Blogmas Day 23: 5 Things I Learned in 2019

We’re just two days out people, I repeat, just two days out. I’d actually planned to film a funny baking video today (that I’ll save for later), but dang it, editing is hard. That, and I have a killer headache/stomachache combo and am just not feeling it.

We’re all about to be inundated with resolutions posts, and don’t get me wrong, I love reading them, and I will definitely be writing one, but I wanted to have a little prequel. I’ve seen this post floating around out in the blogosphere and I’ve loved reading all the learnings so much, I decided to share my own.

I previously recapped that 2019 has been kind of tough, but do you know what comes from tough times? Lessons learned, and I’m definitely grateful for those. Anyway…

1. Emotions are contagious. Happy? Contagious. Angry? Contagious too. Stressed out? Call the CDC, that’s an epidemic. Seriously, this is something I’ve always known, but in 2019 I’ve witnessed just how much it affects me and those around me. Not always bad, but not always good either. In 2020, I’m hoping to spread positivity and take the right measures to not drown myself or others in my own negativity.
2. Money saved is easier said than done. Up until 2019, money saving has been pretty easy breezy for me. Kyle and I saved for a wedding on “fresh out of school” salaries, and I think that was a much needed crash course in money management. However, since getting a car, moving, and having changes to make/issues to fix in the new house, saving has been notably more difficult. I’m sometimes learning the hard way how to better prioritize and budget my spending.
3. The way you value yourself is far more important than the way others value you. For my whole life, I’ve fancied myself the underdog. I sometimes make excuses for it. I sometimes wallow in the misery of it. But, in recent years, I kind of just laugh it off. Let me give some examples: my childhood friend’s parents never liked me as much as the other kids, I did not (but deserved to) make the dance team my freshman year of high school (and I totally stand by that deserved to! lol), I took the ‘back’ customer service desk at my first banking job. This may sound a little woe is me, but it’s totally true. I’m just not a super competitive or outspoken person and it often leads to me taking second, third, or like, last in line. As an adult, I’m finally starting to come around to the notion that the way I feel about myself is much more important than the way so and so’s mom felt about me all those years ago. Now frankly, I don’t feel great about myself right now, but I’m going to work on that!
4. I don’t have to be pretty like her, I can be pretty like me. One of my favorite local bloggers posted something like that a while ago, and it really got me thinking. Not only is that so uplifting and true, it can be applied inside and out. So yeah, she might get more likes, have better lips, read more books, but those are her wonderful things, and I have mine too. Trust me, when you’re feeling down on yourself, I can guarantee that someone out there wishes that they had specifically what you have. It’s actually a really beautiful circle, and not a vicious one.
5. Physical health is absolutely connected to mental health, and vice versa. I’m not so sure I’ve ever bought into any of that until this year. Here’s what I can say: throughout winter and spring, I worked out very consistently, went to bed at a reasonable time, read tons of books, and felt the best I have in a long time. Fast forward to now, moving really threw me off my game. I haven’t really been working out, I go to bed super late, and haven’t touched a book enough to even remember what the last chapter I read entailed. And you know what? I feel like absolute crap, physically and mentally. There’s a reason people set resolutions; it’s the perfect time to reset.

Anyway, those are some highlights from a year of ups and downs with tons of lessons learned. What’s the most important thing you learned this year?

xoxo learning with leigh ann