It’s the end of January, and that means it’s time for a review of my goals for this month! As a reminder, this year I’m focusing on ways to make the planet a better place, with a different theme for each month. My January theme was personal well-being. By putting my own well-being first, I hope that I’ll be better able to carry out my goals for the rest of the year. I broke down this month’s theme into three categories: physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual well-being. With these categories in mind, I aimed to eat more plant-based meals, go to bed by 10:30pm, practice yoga for 30 days, and keep a journal. Let’s take a look at how I did, shall we?

Successes

By far, my most successful goal was healthy eating. I cooked healthy, plant-based meals, with the help of the recipes in Kintsugi Wellness, by Candice Kumai. Because I prepared my lunches in advance, I significantly cut down on the number of times I ate out during the work week. Eating less meat and less takeout was also good for the planet, because it meant I reduced my carbon footprint and created less waste. I also decided to take a nutrition class, which will actually last several months, but it has been really informative so far.

I was also successful at keeping a journal. I started a one-line-a-day journal, which gave me an opportunity to reflect at the end of the day, but it was also really easy to keep up with because I didn’t feel compelled to write pages upon pages about my feelings each day.

Areas for Improvement

I struggled hard with exercising consistently and getting enough sleep. I am a night owl by nature, so getting to bed at reasonable time has always been difficult for me, and even when I go to bed early, I often struggle to fall asleep. Then, when I don’t get enough sleep, it’s that much harder to wake up in the morning and do my daily yoga. And if I don’t get any exercise, it’s harder to fall asleep that night. This creates quite the vicious cycle, and I have yet to find a solution.

Areas of Future Growth

There are some other areas of well-being that I didn’t specifically aim to improve upon, but that I think would be helpful to work on in the future. First, I had a vague idea that I wanted to start a meditation practice, but I didn’t set any specific meditation-related goals, so this only happened a couple of times. I didn’t schedule a specific time to meditate, I didn’t download a meditation app, and I didn’t set an intention, such as meditate twice a week. I could have done these things, but with all the other goals I set for myself, I thought it might be a bit much.

Another activity that I think would improve my well-being, is spending more time in nature. Research shows that spending time in nature can lift your mood, improve your creativity, and fight depression. The main reason I decided not to do this is because, well, it’s January. It’s cold outside, I hate the cold, and I don’t want to go outside. At another time of year, spending time in nature may be beneficial, but right now, I think it would just make me miserable.

Here’s a picture of winter, in case you forgot what it looks like. Did I mention I hate the cold?!

So that’s a wrap for January and my focus on personal well-being. I certainly could have done better, but I’m pretty satisfied with the progress I made overall. Did you set any wellness goals for the month or the year? How is it going so far? Let me know in the comments! Also, be sure to keep an eye on my Instagram for an announcement about next month’s theme!