Captivations is a monthly feature with links, stories, and news that captivated me. It’s also a monthly update/recap of what’s going on in my world.
We made it! I don’t know about you, but it took me almost half of the month to be ready for January. I had already looked back on the previous year and thought about my goals, but finding motivation and energy was tough. Some things that have helped was starting a daily yoga routine (through Yoga With Adriene YouTube channel), doing my daily Wordle (on a 20-day streak) and Sudoku, going on a daily walk (yes, even on days when the temperature was below 40), and checking things off in my calendar. These small and easy tasks, something to accomplish daily, gave me an anchor to keep moving forward and find things to look forward to. I think this is a part of a bigger conversation, but I’ll save that for later.
This month was:
- Welcoming the New Year in Costa Rica (beach pictured above and updated blog posts coming!)
- Remembering what it’s like to stay at home a lot. It’s hibernation season!
- Finishing up all my Hawaii posts – see them here
- Visiting a few farmers markets
- Running the 3M Half Marathon – read my recap here
- Starting the year out slowly and trying out new habits
Writing Prompts
Another thing that has helped spark my motivation is these journal prompts from Kaileen Elise. They’ll help you reflect and dream.
Creator Life
The creator economy is an extensive subject. It’s a new version of the American dream: market yourself and your talents consistently and constantly on social media and you’ll never have to work for someone else. A Netflix documentary called Hype House deep dives into this world and how it works, and this article tells you all about it.
Stolen Attention
Speaking of social media and its effects, this article was a good read. Things like not being able to stay focused, anxiety, obesity, sleep issues, and much more can be correlated to how connected we are to our screens.
Organizing Habits
Are you in organization mode? Here are some tips for organizing before you get rid of things. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. Aim for organization that improves and simplifies your life.
Home Remodeling
In addition to organizing, I have remodeling dreams. As I mentioned in my new year goals post, creating a home I love has been a continuous goal. That involves a lot of dreaming right now and slowly making cost-effective plans to make it happen. I’ve followed Young House Love, an interior design project blog, forever and I love this post with before and after photos of the house they moved into a while back.
Failing
Failing is terrible. It makes you feel dejected, rejected, and unworthy. This quick article reminds us that failure can be a good thing. It’s a way to keep trying new things, learning, and making yourself familiar with failure so that it doesn’t feel so terrible.
Creativity
One way to keep learning is by exercising your creativity! The Oatmeal and The House that Lars Built both had good posts about how to do that. It’s not only about being artistic. Finding creativity can spark your mind for a new idea.
Chinese New Year
It starts tomorrow, February 1st! If you’re interested, here is a post about some of the traditions.
Shop Secondhand
I talk about this a lot because the waste of fast fashion is astounding! Studies have found the average person in the U.S. spends $161 per month on clothes, buys 5x more clothes now than in 1980, and averages 68 pieces of clothes a year. My go-to tips:
- Take care of the clothes you have. (Wash less often and mend.)
- Normalize repeat outfit wearing.
- Shop secondhand.
Rich Life
Someone I knew finally retired and they soon discovered they were incredibly sick. They passed not too long after. This person worked long days the majority of their life and their family lived in other places. What are time and money worth to you when you’re old and tired (or rapidly dying)? I wasn’t close enough to ask the questions and know the true feelings but the situation makes me think about my life.
This post about living a rich life is a great starter. A rich life is more than the amount in your bank account. It’s about living an intentional and abundant life – however you want that to look. Are you unhappily bound by your responsibilities (things like a job, house, routine) or empowered by them?
The Gap
Love this video illustrating the words by Ira Glass. It talks about the gap between being good and great, beginner and advanced. We all start somewhere!
What have you been captivated by recently?
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