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How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps

Happy 2018! Last week, I took the week off to enjoy time with my family and also reflect on the year. To be entirely honest, I’ve felt burnt out in multiple aspects of my life the past few months and so sorting through that and setting goals for the New Year was pretty high on my agenda. While I’m not big on traditional resolutions, I do try to sit down each year and make myself a list of goals. I wanted to share those here today, in case any of you have been dealing similar situations and also to help hold myself accountable. Some of my friends choose a word for the year & if you made me choose one, I would say my word for 2018 is GROW.

5 Goals You Should Have For the Year Click To Tweet

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Feeling lost on how to grow as a person? Learn five areas to focus your personal growth journey on and how implement change! // packed party disco tumbler, sweater weather outfits, cute winter outfits, otk boots under $100
featured | embellished sweater c/o + lily of france: bralette c/o + distressed knee slit jeans c/o + over the knee boots c/o {old, similar} + kendra scott: etta necklace + rebecca minkoff: love crossbody c/o the outlet shoppes of the bluegrass {ON SALE} + packed party: disco tumbler c/o + mac cosmetics: lipstick + opi products: nail polish c/o

Featured | How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps:

How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps | Pin This Post For Later!

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How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps | In My Personal Life

2017 was a big year for me when it came to personal growth. I think I’d always believed that 18-22 were the “biggest” years for personal growth and what I’ve really learned is that personal growth never stops.

RELATED: 17 Things Learned in 2017: Advice for the New Year

Personal growth never stops. Click To Tweet

I’ve mentioned in passing before, but my early 20s were really hard when it came to friendships. I struggled with what to do when your friend group isn’t supportive, a constant cycle of girls talking behind each others’ backs, and not knowing how to step away from that. The friendship “breakup” was a tough one for me; I was dealing with taking care of my mental health and fully believe that my decision to cut ties with those friends was what was best for me, but it was still incredibly hard to cut off friends I’d had since high school.

RELATED: What About Your Friends? + Kendra Scott Giveaway

Friendship breakups can be harder than real breakups! Click To Tweet

Saying I was scarred from that seems kind of dramatic, but I definitely have been extremely guarded when it comes to relationships {platonic or romantic} since then. For me, 2017 was a year when I pushed myself to not let those past experiences define my future. I went out on dates {!!!}, I let new people in, made new friends, and I managed to do all of that on my own terms.

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How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps | You Are Enough

One of my personal wishes for this year is to continue to seek value in myself. I really want to push myself to take risks and be fearless, but I also want to never forget something that I say frequently to others, “You are enough.” I could honestly write an entire blog series about modern dating, but the advice I’d give to any woman that’s wading through the dating pool is simple.

If you're trying to find the right person, remember: you are enough. Click To Tweet

Put yourself first. Know what values you’re unwilling to compromise on. Most importantly, always remember how you want and deserve to be treated. Someone that can’t see your value and treat you accordingly shouldn’t have room in your personal life. Everyone has to grow in relationships {both platonic and romantic}, but there are some standards we should never sacrifice.

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How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps | On the Blog

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching when it comes to how I want to challenge myself when it comes to What Nicole Wore. I’ve known since I started this corner of the internet three years ago that I wanted to increase diversity in fashion blogging and show that being stylish is attainable for the everyday woman.

RELATED: Why I Blog: Does Representation Really Matter?

Being stylish is attainable for the everyday woman. Click To Tweet

One of the ways I recharged myself for the New Year was by doing an online webinar from Sheila and then purchasing her new eBook, Blogging with Purpose. It’s all about blogging with intention – something that I’ve felt I’ve grappled with. Working through the beginning of the book, I’ve refocused my mission for the new year and wanted to share it with you all. I want What Nicole Wore to be an inclusive community for women that encourages personal growth and loving the skin you’re in by wearing what you love.

An inclusive community for women that encourages personal growth. Click To Tweet

How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps | In 2018…

So what exactly does that mean for What Nicole Wore? To be completely transparent, I’m still working on the bones of this. While I have many goals for What Nicole Wore in 2018, one of the biggest is to bring you quality content that you can connect to, is useful for you, and allows us to start conversations. I want to build relationships with you all!

In terms of outfits, I really want to push myself and work in more closet staples. Fast fashion and trends are a lot of fun to show off, but I think sharing capsules & multiple ways to wear an item are often more helpful. In terms of writing, well I hope to get personal like I’ve done today a little more frequently. While it intimidates the hell out of me, I think you all appreciate and can connect with those real life moments.

Feeling lost on how to grow as a person? Learn five areas to focus your personal growth journey on and how implement change! // homemade egg rolls, how to keep your new year's resolutions

How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps | Keep Learning

Finally, I want to grow my knowledge. Sounds cliché, but I really do. I’ve always been creative {to a degree} and want to learn new skills that help me to keep doing that. I’m really excited because I’m actually taking my very first photography class in a couple weeks, but I’d love to dabble in calligraphy, graphic design, cooking, etc. this year.

How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps | Setting Boundaries & Being Present

I want to learn to be more present. Sometimes, I struggle with setting boundaries – especially when it comes to blogging and all the various aspects of it {photography, editing, writing, maintaining social media platforms}. Part of growing up is really seeing how valuable your time is; I want to be able to enjoy the moment and a large part of that is learning to be better organized with my time. We only have one life & yes we want to make it count, but we also want to be able to celebrate it too. Sometimes I get so caught up in what’s next, that I don’t take the time to be present and appreciate an opportunity or moment.

RELATED: Setting Boundaries for Personal Growth

Part of growing up is seeing how valuable your time is. Click To Tweet
Feeling lost on how to grow as a person? Learn five areas to focus your personal growth journey on and how implement change from lifestyle blogger, What Nicole Wore. // statement earrings under $100, best special occasion accessories, fun earrings for events, opi nail polish woke up crab-y, best red nail polish, sparkly statement earrings
featured | lisi lerch: kate earrings c/o

How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps | Health

And with that being said, this year I want to grow by making my health a priority. Not just in the typical, “I’m going to start going to the gym!” way, although to be fair that is something on my list for the year. I do want to protect my mental health and work on my physical health by implementing a more regular workout routine. I want to drink way more water and cut back on my sugary beverages. And here comes the big one…I want to cut electronics out of my nighttime routine.

RELATED: Social Media + Mental Health

Honestly, that last one was hard for me to even write and acknowledge as a goal for the year. I’ve grown so accustomed to working from bed up until right before I fall asleep, but I’m hoping that making time management a big priority will let me make this goal a reality. We all know that electronics like phones, tvs, and laptops aren’t good for our eyes especially before bed so I’m trying to embrace that.

If you’re like me, you may be wondering what on earth I’m going to do before bed each night now. I want to get back into the routine of nighttime yoga {I love my moon salutations}, reading {although my Kindle does technically count as an electronic…}, and maybe even a little meditation next to my diffuser. If anyone has been doing the no electronics before bed routine and has tips or ideas, please drop them in the comments because I know this is going to be a STRUGGLE for me.

How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps | Thank you!

And finally, I want to thank you all!  Your encouragement and support means so much to me.  I really hope that 2018 is a year that all of us can grow and kick butt.  Be sure to pin the image below so that you can come back to this as needed!

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How I Want to Grow This Year & Holiday Snaps | Pin Now For Later!

Feeling lost on how to grow as a person? Learn five areas to focus your personal growth journey on and how implement change! // cute winter outfits for women, affordable sweaters under $50, best holiday sweater, mac d is for danger lipstick, how to wear a bralette with a sweater, disco ball cup, packed party, rebecca minkoff love crossbody, over the knee boots outfit ideas

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Comments

  6. Deborah says

    Friendship breakups are rough, I definitely know the feeling. I’m proud of how you were able to let go of that last year and put yourself out there! Good luck on your goals in 2018!

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      That’s an awesome goal Emily! Being selfish gets a bad rep; it’s important to put yourself into consideration when making decisions and changes!

  9. Hannah says

    Okay, first of all, that bag is AMAZING! I love how eye-catching the color is. I also agree that I want to be more present. It’s really easy for me to be on my phone / taking pictures all the time for the blog, but I’m going to try to put my phone away at meals and when out with friends and just really enjoy the time spent together! Cheers to 2018!

    Hannah

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      Thank you Hannah! The color is definitely what sucked me into buying it haha. It’s hard to find the balance of being present for bloggers, I think! I definitely notice it when I’m with friends that don’t blog and am making more of an effort to put my phone or camera down to enjoy my time with my friends that do blog.

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      Hooray!! Wishing you the best in pursuing those; Being present has me a little worried but I’m excited about it.

  12. Rachel @ The Confused Millennial says

    I totally hear you on relationships! “I’ve mentioned in passing before, but my early 20s were really hard when it came to friendships. I struggled with what to do when your friend group isn’t supportive, a constant cycle of girls talking behind each others’ backs, and not knowing how to step away from that. The friendship “breakup” was a tough one for me; ” — this is like the same for me. I actually just recently went through this again and I kind of “faded” away rather than doing a formal breakup and it really left me wondering, why do we break up with romantic partners but not friends? this limbo fade is SO uncomfortable and I just want to lovingly be like “this isn’t working for me anymore, it’s me, not you” but then I’m like “society doesn’t understand that” so anyway, end friend rant lol

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      Ahhh I totally hear you! I feel like a lot of the time there’s no push to get closure when we break up with friends and so you’re stuck in limbo or feel like there’s things that haven’t been said. It’s tough for sure but I’m glad that someone could relate.

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      Aww thank you Courtney! I’m hoping this is a big year in terms of personal development and blogging

  14. Kristen Jones says

    Happy New Year! Your post is the second one today that I’ve seen the words: You are enough–such encouraging words for growth this new year, because I feel that’s where it all begins. Knowing we are enough and everything else just goes from there!

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      Amen! 🙌🏽🙌🏽 we’re all striving to be better which is wonderful but it’s just as important to remember how worthy we are!

  15. Taylor says

    Happy New Year! I’m also hoping to improve my health this year by drinking more water! Good luck on all of your goals!

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      Thank you so much Taylor! One of my friends is helping to hold me accountable on the water drinking front; check out the Plant Nanny app, it’s super cute and helpful

  16. Ruthie Ridley says

    I have always felt that you are such a woman of wisdom and great perspective!! The area of knowing your worth and pushing past fear of failure etc. is something that resonates with me so well. You are so strong and brave and like I said, wise! Love reading your posts!

    • whatnicolewore@gmail.com says

      You are always so kind and thoughtful in your comments – thank you!! I’m excited to see where this year takes us and to keep growing as women 🖤

  17. LeeAnn says

    Such a positive and inspiring post! I have set some major goals for myself this year, both personal and with my blog. Can’t wait to get started!

  19. Alexis Reliford says

    “Someone that can’t see your value and treat you accordingly shouldn’t have room in your personal life.” AMEN TO THIS! This whole post was truly a WORD. And this part specifically applies to platonic friends and romantic relationships. Cheers to 2018 being filled with even more growth!

  22. Lindsay Latimer says

    You’re such an inspiration, girl! I have had the same issue with friendships – both in my 20s and now in my early 30s. It hurts SO much but most of the time it’s for the best! You need good, solid, kind, positive women on your team – we all do!