus on creating my everyday schedule, doing admin & going through my emails. On Tuesday I would edit YouTube videos + make them ready to go live the next day. On Wednesday I could focus on creating flatlay and other content for Instagram, etc. etc. This way I would instantly create more of a structured and organized routine for myself. Last but not least, I want to be better at truly finishing tasks right away. I like to juggle different to dos and multitask most of the times, which can sometimes make me feel cluttered in my head and rather anxious. This year I want to focus on getting things done, one step at the time. I also want to finalize a lot of long term projects I have been working on, to make my headspace feel clear again.
BE MORE CREATIVE
Last but not least I want to be more creative in 2020. Since I became an online inspirer/content creator fulltime, I have noticed that staying inspired and creative has been hard at times. It’s the paradox of being a creative for a living: creativity is something that comes and goes, while the pressure of daily life makes you feel like you NEED to create in order to make ends meet. I began to notice this pressure to constantly “monetize” everything I do; worrying about finding the right attractive YouTube video title that will give me more views, or a thumbnail that will make people want to watch. It made me lose the fun I always had in being an online inspirer. Although I have to obviously stay business-minded, I do believe that focusing on creating different and unique content will be most beneficial in the long run. So in 2020 I want to get back to the feeling of enjoying the creative process, rather than feeling pressured to monetize my creativity.
Thank you for reading my annual goal setting & reflection blogpost. I am very excited for this new year and new decade. 2020 is going to be the best year yet, I can just sense it. I feel like all the stress and setbacks from 2019 prepared us mentally & spiritually for 2020 to be amazing. So goodbye 2019, I am happy you are in the past, and welcome 2020, I’ve been expecting you.
DO YOU HAVE ANY NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2020?
xo Lilia
Great post. I’ve been following you since I joined law school in 2014. Your videos have been inspiring. I passed law school and the bar as well. My 2020 goal is to find a job.
Good luck with all of your goals for 2020! I hope you’re able to settle into LA it sounds like it’ll be amazing xx
Hannah | luxuryblush
Hello Lilia,
Thank you for sharing your 2020 goals. I have been creating my own goals for this year and I found your blog post to be very inspiring. I can definitely relate to the pressure to monetize everything as creative. I am a part-time graphic designer and curriculum developer. My business focuses on creating social justice curriculum resources for high school students. However, I have found it hard to juggle my creativity and desire to make a decent income.
I am also a website designer and graphic designer. I would love to design your new Supplied by Lily store for free. I love your content and your planners. Let me know if you are interested in having me design your site.
Thank you,
Canissa
Wat een mooie doelen heb je opgesteld! Zo’n terugblik vind ik ook altijd leuk om te lezen. Toevallig heb ik er vandaag ook eentje online staan. Wat je zegt over het vergelijken van jezelf met anderen (en met jezelf) is zo waar! Dit jaar wil ik ook weer dat creatieve gevoel terugkrijgen. Alleen dat is inderdaad best lastig als je van je hobby je werk hebt gemaakt.
Anna recently posted…Terugblik op mijn persoonlijke en zakelijke doelen voor 2019
Good luck with all of your goals for 2020!
I hope you’re able to settle into LA it sounds like it’ll be amazing
Sending Love Your Way,
Marina xox
Have an amazing New Year!
Mariya | https://www.brunetteondemand.com/
Great Post! Seriously inspiring! I hope you achieve your goals ❣❤
Massiel Alberto recently posted…Productivity isn’t everything
Such a great post! I hope you get to achieve all your goals for this year. I’m trying to create a daily routine as well for this year, fingers crossed it works out hahah!
New Lune | http://new-lune.com
Wishing you the best!
Loved this post, Lilia!
I appreciate that you evaluated your 2019 goals and admitted that you didn’t fulfill them all (does anyone really keep all of their NY resolutions?). I completely relate to wanting a more stable and organized life… definitely a goal for 2020.
Best of luck with expanding your stationery business. I love seeing individual entrepreneurs succeed! The marble effect on your 2018 desk planner is gorgeous. I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for some new releases! 🙂
Laura recently posted…Non Comedogenic Blush Reviews | Blush That Won’t Clog Your Pores
I really enjoyed reading your goals and previous goals. I myself have some similar goals, and just being 17 now its hard but im glad to see im not the only person having trouble with it 🙂 I am also very inspired in your older videos of law school/university because I myself want to be a lawyer, and obviously to be a lawyer I need to go to law school ya know lolol!! I love the path of life you’re in right now, its very inspiring like i said having graduated law school, and now having your own buisness ?!? thats literally so cool i feel like!!!! anyways this is long and you probably have better things to do :)) keep living your best life babygirll!! mwah
Nice blog!
Author
Thank you!