Design Your Life Journey: Reflecting on 2020 | Designing & Planning for 2021

Dear community,

Yesterday, we hosted another wonderful webinar with the topic of "Design Your Life Journey. Next Stop: 2021". With some bubbly and Christmas trees, Julia and Alma were having a chat, reflecting on 2020 and designing 2021. Even though Instagram & Internet gave us a lot of trouble, and we were losing our guest several times, we hope you have enjoyed the live & festive NYE atmosphere. Here are the promised templates & answers to your questions.  

Choose a date & time, organize a cozy & inspiring date with yourself, print these our (or do it digitally), dedicate plenty of time for each one of those. Talk to yourself, get to know what you want & feel, and start 2021 on a wonderful note. Love yourself - you should be the priority. 

1. The 'Aha' moments

During this year, you must've had quite a few 'aha' moments. Maybe, you still do not know which ones those are. Sitting down with this template will help you "learn the lesson" and discover some of the eye-opening moments and situations you had this year.

2. My Projects

These can be any projects that you have in mind: career-related, starting your own business, taking care of your health, starting a family, etc. Be creative, realistic, and kind to yourself.

3. Journaling Template

You might not know it yet, but daily journaling is a wonderful time spent. It helps you express your feelings and thoughts, get to know yourself better, feel yourself on a much deeper level. Furthermore, some say daily journaling makes you happier. Shall we try?

4.Finding Meaning

These might seem like simple questions, but in reality - they are very important. Take some time to fill these out to get to know yourself better.

5. Mapping 2021

Our favorite template - the map of your 2021. Set the timing as you want - you can plan for weeks/months/6 months periods. Very important note: be kind to yourself & realistic. Being realistic is the key to motivation.

Your Questions

This webinar was awesome simply because of your meaningful questions. We must say - these were one of the best questions we've ever had. And, as we had some trouble answering them due to connection, here are the more profound answers:

Question from Parmi: Any suggestions on how we can stick to our resolutions? Apart from writing it down. Any motivation?

The idea is to not be too strict with it. Make a date with yourself, surround yourself with a pleasant & inspiring atmosphere, take your favorite drinks & snacks, it has to bring you pleasure & inspiration. The key to sticking to your resolutions is being REALISTIC & realizing why something is MEANINGFUL to you. Here are some actionable steps onto how to stick to your resolutions:

1. Find out what is meaningful to you & why the resolutions that you wrote down are important to you (you can use our templates)

2. Remove or alter the unrealistic resolutions. Be kind to yourself & set achievable goals. You will lose motivation instantly if you set your expectations too high.

3. Break it down into smaller, actionable steps. Accomplishing one after another will fill you with enough motivation to continue.

Question from Anna: If you want to make a change in your life, whether it's work or a lifestyle change, but you don't know what that is, what steps would you take to figure it out?

Generally, if you are thinking about a certain change, that means that there's something triggering it. Furthermore, most likely you know the direction of the hypothetical change. Whether you know what the direction is or not, finding the trigger is the first thing you should consider. You can be having winter blues, you can be too tired or bored, or even find yourself in a toxic situation. Though, it does not have to be negative of course.

1. Try to have a date with yourself and understand what the trigger of this life change is. 

2. Analyze for how long you feel like a life change (it can be a temporary phenomenon)

3. Expose yourself to a variety of new experiences - people, situations, hobbies, countries

4. Analyze how you feel and narrow those down with a funnel method, step by step.

This will help you understand the direction and will guide you to your life change further on. Do not stop searching until 'it feels right'. If you are still uncertain about the change, you might want to consider talking to a good specialist. :)

Question from Una: Due to covid, a lot of people struggle with keeping a routine. What is the easiest way to 'get back on track' without being too harsh on yourself? :)

During Covid, we must say, there was a lot of pressure on our mental health. Aside from the uncertainty of our existence, worries about our health, and adapting to a new lifestyle (180° different for some), we also spent a lot of time online. Online - is the place where many individuals show ONLY the good side of life. And while many of us were struggling, the rest were busy exercising, discovering new & fantastic hobbies, losing weight, making children, and the list goes on. Being bombarded by the wholeness of such individuals, the last bits of our mental health leave the chat. It is indeed hard to find motivation with keeping a routine, and here are some hands-on advice as to how you can get back on track without being too harsh on yourself:

1. Realize that this is a tough year for all of us. And while Instagram shows us happiness & bliss, it does not show us how those people feel. And trust us, many of them struggle to keep the routine & getting out of their beds too.

2. Allow yourself to get back on track SLOWLY. Treat it like a project & set realistic milestones, celebrating each one of them. Start with one thing - daily meditation (for example). Stick to it for a few weeks before you continue with the next one.

3. Take care of yourself. Having a daily shower, doing a daily stretch, and applying face cream is already a wonderful routine, which is simple to complete and will make you feel better.

4. Surround yourself with supportive people - ambitious, proactive people are one of the most important factors of being willing to try & do things. 2020 is a wonderful opportunity to say goodbye to toxic & draining people.

5. Might sound cliche - you will be more motivated to move in a fresh & clean house.

6. Most important one - use our templates & design your 2021. Without clear (and realistic) goals, there will be no reason for you to get back on track. Make sure your goals are achievable & inspiring.

Question from Raphael: What is the thing we can be most certain of in 2021? And the thing we can be least certain of?

In the live session, we said (also our community members) that 'uncertainty' can be the most certain thing of 2021. At the same time, 2020 was a tough & unpleasant year, therefore we can certainly say, that it will be a better year (it is hard for it to be even worse). Also, certainly, quite some people will have a more mindful approach to life in 2021. 

And, the most uncertain thing is our life. :) What do you think?

Question from Epsita: How to design [the rest of] your life that can reflect your purpose, your values, and your passions rather than being distracted by society's expectations of being perfect? 

This is a very important & wonderful question. It is easy to get distracted & side-tracked if you do not know yourself well enough and if you do not have your goals/values/wishes at least drafted in your head. Let's flip the last sentence: When you know & feel yourself, and live your life according to your values & goals, you will not need to look for society's approval. 

— Get to know yourself well. You can do it by meditating, journaling, therapy sessions, having dates with yourself;

— Feel yourself. Observe how you react to certain situations, what makes you happy or sad, what makes you laugh, what excites you;

— Find out what is meaningful to you & discover your main life values (you can use one of our templates for that);

— Think of your goals, plans, and a variety of things you would like to have in your life.

Once you settled these things, society's expectations should not bother you (or at least should not be a priority). Know yourself & your worth, talk to yourself often, love yourself, and move confidently to your goals.😘

Enjoy these templates & Happy New Year,

Your Fashion Potluck Team❤️