Showing posts with label self-improvement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-improvement. Show all posts

Happy new year! For the first time ever, I decided to set myself some goals. This new year for me is all about creating healthy habits and setting boundaries both personally and professionally. I’ve never set myself goals or created a vision board before but having a physical copy of all the things I’d like to manifest this year seems like a great thing to do.

2022 vision board

I wouldn’t say I’ve been reluctant to set myself goals or create a mood board before. I just never felt like I was in a place in my life where I needed to. I was kind of drifting through life, looking to get through my education and build up work experience. However, now I’m in a position where I want more from my life. I’m very grateful to have a job and doing the things I’ve dreamt about but I don’t want to be defined by it. I’ve always been a creative person and a go getter type person, and I don’t want to lose myself in my nine to five.

The goals I’ve set myself are based around things that make my happy and what I aspire from my life. A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog post on all the things I’m leaving behind in the previous year (Over it) but this year, I wanted to get off to a positive start and all the things I want to look forward to.

I know that some people like to split their goals into different categories such as Personal, Health, Finances, Career and Lifestyle etc. I didn't approach my goals following that structure but I think they naturally fall into at least one of those categories anyway. I went for ones that are easy to achieve and are focused on doing things that make me happy.


What's on my vision board:



2022 vision board ft travelling, fashion, money


01 // Create more aka blog regularly


I say this every year but this time it’ll stick. What has me so confident? Well, blogging has always been an outlet for me. And, now that I’m working in an industry that can be very dry, blogging has also become a place of refuge of positivity, creativity and more importantly, colour! It’s a place for me to immersive myself and stay connected to a world I’d like to professionally jump back in to when the time’s right. I'd also like to experiment with different mediums and use video more.


02 // Work on building a career & increase my income 


One of the things I'd like to focus on this year is my career. I want to work out where I see myself this time next year and in five years time, think about my goal and my end game. Do I want to continue in the job and the industry I'm in or do I want to take on a new career path? I know that I'm happy in the industry I work in but not so happy in the area I'm in. Another factor that ties into that is finances. I’d like to increase my income this year and end the year on a higher salary with potentially another income stream. 


03 // Become a Pilates pro & be brave enough to use the rest of the gym 


After the endless promises I've made about blogging regularly last year, which I sort of kept but also not really, I'm aware of jumping the gun with some things. However, I feel like I've already completed half of my goal. I joined the gym last summer and have been attending the Pilates class twice a week religiously ever since. I really enjoy it and can already notice a difference in where I hold tension and my posture. Now, I just need to venture past the studio and use the actual gym bit.


04 // Travel more 


I know travelling is a little harder these days what with a pandemic and endless testing but I really miss going abroad, exploring new places and experiencing life. I know I could easily book a flight, get the right tests and checks so I can fly but it all seems like a lot of hassle. Plus, I don’t want to risk catching the virus or passing it on to someone. I did a couple UK-based vacations last year, but I'd like to make it past the borders at some point and ideally somewhere warm like Milan, Venice or revisit Nice.


05 // Have more confidence in myself and go on more solo outings


One of the things I’d like to focus more on this year is taking myself out on dates and adventures alone instead of waiting for a friend to be free to come with me. If I think of all the things I put off because I didn’t want to go alone and all my friends were busy, I have missed out on so many incredible things. I always say this but London is such a great place with so many things to do that you could never tire of, and if I don't go because I'm not confident enough to do it alone, how can I make the most of life?



What's on your vision board for this year?



Love, Aoife xo


If it doesn't feed you, don't water it. Plain and simple. If something doesn't contribute meaningfully to your life, it's not worth wasting your time on it. There are so many habits that we unconsciously develop that don't really serve a purpose for us. And for most of them, they encourage us to feel stress, anxiety, frustration and impact negatively on other aspects of our lives. 

Here are 5 toxic habits to look out for and kick to the curb to live a happier and stress free life:

01 // Negative people
We all know that negative people do not belong in our lives. They don’t bring joy and more often than not, their negativity can bring us down and get in the way of enjoying our best self. The hardest part of cutting negative people out of our lives is making the decision to do so. If you have a friend, work colleague or partner that is energy draining, then to put it politely, they need to go. My friend once told me that the difference between a good friend and a bad one is a good friend will always have your best interests at heart. That includes supporting you and making you feel good about yourself. There's no point in associating with people who don't make you feel good about yourself.

02 // Procrastination 
This is one toxic habit I dip in and out of regularly. Procrastination often stems from tasks that seem to difficult. It can often cause stress, worry, anxiety among other things. Some people say diving in the deep end is a great way of kicking this toxic habit. Personally, that always makes me want to run in the opposite direction. I’ve found completing other tasks, eliminating all the things I can procrastinate with, helps and even splitting it into smaller tasks.

03 // Stressing about things that are out of your control 
Arguably, the root of all my anxiety issues. I think it’s a natural human trait to stress about things beyond our control. One thing I've been doing (successfully) lately is taking a step back and not getting so involved into things. By that I mean, I'm still engaging in what's going on but I've realised that the weight of the issue doesn't belong on my shoulders and therefore, I shouldn't feel the need to act like it does. It's hard but once you understand that not everything is reliant on you, you can feel 10 times better.

04 // Ignoring yourself (where's your self care routine, hun?) 
We spend so much time caring for others, that we can sometimes forget to care for ourselves. I don't mean sitting on your phone for two hours, I mean moisturising after your shower or trimming your nails. The little details that we often overlook in a rush. Working a full time job can make it harder to stay on top of looking after yourself but I recommend setting up a morning routine or, if you’re fortunate to do so, dedicate a couple of hours at the weekend or even a day for yourself. I decided when I started my job, to dedicate Sundays to doing something that I wanted and would help me prepare for the week ahead. This could be spending the day reading, going grocery shopping, doing the cleaning you've been putting off or meeting with friends.

05 // Underestimating yourself
Are you aware of just how amazing you are? No seriously, are you aware of how much you’ve accomplished? How beautiful you are? How much you make a difference in people’s lives? It’s very easy for us to underestimate ourselves, which in turn leaves us with a strong case of imposter syndrome. Some helpful tips include pausing to acknowledge how far you’ve come, using positive affirmations and learning to be kinder to yourself.



Love, Aoife xo

mental health 2021 goals
Mental health 2021 goals

Hey Stranger,

Long time, no see. It’s been a while since I sat in front of my laptop and just typed. I feel a little rusty if I’m honest so bare with me. To say this year has been a roller coaster would be an understatement. Amid all the painful moments there were a handful worth celebrating. I think we can all agree it's for the best to put last year behind us.

I struggled a lot with my mental health last year and ended up cutting back on a lot of the things I loved doing. I took a long break from social media and blogging when things got too much and then felt a little out of my depth when I wanted to come back. One thing I missed the most was being creative and producing content. One of my goals for 2021 is to be consistent with my content. 

A lot has happened since I last wrote a blog post. One of those things is I’m now working as a journalist. Me! This is something I have been dreaming about since I was in year 11. It’s a completely new field for me and I’m really enjoying it. Writing about more formal topics at work has made me miss what I was writing about when I was blogging. This space has been a place for me to write about beauty, fashion, books and my favourite places in London. A lot of the things that “fed my soul”, if you will, ended up closing during the lockdowns and in the new tiered system. I wasn't very good at finding alternatives, that I could to, to all those things.

The pandemic threw more than I realised and one thing I'm focusing on this year is my mental health. Last year taught me how important a good mental health is in being able to function. After all, we’re only human and we can only take so on much.

Here’s a couple of things I’ll be doing to look after my mental health this year:
  • Be kinder to myself. Funnily enough, I wrote a blog post on this and never followed any of it. I can count on one hand how many times I have been kind to myself this year. It’s quite shocking really. As the pandemic continues, I’m going to have to rethink what things I can do to bring me happiness since what I used to do has been put on pause. Taking it easier and not putting so much pressure on myself are my two priorities. 
  • Have more ME time. For the whole year, I have felt that my time belonged to someone else. I think that’s been a big cause of my anxiety. This year, I’m focusing on taking ‘protected’ time out for just me. I started doing it last Autumn and it really helped. Essentially, Sunday will belong to me. For that day, I will do whatever I want to do whether it’s catching up on my latest read, creating content or going for a nice stroll. The most important thing is feeling as though that time belongs to me and no one else.
  • Be creative. I thrive on creativity. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to make writing my career. I used to bake, cook, write, read, and film. I loved it all! I mentioned earlier that I stopped  doing those things when everything got a little too much. Really, I should have kept those things going. 

Love, Aoife xo


Girl reading The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

The last few months have not been easy. Being in lockdown has been a challenge for us all but for some of us, it has been an even bigger battle. One thing that came out of my recent therapy sessions is that I need to be kinder to myself. I need to learn how to be confident in myself and not see my weaknesses as completely detrimental. 

    Since then, I've been on a little journey of self-confidence in learning how to identify unhealthy behaviours and make them healthier. I think we all need to not just be kinder to ourselves, but learn how to  instead. We can be kinder to ourselves by treating ourselves to a bar of chocolate or a new Dior bag. However, that's only short term. By 'learning', we can create long term healthy habits. Here are four tips that can help boost self-confidence:


Be proud of what you’ve achieved- How often do you stop and reflect on what you’ve achieved? I can’t remember the last time I did that and that’s an issue. We continue to achieve every single day and that should be recognised. I don’t think about what I have overcome or really acknowledge all the amazing things I’ve done in the past three months. And they’re a pretty big deal. I just graduated with first class honours, woah! As humans, we tend to have the habit of chasing one thing after another, never really feeling fulfilled at what we’ve already done. When you have a moment, think about everything you have done in the past week, month or even year. The most important thing is that you can smile about it and think, I did that.


Don’t put too much pressure on yourself- Do you know what’s human? Making mistakes. No one is that perfect and if they are, they’re lying. In order to be kind to ourselves, we have to allow room for errors. We’re going to get things wrong from time to time and that’s how we learn and overcome it. By putting so much pressure on ourselves, we’re missing the opportunity to learn and grow from experiences. And Rome wasn’t built in a day. Things take time and they’ll take as long as they need to.


Rupi Kaur The Sun and Her Flowers


Accepting you don’t have complete control over everything that happens- Anxiety often stems from a lack of control. In situations where we’re not in control, we often feel anxious. I get waves of anxiety that tend to last a few weeks to a few months. I guess it never really goes away but I’ve learnt how best to manage it, if you will. One thing I always get told is to focus on what I can and am able to control. This can be quite difficult in some situations especially where we feel helpless. Take the coronavirus, we can’t control that or being in lockdown but we can control how we choose to act and use our time now that we’re at home more often than not. We can control some things and we can’t with others. Finding a balance is really helpful and focusing on what we can control.


Treat yourself- I’ll admit that use those two words a lot normally. I only realised the impact of not treating yourself when I starved myself of that. Pre-lockdown,  I’d treat myself by going shopping or buying artisan doughnuts (so so good). But since we went into lockdown and I was struggling with everything including really bad acne, I stopped. I stopped feeling worthy of myself and stopped being kind to myself. One way you can treat yourself Covid friendly is to buy flowers. Flowers can make all the difference by brightening up the space and making the room feel happier. My Nan said to buy flowers for someone when they’re sad and that’s a good lesson to remember. So, whether it’s your favourite doughnut, flowers or something pink (my happy colour), remember to treat yourself and do things that make you smile. 


Love, Aoife xo



Even though Thanksgiving is an American holiday, it doesn’t mean that us Brits can’t get in on the action and take a moment to reflect on the past year and all the things that we are thankful for. This last year has felt both the longest and the shortest. Reflecting back, I have done and accomplished so much. I’ve learnt a lot, grown a lot and I have a lot of things to be thankful for.

I think the most important thing that I’m grateful for is the privileges I’ve had over the last year. Things haven’t always been easy but there was a turning point about halfway through when things started to get better and better. I was able to go on three different holidays (Rome, Lisbon and Crete) and I am extremely grateful for that. I had the best possible time and whilst I don’t think I’ll ever have a chance to do that again, the experience was more than enough.

I am grateful for the opportunities that have been available to me. And like always, I’ve taken them with both hands.


I am grateful for this piece of work here (my blog), having my own domain and my own space to write, explore and share with all of you. People actually read my posts!! I like to think this is the year of my blog and 2018 is going to be great! I got my first piece of blogger mail the other day and I’m super excited! Yes, I needed that Americanism. Again, I’m thankful to even be acknowledged by a brand because NEVER in a million years did I ever think I’d ever be at that level.

Lastly, I’m thankful to have the ability to live a life I love and to be able to do things I love too. And that puts me in a really privileged position which I’ll be eternally grateful for.

If this last year has taught me anything, it’s that hard work pays off. I’ve been brought up on the theory that to achieve and accomplish anything takes work, hard work. You’re never going to be given anything on a plate unless you work hard and put yourself in that position. Working hard opens doors and the feeling of walking through them is beyond what words can describe. It’s an incredible feeling and I wish you all the chance to feel that too.


What have you been grateful for this year?


Love, Aoife x


Self-improvement is something I've always been interested in. How can I make myself a better person? I've been at uni for just over a month and I'll keep banging on about it but literally, WTH! Life is well underway now and sometimes it moves too fast for me to catch up. We've been in November for a little while now, (I know I'm a bit late with this post,) and I've set myself up with a few goals for the new month. A few goals to make me better at who I am and what I do. With that said...

Get Organised. I feel like this will become an every monthly goal. I’ve got assessment dates coming up and homework, which I keep forgetting I have. Working out dates and sorting deadlines is definitely something I need to get on top of this month. And also, getting into a routine so I have a set work time and a set 'play' time.

Pamper myself more. I feel best clean, shaved (my legs!) and moisturized. I keep forgetting how important it is to look after and cherish your body, both physically and mentally. It’s definitely something I need to work on. And if my body is a temple, then it needs to be worshipped and treated right.


Sort out a blogging routine. I can't blog on demand, it's something that will come to me any time of the day even when I'm trying to sleep but I need to sort out times when I can blog and when to do uni work. I need to get on top of everything and post reguarly. Plus, I feel better when there's content going out.

Budget! I’m a uni student and budgeting is definitely something I have to do. Whilst I’m living within my means, I do need to sort finances out and start saving. Work out money for groceries and for shopping.

Lastly, I want to do something out of my comfort zone. I’ve been spending my nights in my room and it’s about time I went out one night. Whether I go to a club one night, or go the cinema by myself, or venture to the theatre. I want to do something different and be out there one night.


So those are some goals I’ve set myself for the upcoming month of November. I posted some of my monthly goals earlier in the year and they were so beneficial. I definitely kept most of my goals throughout the month. Self-improvement is always a good thing. And like I mentioned earlier, setting goals is one way of identifying something you want to work towards and putting that into action.



Love, Aoife x