Word of the year: Lighten

Why: By definition lighter in weight, pressure, or severity. Make or become more cheerful.

Since the end of October 2022 I’ve been on a wellness journey. Until Christmas I’d been steady in the gym 2-3x a week and have lost and maintained a 20lb weight loss. I’m working to continue down this path of lightening in weight- to help my confidence. It’s for me. Not for anyone else. I need to learn some of the other weight machines- they terrify me if I’m being honest, but in 2023 I will learn at least 3 of these new machines.

I believe mental health is an incredible piece of life you have to work at daily, and my current state requires that I remove anything that makes me feel anxious or pressured instead of joy and happiness. Some of my current relationships for instance feel tedious to maintain instead of exciting. I’m not myself in those relationships because of that pressure and I need to either communicate my stance better or decide to let those relationships go.

I need to lighten my life of “goods”. I’ve acquired far more “things” than one needs to live life. Consumerism is great economically however I am slowing my involvement in the fashion industry and purging what I do not wear. In general I’ll be purging items I own that I do not wish to take with me in my next home.

I spent 2022 trying to figure out how to spark joy in my side business again. I went to several retreats, events, and believed I wanted certain things at the time. I maintained consistent in my personal piece but I needed reflection and to pull back and look big picture at what was causing me to feel like nothing I did was good enough. I didn’t set enough boundaries- even after establishing boundaries. I let customers walk on them. In 2023 the key to my happiness may be to fire customers. And that’s okay. I need to communicate to my customers better about how the online shipping works and how pick up works. Less deliveries. I cut back on events- it’s a lot of work to do and I only want to do the ones that yield higher results. I rather work 1:1 than carry a ton of stock in my home.

So I’m going to stick to my 2-3x a week gym sessions, add in learning 3 new machines. I’m going to downsize my wardrobe, belongings, purge excess items. I’m going to move in 2023 and live alone for the first time in a LONG time. I’m going to work on being even more communicative in my relationships, and I’m going to help less, and mainly if asked and able. In my business I’m going to focus on beating my last years numbers and clearing out stock from my home. I’m going to gift collected benefits instead of sit on items to sell and storing them. I’m going to talk to more people about the direct ship options so I don’t find myself driving an hour round trip plus to deliver a 30$ set of wax melts with the cost of gas.

That’s 2023 for me ❤

xo, Kel