Let me start this blog post by wishing you all a happy new year! I hope that you’ve managed to take some rest during the holiday season, spend quality time with your family and loved ones, and devour as many sweets as possible. I was extremely fortunate to do all of that so I hope that the same goes to you as well.
It’s been a long while since I posted here – I almost cannot believe it that more than five months have already passed since my last post back in July 2021. I have taken smaller and bigger brakes from the blog before because, let’s face it, life happens and sometimes you need to shift your priorities and spend your time on the truly important things at any given time. In the past five months a lot has happened in my life – not so much in terms of life milestones, but more like changes that I actively tried to incorporate not only in my life as a general but also in my mindset. So I thought I would do a little life update and share with you what I have been up to since my last blog post, what changes I have incorporated in my life, and keep you on the loop on what you can expect from me in the upcoming months.
I thought about doing this life update a lot and was a bit hesitant on whether to share it or not. The reason why I finally decided to go for it was actually a very simple one. When I stumble upon a blog that I love, I enjoy feeling like I know the blogger behind the screen. While it’s nice to read about tips and tricks, it’s also interesting when the blogger is vulnerable and shares her own struggles, experiences, and stories with us. It creates a “me too” moment that allows us to relate and connect with the other person. That being said, here is what I have been up to since you last saw me.
The elephant in the room
Maybe the biggest change in my life in the past five months was my journey towards a more balanced physical and mental well-being. I have already talked a bit about my attempts to introduce better habits into my routines – both in terms of physical and mental health – but in the summer of 2021, I decided to make it a priority after almost a life-changing thing that happened to me in July. I am still not comfortable talking about this so for the time being it is enough to say that I was forced to make some important changes when it comes to my nutrition, physical well-being, prioritization of my self-care, and working on my mental health.
Speaking of self-care, last year I realized that real self-care can’t be bought, it isn’t just spa days and facials. Real self-care is a series of tough decisions – the decision to be more disciplined, to address your recurring toxic thoughts, to prioritize your mental health and to put your happiness over your history. It is as difficult as it sounds but I am sure that it will be well worth it in the end. Because true happiness is not a checklist – a dream job, a fast car, a good home, even love, mean nothing at all if you have not yet found a way to feel full and content in your own mind and heart. That’s what I have been trying to achieve for quite some time now and to be honest, it is a very exciting journey. A difficult one, yes, but a very fulfilling and exciting at the same time.
Because true happiness is not a checklist – a dream job, a fast car, a good home, even love, mean nothing at all if you have not yet found a way to feel full and content in your own mind and heart.
Getting the sense of travelling again
Even though we are still living alongside Coronavirus, in the past year we managed to travel quite a lot – yes, it was only within Bulgaria but even that sparked the forgotten sense of gratitude that only travelling can bring to me. The whole planning process – picking up a destination, deciding on where we will stay, what we will do and see, where we will eat – exhilarates me beyond description so I feel very grateful that I felt it more than once in 2021.
I plan on posting articles for some of those travels and show you the beauty of my home country. I have already posted a travel guide to Plovdiv, which we were able to visit a couple of times in the past year. Next week a guide to Veliko Turnovo is coming – we visited the previous capital of Bulgaria for our summer holiday so summer photos are coming in the midst of winter. Then, of course, I cannot miss adding our autumn trip to the Rhodopes mountain, one of our most favorite places in Bulgaria.
What’s in for 2022?
So let’s look at what is coming in 2022. I always set new year’s goals and intentions at the beginning of every year but this year I have decided to take a more relaxed approach to achieving my goals. I will take one day at a time without forcing myself to be as productive and as perfect as possible. Life doesn’t need to be fast-paced to be fulfilling – boundaries are essential for peace of mind so I plan on setting new boundaries and keeping existing ones as much as possible to achieve a more balanced outlook on life.
Also, physical and mental well-being will be at the front of everything I will do this year. Over the past couple of years I’ve been leaning more into learning about my health and incorporating habits which make me feel well, energized and focused. This will be even more prioritized in 2022 and I will continue to strive for a more balanced nutrition, more active way of life, and working on my toxic thoughts.
Reading and spending time reflecting and practicing gratitude will be habits that I will take on in the new year as well. Cooking and travelling will be things that I want to incorporate more often. Channeling my creative juices and working more on my blog without feeling too pressured will be my own personal thing that brings me joy and fulfilment.
Life doesn’t need to be fast-paced to be fulfilling – boundaries are essential for peace of mind so I plan on setting new boundaries and keeping existing ones as much as possible to achieve a more balanced outlook on life.
That was a bit of a mix of a life update and setting my 2022 goals but I think you are all caught up on my life at the moment. So I wanted to turn to you now – what have you been up to while I was away? What are you most excited for in 2022? Let me know in the comments below.
