The year of investing in myself

I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely a people’s person. And my disciplined decorum rarely gets me going on spontaneity. I’m quite boring like that. (There maybe lots of you reading this who would disagree but my friends call me grandma for a reason!) So obviously since I’ve always kept busy by cancelling plans with everyone, I decided to use the time gained in better choices.

I invested in a skincare and haircare routine
Wash your face when you get home everyday — with a facewash. An occasional alovera gel and face mask alongside doesn’t hurt either. Get a massage every month. The maushi who comes home and gives it kadak and you can feel all the sore muscles thanking you. Oil your hair every week. And eat your proteins and macros in good quantity.
And when you step out, apply lipstick.

I invested in nutrition and exercise
I’ve been at this goal of becoming fitter with every passing year. I also action it. Because for an obese person it was a necessity. In 2017, I found a god sent nutrition programme — low carb (Thanks to Dhriti!). Also pushed myself to a 5 day workout routine. And well, it feels great.
Trust me, cut the sugar. And nutella is over-rated. I’m that person now; who knew?

I invested in cooking
I was never into cooking, but I find it exciting to try newer things and recipes. Also it gets my creative juices flowing. But why I really like it now is meal prep, meal prep, meal prep. Better choices everyday.
The chances that you will snack with meal prep are almost negligible.

I invested in reading
If you know me since I was young, you’d know I’m a voracious reader. But thanks to design school and all this social media, I had stopped. Glad to have got my reading game back on. I had to cut short social agendas to read. Accomplished reading about 57 books and they span a whole world of different genres. Super happy to have doubled the number of books from last year to this year.
You can read more than one book at a time, your brain makes space. Try it!

I invested in therapy and meditation
I’m not discussing the details, but the short story is, it works.
There’s never a good time or a bad time, if you need it, you need it.

I invested in cleaning my space
I do it every other weekend. Its called my hairband mode. Its always great to declutter because you will simply be amazed at how much crap you’re able to collect as a human.
Make it a lifestyle habit to really see the impact rather than a once a year thing.

I invested in people
I took the time out to meet people for dinner and lunch. I took the time out to travel and meet my friends. I used to take relationships for granted because I could. Maybe sometimes I still do? Not as much anymore and I have increasingly seen better conversations and better sleep.
Honestly sometimes it’s okay to be that person who genuinely cares.

And lastly, I invested in good chocolate
Lindt 85% Dark. Sinfully good.

And with that on the first day of 2018, I hope each of us has a year filled with love, light, happiness and a whole world of travel along with it.
Be kind.