Britt Maggs

Self-Love Habits

My Word for 2022

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Over on Instagram I shared about how I choose a word for the year. I have been doing this every year for the last seven years and it’s been a game changer for me. Resolutions and goals for me have always been about the things or projects I want to accomplish, while my word for the year is more of an intention on how to BE in the new year more than what to DO.

This year I went through my process of choosing a word and landed on the word Savor.

That may seem like an odd word to pick but it captures everything my hearts been longing for lately. To slow down, really take things in, to remember, to enjoy, to not be so rushed I didn’t even taste the meal I just inhaled in the car on my way to work.

I want to slow down long enough to see the beauty again in the world around me. I want to make memories that are vivid and full. I want to be fully present wherever I am instead of always trying to hustle onto the next thing. I want to feel the pain and grief instead of drowning in it a Netflix show.

I thought it was a good word but I have also found that it’s not an easy thing for me.

When I think of savor, the first image that comes to my mind is savoring food.

To savor your meal means taking smaller bites.
It means you have to allow more time for eating.
It means you are enjoying your meal so much you don’t want it to end.
It means focusing on the very thing you’re eating and not thinking about dessert the whole time.
It means everything is chewed well and tasted and fully.

And I didn’t realize when I set out to do more Savoring this year that it comes at a cost.

Slowing down requires intentionally making more time. Saying “No” to many things and maybe letting some things go I would normally be strict about. I was surprised that it was uncomfortable for me to watch a sunrise in silence instead of knocking out a few business tasks or scrolling my phone.

When did I become like this?

I remember the awe I had for the world as a kid. The cozy rainy days I would just curl up reading for hours. All the early mornings I would sit outside and just watch the sunset and drink tea and smell the morning air thinking about how great it was that it was a brand new day and imagining the best.

I wasn’t worried about growth or being “perfect” or what other people thought. I wasn’t sharing every moment of my life, I was just living it.

I miss that.

And this word ‘Savor’ is a theme that I think will help me get back to that a little.








Do you pick a word for the year?
I’d love to hear what yours is in the comments!

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For the One Setting Goals This Year

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A brand new year for most of us brings reflection and hope towards the future. A new year seems to carry with it the possibility of a new us.

All those bad habits we want to stop, all the hobbies we want to start and all the dreams we want to chase feel close and possible. Not everyone makes resolutions or sets goals for the new year but if you do, here are some reminders for you.

 

Your Goal Doesn’t Have to Revolve Around Your Body

If you have a goal to lose weight or start eating better or get stronger, that’s totally fine. Health is important but if these goals are coming from a place of self-hatred that’s not a great thing to focus on for the year. This is just a reminder that you don’t have to set a goal that involves your body in any way. It’s okay to set goals centered on new habits, working on a hobby, strengthening relationships, or learning a new skill. You are so much more than your body and you bring more to the table than your pant size.

 

 Your Goals Are Meant to Serve YOU

It’s easy to see super-productive people and to want to copy their habits. The IDEA of waking up at 5 a.m. every morning might appeal to you but it’s important to ask why? How would it benefit you and does that actually matter right now? What do you like about the idea of THAT new habit? If waking up early sounds nice because you imagine you’d have hours before work to journal, brainstorm other ways you could make journaling happen that fit your season right now. There is nothing wrong with wanting to workout, meditate, eat better, wake up early, or read more books. Just make sure you know WHY you’re setting the goals you are. The goals you set should help you step towards the things that matter to YOU, not just the things you think you’re “supposed” to want to work on.

 

 A Small Goal You Will Actually Stick With Will Get You Further than a Giant Goal You’ll Give Up On After a Week.

I have had to learn this the hard way but small goals are WAY better. That kind of advice goes against the typical advice of dream big and reach for the stars. When we are dreaming and creating a vision for our life, that’s when we want to shoot high and dream big. Give yourself something big and audacious to shoot for down the road. When it comes to our daily work of walking towards that big dream and making changes, setting smaller goals is better. Because when it comes to new habits, projects, and goals, consistency always outweighs quantity. If you are a musician you know that practicing 20 minutes every day consistently will build your skills and help you perfect a piece of music quicker than practicing for 2 hours one day a week.

So as you sit down to write out goals for the new year, ask yourself “What’s sustainable and what can I truly commit to? What feels doable?”

Maybe instead of setting a goal to read four books this month, you set a goal to read for 15 minutes every night before bed. Instead of committing to workout every day and eating 100% clean, you commit to show up at the gym 3x a week and cut out soda this first month.

The sense of accomplishment you feel after a month of sticking with your goals will give you the confidence to increase your capacity and set a slightly more challenging goal for the next month. By the end of the year, you’ll be amazed where you’re at. Another way of putting it is that 38% improvement from last year is better than shooting to be 90% better but ending up in the exact same place because you gave up 3 weeks into your new goals.

 

 Setbacks and failures ARE NORMAL

One pitfall I always fell into with a New Year was this idea of trying to keep a “perfect streak” when it came to new habits. I planned to quit cold turkey, make a change and never go back. I never accounted for surprises or setbacks or relapses. Recently I have learned the importance of not only accepting but EMBRACING the knowledge that you will fall off the wagon. The fact that 2022 has started doesn’t change anything about your circumstances or the person you are. You still have to deal with current you and work on growth and change and that’s messy. You will miss a workout, you’ll skip your reading one morning, you won’t push play on that class, or you’ll sleep in.

I saw so much growth when I simply accepted that failure and setbacks are a part of this process of change. So expect them and have a plan to bounce back from them. That way when you do fail and break the streak you are ready and have a plan to jump right back in.

 

I hope these reminders help you as you step into 2022. You are capable of change and you can grow and flourish right where you are. 

 

 

With Lots of Love, 

 

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Rest and Reparenting Myself

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Self Care and rest are hot topics as of late and yet I still feel so much frantic energy inside me.


I was reading through old journal entries recently and I came across one where I said:


“I want to do big things so I don’t have to do anything”


I went on to write out an honest venting entry where I was confessing that to me the goal of “making it” or having more money, would actually translate to more freedom. I wrote that I didn’t want have to work so much. I wanted to make it big as a writer, so I could wake up slow, enjoy a drink in the morning, go on long walks, sit outside for hours and write out all the stories that flow through my head. Basically, so I could rest and not feel so rushed all the time.

It was written back when I was working in marketing, on salary, and didn’t really have any time for myself. I was gone 13 hours or more some days and felt like my weeks were a blur of work and commuting and the weekends were cleaning and friends and there was no time for me to even breathe.


I made a career switch in 2019 and now work at a chiropractor’s office and write content for a handful of small businesses on the side. I also recently became a brand partner with Young Living and help people find natural non-toxic solutions for problems in their everyday life. I LOVE where I am now. Less stressed, slower pace, and doing work that I love.


In spite of that, I still find that I can often be caught up in this frantic rush. Always cleaning, writing content, getting the next blog post out for someone. I have been thinking about it a lot and after many long conversations with David I realized some things.


1. Productive doesn’t have to be frantic. I heard a story on a podcast one time about a cyclist who was training and always trying to go as fast as he could to beat his time. He decided one day to just take his time and enjoy the scenery on his ride instead of worrying about his time. He was talking about how much more he enjoyed the ride when he was able to look around and actually take in the beautiful ride he did everyday. When he checked his time it ended up only taking him 3 minutes longer. 3 mins is all it cost to to slow down and take in everything and have a much more enjoyable ride.


2. A lot of my stress is self-induced. I have a tendency to feel like everything has to be “done” before I can stop. Like I have to push myself to a certain point before I am allowed to take a break. But rest is not something earned, it’s something we need regardless. Kind of like sleep. We must go to bed and let a new day begin regardless of how today went. Sleep. Rest. That’s just how it is. In an attempt to be “disciplined” I have often felt discipline meant not stopping and in trying to push myself, I have more then once pushed myself over the edge.


I want this life to be one I remember. One that’s an enjoyable ride not just a blur of to-dos and trying to beat the clock and errands and stressed out crying sessions. I can still be productive and be PRESENT in what I am currently doing not always trying to leap into the next thing. I can get things done well and intentionally and live this life I have, knowing my worth doesn’t come from what I got done today.

I also realized I need better boundaries with myself. I need to be a good friend/parent to my inner self and make myself stop sometimes. Just like moms schedule nap times for their kids because they know they need them, I need to do that for me. I think for this season that’s going to look like scheduled rest each day for myself and strict boundaries with myself on not being productive on the weekends.


When I read that journal entry about wanting long walks and slow mornings and time to write I realized: I don’t have to wait for that. If my heart is longing for rest and time to write I don’t have to push and work until I’m dead or “make it” before I can do that. I realized reading that post that all I was really longing for was true rest. Rest can happen now and if that is all my little heart wants from “making it big” why not just give that to myself now? I can schedule in slow mornings now I can go for walks now and I can write as much as I want right now.


What is your heart craving? What is that one thing you are waiting on. Is it something you can give to yourself now? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

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