Promises to myself | June 2019.

Earlier this year I made a list of promises to myself. They are simple, challenging and necessary all at the same time. With the intention of using 2019 as a year of growth, these promises each aim to help me become a better version of myself. A few months on, I’d like to reflect on my relationship with myself by way of my progress with each. Here goes!

Daily promises | Things I aim to accomplish each day. 

• List 3 things I am thankful for 
  • Gratitude is easy to achieve and essential for a peaceful mind. Some days are better than others. It is very clear that the days I actively express my gratitude are the days that I am most mindful. Speaking of, right now I am grateful for:
    1. The inspiring people I have met in Paris. Jess, Lilly, Jo, AJ and the list continues. These people have brought so much wisdom and comfort to my Parisian life and I honestly wouldn’t be able to survive here without them.
    2. My parents. They are visiting tomorrow and I cannot wait to see them and share my new city with the people I love most.
    3. My legs. They are strong and reliable. No matter how often I put them down for being “too big”, they serve me so so well. Each day I think back to 2014, when I could not use my left leg, and remind myself of just how damn lucky I am to have two functioning legs.
• Contact 3 people in Australia and tell them I love them
  • Communication really makes a big difference in my day to day. Sometimes I get lazy and don’t contact three people, but I do try to keep it up.
• Minimise judging my food intake
  • Each day is a challenge with this one. Today I am doing pretty well! 
• Flirt
  • Nope haha.
• Stretch
  • Success! Stretching each day is a must and I am relatively successful right now.
• Walk at least 5km
  • I am moving around Paris like there is no tomorrow haha! Catch the metro? No way, let’s walk it haha. I don’t think this part of me will ever change and thank goodness. Like I said, my legs are a major part of my strength.
• Practice my French 
  • Pas mal!
• Try something new
  • Doing it for sure! Today I went to a fancy bakery a friend recommended and it was delish!

Longterm commitments | Establishing emotional goals.

Be considered and thoughtful.

• Towards my mind
• Towards my body
• Towards others

Be open and willing.

• Towards people
• Towards experiences 
• Towards F&B learnings

Be grateful. 

• For me
• For where I am

I can proudly report that I have a pretty high strike rate with my longterm personal commitments. How do I know? Well, looking back on who I was in Sydney feels like looking into another world. These days I am a lot more open minded, a lot more comfortable in my skin, enjoy my company wayyyyyy more and am happy to say yes to anything and everything. This gal has now become a lot more spur of the moment. Paris almost forces that upon you. The city runs on a different wave length and you really can’t force it to be anything else. That is part of the magic!

The one note I should make is that being grateful for where I am is also taking a fair amount of work. Something I have discussed at length with friends here in Paris, it can be tough to find a balance between “living in the moment” and
“actioning goals”. I feel pressure to “make the most of it”, but what does that mean? Stuffed if I know ha! Now that I have settled a little more, over the coming weeks I will write a list of updated, more tangible, goals. Working towards these could be the next step in “finding myself” ha. Putting things in perspective, as she often does, my sister reminded me that I am here to be present. That’s it. Trust me, I am working on it. Take a step back, you’ve got this <3.