Another year has flown by: my top 5 reflections of this year.

Dec 5, 2018 | 4 comments

New years resolutions tend to part people a bit – there are those who love setting themselves goals for the new year (and sometimes never really reach them), and then there are those who believe, that if you want something to happen you shouldn’t wait to the new year; just do it now. I don’t exactly know which side I’d place myself on, but I do believe that the end of a year is always a good time to look back and reflect for a bit. And I thought I’d share these reflections (or disguised new year’s resolutions if you like) with you all today!

Nytårsfortsæt deler lidt folk i to lejre – der er dem som elsker at sætte sig selv nogle mål ved starten af det nye år (og som måske alligevel aldrig indfrier disse), og så er der dem som mener, at hvis man vil opnå noget så bør man gøre det nu og ikke vente til det bliver nytår. Jeg ved egentlig ikke helt præcis hvilken lejr jeg ville sætte mig selv i, men ikke desto mindre så synes jeg altid udgangen af et år er et godt tidspunkt, at reflektere lidt over det hele. Og disse refleksioner (du kan kalde dem forklædte ”nytårsfortsæt hvis du vil) tænkte jeg, at jeg ville dele med jer i dagens indlæg.

 

 

The beauty (and art) of self-ironi

It’s no secret that I am somewhat of a soft and sensitive soul who sometimes take things a bit too seriously. Especially if it’s something I’m really passionate about – my blog, my new secondhand webshop or simply the fact that I’m a smalltown girl to the core, just to name a few examples. My brain tend to spin stories that are not even real sometimes, and even if someone were to really question or criticize my job or the way I live my life, I’d love to handle it with much more self-ironi. I know I’ve gotten so much better already (we have an ongoing joke in my family that I’m the one who always has a new job and that I don’t have a “real” job) and I’ve always admired people who handle both criticism and wondering from their surroundings in a calm way with lots of self-ironi. I don’t know, I just think it makes things a lot more informal and I love that.  Of course it’s a balance because you should never under-estimate yourself but I’ve always admired people who acknowledge the fact that we’re different and it’s okay that we don’t always agree. Everything will be fine.

Det er ingen hemmelighed, at jeg er ret følsom sjæl der somme tider tager ting ret nært. Især når det er noget jeg brænder for eller går op i med liv og sjæl – bloggen, min ny-lancerede secondhand webshop eller det faktum at jeg er en sønderjysk ”smalltown girl” ind til benet, for at nævne et par eksempler. Min hjerne kan nogle gange spinde ting op til noget de ikke er, og selv hvis der er nogle som rynker på næsen eller sætter spørgsmålstegn ved det job eller liv jeg har, så gad jeg virkelig godt praktisere selv-ironi noget mere. Jeg synes jeg er blevet langt bedre til det (fx har vi en on-going joke derhjemme om, at jeg er hende der altid skifter job eller hende der ikke har et ”rigtigt” arbejde) og jeg har altid beundret folk der tager både kritik og undren fra omgivelserne i stiv arm med en omgang selv-ironi. Det gør alting lidt mindre højtideligt og ophøjet, og det synes jeg er sejt. Selvfølgelig er det en balance for man skal heller ikke nedgøre sig selv, men jeg har altid holdt af de typer, der tager alle bump på vejen med et smil på læben og med en bevidst ro omkring, at vi alle tænker forskelligt eller ikke altid er enige og det er ok. Det hele skal nok gå.

 

Less fear; more doing

The other day I read a quote on the backside of a magazine on a colleague’s desk. It said “don’t wait for an opportunity to arise, create it”. I’m somewhat a sucker for clichés and quotes like this, haha! Nonetheless this quote made me think about the importance of just doing things, even those that you are afraid of doing. I’ve mentioned this a couple times before (also in THIS rather personal video), and I’ve often declared how I’ve felt this exact thing on my own body and soul. We all know (again quite cliché) that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, but from realizing that to actually DO something about it are two quite different scenarios. Again it’s all about balance, but when I look back at the year of 2018 I feel kind of proud of myself for having challenged myself, and this is something I’ll continue doing next year. Grow myself a pair of freakin’ balls, you know. Without losing my soft and kind spirit though. That’s one thing I’d never change about myself.

Den anden dag læste jeg et quote på bagsiden af et magasin der lå på min kollegas skrivebord. Der stod ”don’t wait for an opportunity to arise, create it”. Jeg er lidt en sucker for klichéer og quotes som disse, jeg æder dem simpelthen råt, haha! I hvert fald fik dette quote mig til at tænke på det her med, at hoppe ud i at gøre nogle ting, selv når man er bange. Det har jeg været inde på før (bl.a. i DENNE ret personlige video), og jeg har ofte givet udtryk for hvordan jeg har erfaret på egen krop, at man bare bliver stærkere af at gøre de ting man er bange for. Det ved vi jo alle sammen godt, og det er næsten ligeså kliché som det førnævnte quote. Men fra at være klar over det til rent faktisk at praktisere det kan være noget af en udfordring. Igen handler det hele om balance, men det er i hvert fald noget jeg klapper mig selv på skulderen for når jeg ser tilbage på det forgangne år, og også noget jeg vil fortsætte med. Grow myself some balls, I ved. Uden at miste min bløde side selvfølgelig. Det er én af de ting jeg aldrig ville ændre på mig selv.

 

The offline world

The discussion about social media and whether they are good for us or not is something that will always be ongoing, and I still strongly believe in my own theory about how we do have a power to declutter and part with channels or personas that don’t have a positive influence on us. We just need to use this power more actively (read more HERE). I think it’s such a shame that social media is constantly set out to be purely bad for us, when in fact I’m one of those people who wouldn’t have lived without them at this point. It was through social media I learned about minimalism, about sustainable fashion and about eating less meat to mention a few topics, and I’ve been connected with so many wonderful people all around the globe too. I will admit though, that it’s gotten a little out of hand lately – even for me. I’m not as good at just leaving my phone behind as I used to be just last year, and I also think I need to do a good round of app and social media platforms declutter soon. I totally get the debate when it comes to how much we compare ourselves with each other, get jaloux or misleaded and in that way we end up feeling like we are not worth as much as those people who’s lives we tend to compare our own with. And because most of my work is surrounded by social media, it can be very hard for me to tap out sometimes. I need to sort that out in the new year. This basically means that I need to work a little bit harder on that infamous work/life balance again, because to be totally honest with you I’m just not always the best version of myself when I’m caught up in my little work-bubble. I wan’t to be more present in real life.

Diskussionen om hvorvidt de sociale medier skader os eller vil ingen ende tage, og jeg holder stadig fast i min egen teori om, at vi jo altså selv har magten til, at styre hvis liv vi vil følge med i og hvornår (læse mere HER). Og jeg synes det er synd, at man konstant holder fast i, at det er bedst at afskærme sig selv fuldstændig fra sociale medier, for jeg hører helt klart til én af de personer, som ikke ville have været foruden. Jeg er blevet inspireret til at leve mere bæredygtigt og simpelt gennem de sociale medier, og jeg har desuden opnået bekendtskaber jeg ikke ville have været foruden. Jeg er dog nok blevet lidt for fasttømret til min telefon det sidste års tid, og jeg vil gerne indrømme at det er kørt lidt af sporet. Jeg er ikke længere så god til at lægge telefonen fra mig som jeg synes jeg har været, og jeg skal også endnu engang have ryddet op i hvem jeg følger og hvilke sociale platforme jeg ønsker at være en del af. Jeg kan sagtens forstå debatten som går på, at sociale medier har en negativ effekt på os fordi vi sammenligner os selv for meget med hinanden, bliver misundelige på hinanden og på den måde kan føle os som mindre værd. Eller ganske enkelt bliver fejlinformerede! Og fordi mit arbejder langt hen ad vejen foregår på de sociale medier, så kan det være svært at tappe ud nogle gange. Det skal jeg blive bedre til i det nye år. Heri ligger altså lidt lidt mere kontrol over min work/life balance, for jeg er – indrømmet – ikke den bedste version af mig selv, når jeg er for meget inde i min arbejdsboble. Jeg vil gerne være lidt mere til stedet i det virkelige liv.

Listen up and be present

I put so much time, effort and worries into my work, that I have trouble tapping out at the end of the workday (which basically never really ends for me, but you catch the drill). I think that’s one of the downsides to being self-employed. I’ve said out loud all along, that the reson why I love being my own boss and why I wanted to be in the first place is so that I have more freedom; more freedom to be me, to make my own independent decisions, to not be tied up in one certain position and to be there for the ones I love with more flexibility. But because my self-employed job has been so intense this year, I got to admit I’m not proud of the wife, sister/daughter or friend I’ve been this year. I actually had this listed as a goal I wanted to sort out at the beginning of this year, so it hurts a little bit extra that I didn’t reach that goal at all this year. I know my nearest would probably say I’m being too hard on myself, but I know deep down that I have been a little too much up my own butt this year. And I’d love to change that, because that is not the type of self-employed person I want to be. I think I might have this secret mission proving that you don’t have to be that kind of person to be self-employed at all. But that’s another post some other time.

Jeg lægger så meget liv, sjæl og bekymringer i mit arbejde, at jeg kan have svært ved, at lægge det fra mig når jeg har fri (hvilket jeg i og for sig jo aldrig rigtig har). Det tror jeg er én af ”ulemperne” ved at være selvstændig. Jeg har hele tiden sagt, at den største grund til jeg gerne vil være selvstændig er friheden; friheden til at kunne være mig selv, tage mine egne beslutninger, ikke været bundet af et bestemt job og være der for dem jeg elsker allermest. Men fordi (især) mit selvstændige arbejde har fyldt så meget i år, så er jeg sgu ikke stolt af hverken den kone, søster/datter eller veninde jeg har været i år. Faktisk stod lige præcis dette også på min liste over refleksioner sidste år, så det gør lidt ekstra ondt at jeg nu kan se, at jeg slet ikke fik indfriet dette mål om at forbedre mig i år. Jeg ved mine nærmeste ville sige det ikke har været så slemt, men jeg ved alligevel med mig selv, at jeg ikke rigtig har været tilstede i så meget andet end mit arbejde i år. Og det vil jeg virkelig gerne lave om på, for det er ikke dén type selvstændig jeg havde forestillet mig, at jeg skulle være. Faktisk tror jeg lidt jeg har en hemmelig mission om at bevise, at livet ikke behøver være sådan bare fordi man er selvstændig, men måske det er noget jeg skal komme nærmere ind på i et seperat indlæg.

 

Mental workouts

A thing I’ve managed to hold on to all throughout this hectic year is a healthy diet and regular exercising. On an overall scale anyway. It just gives me another type of energy, that is incomparable to anything else, and it’s so important to remember even when you’re busy. Maybe especially there actually. But one thing I’ve forgotten all about this year is prioritising mediation. I don’t even remember the last time I really prioritised it to be honest. I mean I use mindfulness tools every single day like looking up from whatever I’m doing and taking a few deep breaths, but I used to be better at doing regular meditation sessions during the week. It’s just as important to practice as physical workouts!

So that was a quite heavy one, but if felt good getting all of those thoughts out of my mind. Have you guys made any similar reflections based upon the year of 2018?

Én ting jeg har formået at holde fast i hele dette hektiske år, er sund kost og motion. I hvert fald sådan generelt set. Det giver mig energi som jeg slet ikke får lignende andre steder fra, og det er så vigtigt selv når man har travlt. Måske især der faktisk. Men én ting jeg har fået droslet lige lovlig meget ned på er antallet af meditationer. Faktisk kan jeg slet ikke husket hvornår jeg sidst har prioriteret det. Altså jeg bruger mindfulness redskaber stort set dagligt, som fx at holde en pause fra hvad end jeg laver og tage nogle dybe vejrtrækninger, men jeg har været meget bedre til virkelig at prioritere meditations sessions i løbet af ugen, og det er jo ligeså vigtigt at holde ved lige som fysisk træning.

Det blev et lidt langt og teksttungt indlæg, men det var rart at få alle tankerne ud af hovedet! Har I selv gjort jer lignende tanker om det forgangne år?

 

4 Comments

  1. Sandra

    Really love your posts, Signe. Love the way you write and how honest and personal you can be. But I agree, don’t be so hard on yourself. Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂

    Reply
    • signeh24

      Thank you so much! <3 x

      Reply
  2. Vicky

    Signe your so good at what you do! I’m thrilled to flow your journey and you are an inspiration to others. Keep being you. That’s the best part, you honestly!

    Reply
    • signeh24

      Thank you Vicky! I really needed that. Much love to you <3

      Reply

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