I can't believe it's already July!!

Where has this year gone?! Time has been flying by. It's been an absolutely amazing year so far and I'm looking forward to seeing what the second half will bring. I do feel like I've spent a lot of the last 6 months looking ahead though. So I thought now would be a good time to take a breath and reflect a little on how the first half of the year has been.

I'd originally planned to do an update on my 2018 goals about 3 months into the year. But that came and went, and like a few of my other goals, I didn't get it done. But hey! A goal update after 6 months is just as good I think.

Just to recap, instead of strict resolutions or goals this year, I decided to combine the two and write myself a list of things I wanted to achieve this year. The list looked a little something like this...

• Going easier on myself

• Being ok with making mistakes

• Learning to love myself just the way I am

• Letting things go (especially my fear!)

• Trying new things

• Finally learning Swedish

• Reading 20 books

• Going without sugar or alcohol for January and February (for a start)

• Yoga, Yoga and more Yoga

• Nailing my handstand

• Being more creative and sharing more frequently with you

• Stop comparing myself to others!!

So... How Am I Going?

I've definitely been much better at going easier on myself this year. I'm human, I make mistakes, but I'm learning to get over them more quickly than I used to. Which is a good segway into "Letting things go". Depending on what it is I think I'm making some headway here too. I'm still basically scared of everything, but I'm learning to try and shift perspective when I feel myself getting anxious. For example, a few months ago I went to Thailand on my first long holiday without the family. (Ooo, ticks off "Trying new things"!) Anyway, as I was saying, perspectives. When I was traveling on my own and had a few moments of near panic, I tried to flip what I was feeling into something positive. So, instead of saying to myself "I'm so nervous!" I would repeat "I'm so excited!" And then just ride the wave until I felt more comfortable. It seemed to work for me most of the time, so I've tried to keep this up in other areas of my life that make me nervous too.

Of course, there are a few things on this list that I have either not started or made very little progress on. Like, going without sugar, learning Swedish, learning to love myself just the way I am, and sharing more frequently with you guys. But, I'm not beating myself up about it!

So, overall, I feel like I'm winning. Plus, there are still 6 more months of the year to continue working on things. I'd like to put some more structure around my goals in the second half of the year to see if that helps me achieve more. I'll let you know how I go with that and whether it works for me or not.

I'm 7 books into my goal of 20 and I don't have high hopes of getting there before the end of December. But that's ok, I'm reading for enjoyment and that's the most important thing to me.

I have been really consistent with my yoga practice this year and have a stronger passion for it than ever before. I'm still not very flexible, but I can see baby improvements every day and find myself living a much more yogic life than before. I've even signed up for my first 200hr teacher training in September! I'll keep you posted on how that goes :)

Overall, I'm really happy with how this year is going. I'm still feeling motivated and can feel myself slowly creeping towards some of my bigger goals. I haven't been sharing here as much as I would have liked to and that's something I'm going to prioritise more. I have been posting a lot on my Instagram though. So if you can't wait in between blog posts you can stay up to date with my day to day musings over there.

How are you guys going with your resolutions or goals? I'd love to hear more about them. And let me know if you've got any tips on how to stay disciplined enough to learn a new language or how to finally love ourselves just the way we are. That one is really hard!!

Until next time!

Cheers, Jess :)