5 smart choices to make for 2024

I'm always all about making smart choices, but especially in 2024, it's of utmost importance. I'm taking the end of the year to be alone, clear away distractions, rest, recharge, reflect, and gear up to enter the new year in a very intentional way. In the past, I've been busy + distracted leading up to the new year, so although I've always managed to move the needle, it wasn't as intentional as it could have been. Energy is everything, and when your energy is not super intentional it can oftentimes lead to messiness + later on down the road, missed opportunity, missed connection, and a general vibe of being scattered - which oftentimes leads to bad choices.

5 smart choices I'm making in 2024:

Prioritizing solitude.

This has been something I have made it a point to prioritize this year, and as the year progressed, I started valuing it even more. In a practical sense, this means saying no more often to social events, driving less, not being as accessible over email + text, and ultimately putting myself first. They say that you should become your own best friend, and until you start practicing this, you don't realize how not only important, but how nice it is. When you become your own best friend you become invincible in a way - you become less focused on what others think, you gain more control of your own happiness, and you truly start to need less to feel happy + fulfilled. As much as I will always love networking + being with friends, I honestly think being alone is the best!

Eating simply + clean.

I've always been pretty healthy but this year I really started to up the ante on my nutrition. I became fascinated with supplements, started learning more about them, and began incorporating them into my diet. I started researching the diets of those living in Blue Zones, reading nutrition labels religiously, and really started to understand the science behind the foods we put in our bodies and what we need to live our best + healthiest lives. About 4 years ago, I started experimenting more in the kitchen, but recently I've been loving simple + clean meals. Sometimes when we go grocery shopping, we can buy too much, and it can get overwhelming deciding what to cook. I have also found recently that a clean + simple fridge and pantry is more appealing to me, so if these areas look aesthetic, I am more likely to reach for something there rather than order takeout or grab street tacos on the corner!

Movement every day.

I've always been an avid yogi, but this year I started going to hot yoga daily, and it has made a huge impact on my mental health! It's a 60 minute ritual that's equal parts workout + meditation, and a warm shower afterwards completes this important self-care practice. I've also picked up running, and randomly decided to run a 10k on Thanksgiving which was so empowering. Sometimes we may feel like we don't have time or we don't really need it but not only do experts say that we should be moving our bodies 60-120 minutes daily, we also all know that despite feeling reluctant, we always feel great after a workout.

Remembering that less is more.

Whether it be shorter texts, a more simple fridge, a more chill weekend, or cutting down that dating roster, less is more heading into 2024. And I'm gonna leave it at that because, well, LESS IS MORE.

Chilling out.

For years, I heard from friends + loved ones that it would probably do me a solid to take a chill pill, but it just didn't click until recently. I'm a scorpio - I'm passionate + intense, so chilling out was not necessarily something that came naturally to me. I take things seriously, have lofty goals, and think big thoughts, but I've realized that sometimes chilling out is the exact remedy to get you closer to what you want. I finally decided to try it this year + guess what!? It really works, ha.

PC ALINA MARIE CREATIVE