focus on what's most important to you

and forget about the rest

Recently I found myself, once again, worrying about little things that don’t matter. I made a list on my phone of all of the things right at that moment, that were most important to me, to remind myself to just focus on those. I wanted to share those here, with some tips on how to find the same for yourself if you’re struggling to do so.

To find yours, ask yourself a few questions and then dive a bit deeper into those answers:
what makes you happiest right now
who are your main supporters in life
what are you passionate or excited about?
what drives you?
what are the things you can’t go a couple of days without?
what makes you feel your best?

a few of mine and why I chose them/how I focus on them:

-my family: first and foremost they are always the most important thing in my life. I visit them as much as I can, I talk to them throughout the day, I go to them with any problem or when I need advice or to vent. They are the only ones in my life who will *always* be there for me no matter what.

-being a good, kind person: Always. Even when you aren’t getting it back, never back down on it and always stay true to who you are

-friends who value and care about me: This is important to really decipher who is someone you trust, who values you, who has your best interests at heart, who you can be yourself around, etc. Finding good friends has been something I’ve struggled with since I was old enough to make friends, and something I actively work on now even more. It’s hard for sure, so you just need to cherish and value the ones who make you feel good, and remove the ones who don’t.

-working on always making sure your mental health is in a good place: My goal right now is to keep stress levels (tracked on my Oura ring) as low as possible, and to make sure my nervous system is not going crazy. This is found by some of the things below: working out, journaling, reading, spending time alone, doing small things that make you happy, checking in with yourself multiple times a day, etc

-my faith: I grew up Catholic and find myself wanting to grow my faith now more than when I first got out of college and wasn’t going to church every week with my family. I found my own way to grow my faith through consistent and thoughtful prayer, daily prayer journaling, finding a church in NYC that I enjoy going to a couple of times a month, watching sermons online from churches I enjoy, etc.

-journaling: I’ve been a lot more consistent with this lately and find myself craving this daily now, and feeling off if I don’t. My new notebook is already so filled, especially doing The Artist’s Way, and it feels so good.

-reading: Something that’s always been important to me, and a non-negotiable for my day! I find so much joy and peace in this.

-Substack: This has been a platform I’ve really enjoyed lately and feel like it’s necessary for me to grow creatively and love just having this outlet, connecting with others, and reading so much wonderful writing

-alone time: This is important to me to recharge my social battery and just give my nervous system a break. I find this in running errands, working out, watching my favorite shows, reading in bed at night, long walks, etc.

-health and wellness: Eating well, trying new healthy recipes, taking the right supplements, making sure I’m consistent with skincare, not drinking, etc.

-working out: Always! I find that on my rest days I look forward to getting back to it. I also enjoy finding new things to do to switch it up and get excited about. Even if I don’t go to the gym, I count a long walk as a workout.

-skincare and efforts to make my skin better: My skin has not been skinning lately and I’m proactively working on this by getting monthly facials, investing in quality products, making sure I’m eating well, etc.

-limiting social media a lot: I’ve been doing a good job of this lately, sometimes deleting IG off my phone for 5-7 days at a time, and it’s been super helpful. I’ve also muted a ton of people’s stories as well

-finding new hobbies, activities, passions: I want to explore NYC as much as possible and find different activities to try, museums, explore neighborhoods, etc. I also want to find a couple of fun hobbies (besides reading and working out) that I can look forward to and find some joy in.

-morning and night routines: I love mine, am always working on tweaking them, and if I don’t do it I feel off. Even if I don’t have as much time one morning or night, I’ll make sure to do at least 1-2 of my rituals

Let me know what some of yours are and how you make time for them!

*all images from Pinterest