New Year New You!

I will start off by introducing myself.  My name is Jessica and I am the featured speaker for the MeetUp expert series for the month of January titled, “New Year New You!”  I am very excited to be able to share my knowledge and perspective with you all!

To give you a little background on myself, I started a blog called Jessie Girl in the summer of 2019.  It had been a goal of mine to create a blog about my love of total wellness and what it means to me.  I believe wellness encompasses the mind, body and spirit.  My inspiration for my blog came from my passion for wellness, but also from struggling with anxiety and numerous dietary issues over the years.  My food intolerances sparked an interest for clean eating, holistic remedies and organic foods.  But, more than this, my blog is a space filled with motivational quotes, inspiration, ideas and all things pink!  It is pink because it is my favorite color and makes me happy.  My blog is everything from mindfulness techniques, quick workouts, great restaurants in Grand Rapids that cater to food restrictions and is actually my personal journal shared with you as well!  It is a refreshingly bubbly guide to living your healthiest and happiest life!

Now that you know a little bit more about me, let’s dive into the topic I will discuss with all of you on Monday, January 6th.  I will be speaking to you about how to set three monthly intentions and three monthly goals.  I think this topic is perfect for January because it really coincides with a time when everyone is trying to follow resolutions for the new year.  Most people will have a new set of ambitions and dreams for the year 2020!  This is great, but as well all know, resolutions tend to slip our minds as soon as the month of January passes.  This is one of the many reasons why I am passionate about monthly intentions and goals.  It is something you can practice all year long, each month focusing on things you want to better about yourself.  Additionally, it has a deadline, which is very important when setting a goal.  I think this will be truly impactful on all of your lives and I am very excited to speak with you about this topic.

One of the reasons I started to do this myself is because I struggle with anxiety.  I have dealt with this my whole life, it seems like I run on stress (ha ha).  Organization, to-do lists, planners, etc., make me feel at ease.  I love to have a plan.  Setting intentions and goal for the month feels like a set plan.  It gives you something something to focus on and work towards.  I will talk more about this in the workshop, but we all know how quickly time flies.  I find myself feeling lost and feeling as sense of emptiness if I am not working towards something.  My point is, four weeks goes by in the blink of an eye and you can either let it rush by and still be in the same spot at the end of the month as you were in the beginning or you can have used those four weeks to better your life in some way.  Once you get into the habit of doing it, I don’t think you will ever get back!

Intentions vs. Goals

What is the difference between an intention and a goal?

Each month, I choose three words to live by.  These words are my three intentions.  The words can be anything, but they have to mean something to you.  They are usually things you want to work on.  In the past I have chosen words such as:

Change

Optimism

Decide

Breathe

Perseverance

and so on.  For example, when I choose the word “change” it was because I wanted to focus on being better at embracing change that month.  I had recently graduated from college and many things were shifting around me.  You will have a reason for choosing each of your three words; then, your three goals are different things you want to accomplish that specific month.  One of mine was as simple as keeping up on my walks.  I wrote down that walks were a great anxiety and stress reliever for me and I didn’t want to stop walking outside even though the weather was cooling down.

These are just a few examples, but I can’t wait to speak more in depth on this topic with you.  I hope this has sparked your interested and I hope you all have a great holiday season!

I will see you in 2020!

“Happiness is the new rich.  Inner peace is the new success.  Health is the new wealth.  Kindness is the new cool.”  XO

We want to thank Jess so much for doing this guest blog post for us!  We are so excited for our January MeetUp.  If you haven’t RSVP’d yet, you can do so here.

If you would like to learn more about living the DREAM, click here!