Our "Secrets" List for January
While the majority of people might be still considering their NY Resolutions, I like to take a more realistic - for me - approach to goal setting. If I made a resolution for the year, I would probably have already broken it.
A handful of years ago, my friend, Niscelle, and I decided to create monthly goals/hopes for ourselves that we titled “Secrets” while joking about the book, The Secret. We just added an “s” and we had a whole new brand.
On top of that, I listened to a reel (yes, our news!) and it was a voiceover of Steve Harvey saying to write down 300 things you want for the year and to read it often and then see where you are at the end of the year.
Well, I did it. I wrote down 300 things I want this year and while I’m sure there are some overlap or duplicates (it’s hard to remember them all!) I like the idea of consistently reminding myself of those hopes - grand or small.
I’m not going to share that whole list, but I will share with you the handful of goals/hopes I have for the month.
My January “Secrets”…
Running… yeah.
Late last year, I watched multiple videos of NYC Marathon runners - not the first ones to cross the finish line, but the ones near the end of the line. I was so overcome by emotion for them, because you saw so many different people from different walks of life fighting for this one exciting goal.
Now, I’ve never run. I mean, I’ve ran-ish, but not like around a neighborhood. So, I decided to challenge myself this month by trying out a running routine. I downloaded some random and, by the time this is published, I would have ran twice (every other day.)
Does this mean I’m trying to run a marathon? No. I’m just trying to see if I like it or if it’s something I want to continue, but keeping the small January scaled goal of trying it out will make an overall better review of my thoughts about it.
Running tips? How do you force a runners high? What even is that?!
Less Cocktails.
It’s the time of year where everyone and their mom are doing Dry January, and while I’d like to say I would do that, if I tell myself I can’t have something, I’m going to want to have it that much more and it doesn’t work for me.
For me, this goal is more about trying to have less events and social activities surrounded by alcohol. There are hundreds of things I can do with friends that isn’t happy hour and I want to explore those.
Maybe it’s with age, but I’m loving seeing social groups and events where people are crafting or playing Mahjong or even - what my friends call - Hot Girl Walks. I want to lean more into a different social space.
Cheers to that!
Read more and watch less!
Last year I was bad with reading - for me. I read 17 books, which is not a lot in my - ahem - book. I feel like I leaned more into watching tv or doom scrolling on instagram to fill time. The joke is that half the time, I didn’t even pay attention much to what I was watching and scrolling.
So, I told myself I’m going to lean in hard on reading during my downtime this month, and hopefully future months, but let’s get started with now.
I’m currently starting Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown and will happily receive any book recs!
Write and Send Birthday Cards (or just anything cards!)
When it comes to gifts in general, my favorite part is a card. Always. I prefer the card to anything else. This is especially so when it comes to someone who has taken the time to write something heartfelt.
As much as I love that, I tend to not do that as much as I would like. So, I wanted to shift that over and send some personalized birthday notes to those I care about.
Have Unabashed Pride in What I Do.
I love what I do. I really do. I love that I help people create their homes and the spaces that are their everyday. I get to see some of life’s biggest changes - new babies, new marriage, new start. I love getting to know the people as humans and how they live their life.
I also love this side of it - the side where I can share my two-bits of info to potentially help someone else who is trying to create their own home or just see what’s going on out there.
What I’m very bad at is explaining that to people. I downplay. I focus on them. I think it’s , for me, part of being a small business owner. How do I explain what I do day to day? How do I make it sound interesting?!
The answer is: I don’t have too! I just have to love it and share it, and if they get it, they get it. It’s not my job to make something sound interesting to someone else… and the reality is, it might actually just be super interesting to someone, because it is to me!
What are some goals that you have this month?
