Reflecting on 2021
Can you all believe this year is almost over? Where the heck did the time go? I think we can all agree that 2021 has gone a little bit differently than we were all originally hoping. I was feeling optimistic at first, but alas Delta arrived and quickly dashed my hopes for a return to normalcy. Masks came back on, and we were back to that familiar quarantine lifestyle.
Nevertheless, reflecting back on 2021, I am grateful for our health, our families, and the opportunities we had to cautiously travel and gather with friends again. Some highlights: I got to fly to LA to see old friends (twice!). Plan some fun weekend getaways outside of SF. Spent lots of quality time w/ the fam and my new nephew, and also got to take our first vacation outside CA since 2019! Although 2021 was a tough year overall, I still feel grateful for the joyful moments that we were able to find.
Now, let’s see how I did with my goals I set back in January:
Drink More Water: 4/5 I definitely made a conscious effort to drink more water each day. I set a goal to have a glass of water each morning before leaving for work, on top of switching to water in the afternoons instead of my usual iced coffees. Although I could still probably increase my water intake, I feel overall happy with the progress and the new habits I’ve made :)
Stress Less: 3/5 Oof, I tried haha, but it's so hard to stop stressing about life. I’m sure you can relate. Nevertheless, I started seeing a therapist this year and I think that has been super helpful overall. It's great to have someone to talk to candidly, and often I recognize my biggest stressors don’t sound overwhelming when I vocalize them outloud. Of course, Olly Goodbye Stress softgels have also been a major savior. I keep them in my drawer at work, and they have come to my rescue many times. Big fan.
Dry January & Less Alcohol After: 5/5 and 3/5: Dry January was a great challenge, and was overall easier than I thought it would be. I am definitely going to do it again this year. I felt great during and it was fun to get creative with different mocktail recipes. Although I think I did drink less alcohol after January overall, I think it would be a good idea to continually decrease. It just isn’t healthy, and I don’t want to need to rely on it to have a good time or relax. So I’m going to keep this goal for 2022 :) Room for improvement.
Exercise 4-5x/week: 5/5 I feel really good about the consistent workout schedule I kept during 2021. It got a lot easier when I rejoined a gym, and I’ve been going consistently most nights after work. And then on the weekends I’ve enjoyed going on long runs in Golden Gate Park and various hikes around the city. Overall I feel healthier, and that has helped improve my overall confidence.
In addition to keeping a healthy exercise routine, I’ve also been conscious about taking my daily supplements and multivitamins. I’ve been loving the OLLY Active Immunity and Men’s Multivitamin. I take them every morning as I run out the door and rush off to work. They taste great, so they’re never a chore to take.
Sleep More:3/5 Unfortunately, I feel like my bedtime has only been getting later and later as the year has progressed. I need to get back into an earlier nighttime routine right away. Although I’m going to bed later, I do think that my sleep is deep once I fall asleep. Giving all that credit to OLLY Sleep gummies. I take them each night and they do a great job of getting me to sleepy town. Highly recommend them if you have a hard time getting some deep sleep.
Overall I feel really good about my goals in 2021. Still room for improvement for sure, but overall an improvement on my previous year’s goals. Now I’m ready for a new year and new intentions. Huge shoutout to my friends at OLLY for a great partnership this year. Hope you all enjoyed following along, and If you haven’t tried them yet, here’s your last chance for 20% off with code JUSTIN1. Check them out!
Have you started thinking about your 2022 goals yet? Let me know what you’re thinking in the comments below.
