The first of the year is an extremely exciting time, full of hope and anticipation for the next 12 months. It’s also full of everything wanting your attention all at once! New Year’s Resolutions, Goals, Visions, Hopes, Dreams, etc!

I would be bold-face lying to you right here if I didn’t say it overwhelms the heck out of me each year. Which I had no idea til last year. I know so many of us woke up to a lot of things in 2020. Personally, I realized that just because it’s a new year on the calendar, doesn’t mean there won’t be more challenges. It means there will be new ones, and with that, new opportunities to level up. I realized that there were 12 more months ahead of me; and I didn’t have to do everything all at once as soon as the clock strikes 12:01 on January 1st.

I know the feeling of writing down your resolutions and hitting the ground running, pushing hard into your goals and by day 6, I’m reconsidering the entire year! I was tired of feeling like a failure before the year even started. Rest assured, this doesn’t mean you have to completely throw January to the wayside. Here are some small things you can do to start your year off on the right foot, for whenever you want to ‘officially’ start the year.

How I like to start my year in Alignment

1. Declutter, Detox & Clean
   • I’m talking mind, body, soul!
   • Take a trash bag around the house (*and your car!*) and get rid of stuff taking up your precious space – junk, papers, receipts, water bottles, etc.
   • Clean out expired products from your pantry, fridge, medicine cabinets, beauty, makeup & skincare stash.
   • Clear out items from your home & closet that no longer fit the energy of who you are, who you’ve become or where you are going.
   • Unfollow people on social media that no longer align with you. Unfollow accounts that don’t make you feel like the best version of you.
   • Unsubscribe from mailing lists
   • Drink lemon water each day (also helps with overindulgence from the holidays)
2. Reflect on the past year
   • How did I grow? How can I tell?
3. Write down goals & visions for the new year
4. Create a good morning & evening routine
5. Hack your life
   • What are areas you want to grow in for the new year? Examples : Spiritually, Financially, Creatively, Mentally, Physically?
   • Pick out podcasts & books (hardcopy or audio) to tap into each day!
6. Schedule a Vacation/Staycation for Sometime this Year
7. Quit Something. Just Say No.
   • This is the year we start boundaries! Are there commitments you made last year that you didn’t really want to do? Are there things you said yes to last year that no longer align with who you are now?
8. Simplify Meals & Snacktime
   • Write down a list of at least 10 easy meals that you and your family enjoy.
   • What are some food products & items that you and your family always like to have on hand for meals & snacks?
   • this will help when it comes time to write down grocery lists & for having items on hand when you don’t know what to cook.
9. Create a weekly prep list to create consistency each week
   • This goes for keeping the house clean & your mental state clear
     • Maybe Saturdays are sheet & linen days where you wash all linens
     • Every Tuesday & Thursday, you set a timer and clear for one hour
10. REST
    • The holidays were a busy time, take this month to slowly move towards your new year goals
    • Work & Progress you are proud of can only come from a place of rest
      

✨Clear energy for your goals to become reality✨

You don’t have to do it all and you don’t have to do it all at once! January is a long month, with 11 months left after, to achieve everything you want in the new year.

Perhaps consider January a trial run month to give each of your goals or resolutions some practice? You can start over in February, or March, or next week.. Each new day is a new opportunity to write a new page. Choose you, choose to stay consistent.

xo, Maria

The last 12 months have not been easy for anyone. Think about where you were this time last year. We were in the middle of a pandemic! We still are, but a completely different stage. This time last year, I was in a daily tizzy on what to do about our wedding. The cases here in Texas were on the rise and climbing fast. It was to the point where my family in Greece was concerned about us visiting, let alone the concerns of our traveling guests. We held the faith as best we could and kept on with planning. We still had to get my fiance baptized and gather wedding documents, we didn’t want to stop for something we weren’t really sure of. Then, on July 1st, the European Union closed its borders to American travelers. And well, only a handful of us would’ve been able to get Greek travel papers and we couldn’t have a wedding without the groom!

On July 1st, 2020 we decided to finally pull the plug on the whole thing.

That morning was rough. We had to update everyone and get with our planners for a new game plan. Sure, it was easy, simple – they gave us a couple dates to choose from and we decided on July 24, 2021. Everything was already planned and set for the original August 21st wedding date by the time we decided to postpone. All we had to do was roll everything over to the new date, and wait 11 months. No big deal.

So then why the hell was I SO sad? Like, really, really sad. It was already a tough year, everyone was already going through so much, I had already been crying for 6 weeks straight at that point.

"People are dying from a new illness, the entire world is trying to navigate a pandemic, so many have lost their jobs, people still have their eyes shut to all sorts of systemic injustices in the Land of the Free and you're sad about having to postpone your wedding???"
"Boo hoo. Little Princess is upset because she can't have her little destination wedding. Oh, too good to have your wedding here? You postponed it! You're still having a wedding, what are you crying about?!" 

I was so mean to myself and wouldn’t allow myself to feel what I was really feeling. I told myself, “We have a new date, no big deal.” But it was a big deal. “Everything’s planned, we just have to sit back and wait. No worries.” But I was upset! I told myself everything was okay when it actually wasn’t.

After several of my relationships started to implode, I knew that my sadness was not just from postponing the wedding. There were deep wounds that postponing our wedding only poured vinegar on. And I wanted to see where they came from, so I started digging. I decided to go deep and started peeling back layer after layer after layer til I reached the core.

2021 is the year we grow, glow and heal ✨

And I took that sh*t seriously. We quickly learned that just because the calendar has a new date doesn’t mean bad things stop happening. I wanted to take what we learned from our trauma as collective and apply it to my life on a personal level. Mental Wellness became top priority for me – I started meditating, praying and doing yoga immediately upon waking up, created healthy routines and started seeing a therapist.

I made self-love a non-negotiable, daily practice.

As I started being kinder to myself, I started to feel and honor each and every emotion. After invalidating my feelings all my life and learning to deconstruct 3 decades of conditioning, my healing journey was NOT pretty. But it has been the most beautiful experience. I went really deep and found an abundance of love and gratitude for myself and this precious life!

Postponing a wedding is never easy, and certainly not fun. Add in a pandemic, failing relationships and systemic injustice, and I started unraveling at my seams. I knew the sadness wasn’t superficial. I could keep denying how I actually felt or make some changes. No one really talks about the ugly parts of healing, and we can get into that, but let me tell you – it is SO worth it.

xoxo