There’s something refreshing about having the blank pages of twelve new months laid out in front of you and contemplating how to make the most of them. It does feel slightly odd titling this ‘Hello 2016‘ since it isn’t actually my first post of 2016, but it’s always good to take a little time for all of the festivities of Christmas and New Year’s Eve to pass before getting into the swing of a new year; trying to take on too much on the first of January, for me anyway, is never going to lead to much success.
What do you think? Would you agree or do you prefer to jump right in?
Restrictive resolutions aren’t necessarily my thing either; I prefer to focus on adding positive things to my life or making positive swaps. Isn’t it nicer to have something to feel enthused about and to look forward to, than to feel like failure is imminent? With that in mind, these are my 2016 wishes:
To keep improving
At the start of 2015, my biggest mission for the year was to take this blog up a level by improving the design, working on my food photography and building my readership. I’m so proud of how all of this has gone but have so many ideas for 2016 including experimenting more with food photography, now I’ve got a better (but by no means perfect) grasp of some of the basics, and tightening up some of my categories and topics.
On a more personal note, I don’t feel I’ve had the same focus outside of blogging as I have had in blogging. So in 2016 I’d like to start doing yoga regularly again because it does so much for me physically and mentally. I’d love to build up to build up my strength and fitness again and am already researching yoga retreats with a view to doing one later in the year.
To be more authentic to myself
I know it’s something that happens steadily over time, but what I enjoy and how I want to spend my time has changed dramatically in the past couple of years – as it has done many times prior to that. This year I want to embrace this more and appreciate what I’ve gained, rather than what I’ve lost.
Another area I want to be more honest with myself is around my ethics and personal beliefs, and push towards living them more fully. I know that eventually cutting out all dairy is where I want to be so I’m starting small by taking part in Veganuary. In terms of changes at home, it doesn’t really mean any at all to be honest; around 95% of what I cook is already vegan. The trickier part will be eating out and I’m going to approach this in the longer-term as a journey and not feel guilty if I can’t always make the choices I want; I know not everyone will agree with me about taking this approach instead of an all-or-nothing one, but it feels more sustainable and is a natural progression of the changes I’ve already been making.
To share more trips
Last year was a great year for travel and my first two foreign trips of 2016 are already booked, alongside a mini UK trip as well. I always come back from a trip bursting with ideas of how to share a taste of that destination but more often than not those ideas stay unwritten. Perhaps it’s because setting out to write a travel post is less “hands on” than setting out to create a recipe, but my travel section is much thinner than I’d like.
The thing I love most about the travel posts I have written though, is that they serve as virtual scrapbooks of the places I’ve been. My photos from those trips haven’t become relegated to an overstuffed folder on a hard drive somewhere but instead are curated and something for me to cherish and appreciate – because I can’t cover all of my walls with travel photos after all! This year, therefore, I am vowing to take more notes when I’m away, to get more of these ideas down on paper and to share more trips.
And there we go – my three wishes for 2016! Is there anything you’re hoping to achieve this year?
