Be Kind To Me | December Intentions

Intentions can be hard, especially at this time of year when everyone is rushing around to a million places for the holidays, buying all the things, and being hypercritical at this time of year. It is more important than ever to come into December with a strong intentions list. Setting intentions for the last month of the year is important because it helps us frame who we want to be in January. It also gives us something we can turn too in a typically very stressful month. I've always written everything down, especially my goals and I'm a huge fan of vision boards. However, I started getting serious about intention settings a few months ago around my birthday. I have found it comforting and steadying to have a page or more to go back to that I reflect on and look to for the month remaining. Sometimes my intentions are really small, like taking eucalyptus baths or writing out my to-do list every day. But for those bigger ones, writing them down is monumental to my overall growth and progress. If writing out an entire month of intention setting seems daunting to you, feel free to start with three intentions for the month. You don't need to write everything down at the same times, in fact having something you can add to helps a lot and is a great way to add new goals for the month. I use this planner all year long which is mind mapping and intention setting. You can check them out here if you are interested. 

My Intentions For December:

First and foremost: Be Kind To Me I am way to hard myself and I need to really learn that I am doing the best I can and I'm putting the work in. All good will come, it simply takes time. Releasing those fears and knowing my worth is more important now more than ever. I can do it. I am doing it. It's all working out  the way it's supposed to.

Worry Less : It's no secret that I struggle deeply with a generliazed anxiety disorder, although I've said it before and I'll say it again, my anxiety is purely specific and in deep relation to hypochondria. The majority of my family members also struggle with anxiety so I know it's genetic. Yes, an anxious mind is tide to your genetics. According to Everyday Health, A genetic predisposition to anxiety could start young as young as age 2. Studies have shown that certain anxiety traits correlated with panic disorder are evident by the age of 8 and can stem from parents and grandparents. OCD traits can begin to develop around age 4, especially if the child is surrounded in an environment where OCD traits are present in their parents. I have always struggled with an anxiety disorder and now my therapist is fairly certain I also struggle with OCD. I check a lot, I self-examine a lot which leads to more checking and then my imagination runs wild convincing myself that I have some disease that I know I don't have. OCD and anxiety can be a prison if I let it take over. I've learned certain exercises to stop it before it starts, but it's still a daily battle that I fight by the minute. If I let it take over then it ruins my entire day, week, and overall month. The biggest thing I've had to stop doing to checking and inspecting. Will get into the details of that in another blog post, but I think you get the idea. My goal for this month is to worry less and believe that I'm healthy. 

Less Screen Time: I feel like I'm always nose deep in my phone. It's hard because I'm a blogger and influencer, but I don't need to always be on my phone. Looking up is great too! I would especially like to off my phone during date nights with my husband and when I'm spending time with him. The phone can wait. Instagram can wait. 

Save Money For The Big Things I made a goal a year ago to buy less and I'm proud to report I've stuck to that goal pretty well. But I could be better about it and that's why this month I'm only purchasing things we need. Purchasing stuff in the moment always seems like a good idea, but do I really that other wooden shelf from Ikea to squeeze into my 1200 sq.ft house? Nope. 

Yoga Everyday I followed through with my intention last month of creating a private yoga space in my home that's clutter-free. I'm proud to report I've been keeping up with my goal and have been meditating and practicing yoga every day. It's doing wonders for my anxiety so far and really helping me bounce back faster when I do have an anxiety episode. Yoga, yoga, and more yoga so that I can finally become certified!

Consistency and Staying Consistent  I've successfully created my blogging content calendar for this month, now the real test is sessing if I can stick to it. One of my goals is to make a full time living as a blogger and the first step to doing that is writing and posting on my blog every day, but at least 3-5 times per week. I'm off to a good start! It's all about consistency. 

Without making this list too long, these are my December Intentions for this month. What are yours? 

Be Kind To Me, Stay Consistent, Believe I'm Healthy

Remember friends, it's all in the MIND.