Are you ready to start a 6-month glow-up challenge?

Originally posted on December 11, 2020

Are you tired of the way life is going? Do you want to live a different kind of life but you don’t know where to start? Good me neither, but we are going to figure it out together. So glad I am not the only one who recognizes my life needs a change but is iffy on where to start. We are all in that same boat but it’s about damn time we figure it out… Are you ready to start a 6-month glow-up challenge, I know I am!

I don’t know about you but 2020- 2022 has opened my eyes to a lot of things and I am just over it all. Something has got to give. I have been going non-stop this whole year. Constantly cleaning, job hunting, figuring out what to have for dinner, how to pay for all the things. I just feel like I am stuck in a rut. Who else is with me?

For those of you not familiar with the term “glow up” Urban dictionary describes it perfectly.

A Glow Up is a mental, physical, and emotional transformation for the better. Glow Ups can be both natural or planned. As well as being gradual and permanent, or fast and temporary.

Although they can be fast and temporary… we are looking for a more gradual and permanent way. We are looking for the long term.

Area of your life to work on

When I originally wrote this article I only chose 5 areas to work on because most of the time when you look up “glow-ups” it’s all about your physical appearance. Most articles written are called “How to become prettier in 30 days or less”

I don’t want to be prettier I want to be at peace with myself and make sure my life has a purpose. My life is serving me, not me serving my life.

Choosing 5 areas is not enough because everyone’s needs are different. So there are 12 different areas to choose from or you can completely create your own.

These are the same areas you can work on if you are doing a life audit. Ask yourself 4 simple questions or do the 2022 updated deep dive version. When it comes to personal growth and working on yourself everything is customizable. Your personal growth plan can be tailored to you.

These are just the basic areas but you can get as specific as you want because as I said doing a LIFE AUDIT or this CHALLENGE IS COMPLETELY CUSTOMIZABLE BABY! You do whatever works best for you.

1. Relationships (partners, friendships, family, and one you come in contact with, your community)
2. Self-Care (doing things for yourself, adventures, hobbies)
3. Career (finding a job you love, making the money you deserve)
4. Financial (understanding of, use of, and relationship with money)
5. Education (growth, learning, exploration, self-improvement)
6. Spirituality (either your religion or connecting with the world around you, nature)
7. Physical Health & Wellness (Exercise and eating healthy)
8. Environment (your home, your belongings, and the resources you have at your fingertips)
9. Online Presence ( social media, technology you use, the millions of photos/files you have)
10. Emotional Health ( understanding and working on your emotions, traumas, and self-love)
11. Mental Health (self-awareness, mindfulness, outlook on life)
12. Daily Life (Lifestyle, Routines, Habits)

When going through each of these areas write the good, the bad, and the ugly. Write everything. Things you love, things you want to change, things to improve. Doing a glow-up is about recognizing in yourself that certain things you are doing in your life are not leading you towards your LIVING THE LIFE YOU WANT. It is you, self-reflecting about everything that IS WORKING and everything that IS NOT WORKING and wanting better for yourself. Remember be nice to yourself.

There are so many you can choose from. If you are stumped on what to choose. Internally reflect and think about what areas of your life need a little work. Here is an example:

Make a plan

You need to start with a plan. I am sitting down this weekend to write everything out that I think could use some improvement on my part or that I should start. Come up with things you can do daily or weekly. There is no need to get overwhelmed. This isn’t a sprint it is a marathon.

This week Monday Motivation on Instagram I will post my 6-month glow-up challenge list. So those who follow me can help hold me accountable. If you want daily encouragement to help you with your goals. I do have a Facebook page and group that we can use to help motivate each other.

What to do?

Let’s dive into some of the things you can do in each category.

Our goal is to work around our environment, ourselves, and our career goals and then end with what we can do for those around us. We need to start putting our wants and needs ahead of others.

This is all based on the challenge I did in 2020. Just remember this can be custom to however you find fit for you. That’s the beauty of it.

I am not sharing all of my goals just some… You know you gotta keep ’em guessing.

HOUSE

I don’t know about you but since quarantine, my house has gotten a little disheveled. I find myself looking around my house and just seeing clutter everywhere. It’s driving me insane. I am doing a 30-day decluttering challenge. But sometimes I need some motivation to start.

Declutter every room

So my first order of business is to declutter every single room of my house. In doing a 30-day decluttering challenge I want to donate, sell, or throw away as many items in my house that no longer serve me.

2022 me has already started this. I did a massive decluttering of my clothes. All except my dirty clothes. I gotta wash those first. But I want to gift all of these clothes to someone who is in need in the Tampa Bay Area.

Everything in my house is to have a place in my home and everyone in my home knows where it goes. I have created a weekly schedule to get every room in tip-top shape.

Plus Christmas is right around the corner so nothing new comes into the house until old things leave the house.

Meal Prep/Planning

I am so tired of having the daily conversation of “What do you want for dinner? I don’t know, what do you want?” If I have that conversation one more time I will most likely be on an episode of “Snapped”.

I went through my cabinets, fridge, and freezer and came up with meals to last us till we went grocery shopping. Then I will plan all my meals out and buy only those groceries. When I get home I will chop, cut, or marinate any meats and baggy them up. Preparing some meals ahead of time is a smart idea. And the leftovers freeze REALLY well.

MIND

Limit time on social media

There are only 2 apps I spend most of my time on now TikTok and Instagram, but still, I would like to limit it which I have been doing lately.

Journal everyday

I was doing good there for a while but stopped again. I think being home for such a long time there is nothing really for me to write about. Most of my time was spent doing the same thing every day.

I need to start doing it again. Stop thinking I have to write about the day and write about past things and work through some of the things that have been weighing on my heart and mind. Working on healing your inner child is a great way to get some things off of your chest.

Read a chapter a day

I am still doing my book challenge, I just stopped posting about it. But I want to make sure I keep it up. Are you trying to read more books? Check out my Redonkulous Book Challenge.

BODY

Make healthier choices

Meaning I want to increase my water intake. I want to start drinking half my weight in ounces of water. I started adding more fruits & veggies to my diet. Find a workout I can do at home that I don’t get bored with. I also want to try to go gluten and dairy-free because of my PCOS. Overall just treat my body better.

Make better choices daily

I am not getting any younger. It is a must that I come up with a skincare routine for myself. I find myself just hanging out in my PJs all day, so I need to start getting dressed every day. Nothing gets done because I am in relaxation mode. I also need to make sure I stick to my sleep schedule. Be in bed by 12a up by 7:30a. My body has been doing this itself, but I like it and it needs to keep it up. It’s all about creating new habits.

CAREER

A schedule is a must for this blog especially if I want to get my work out there. There are things I need to start doing like Gary V’s $1.80 Method. I have these months where I am on top of everything. I get a month ahead on blog posts and then struggle with what to post on social media.

With that being said I need to get out of my own head and create the damn content. I don’t post a lot of things because I get in my own way and think it’s not good enough. That bullshit needs to stop right now.

Making some money on the side would be nice. Eventually, I would also like to start a side hustle but that won’t come until later. I need to get on a schedule and then slowly add new things to do every month.

RELATIONSHIPS

Date night

It has been forever since Mike and I have been on a date night. Since our car took a shit and work has been really busy for him we just haven’t seen each other enough. On his one day off every couple of weeks, I want to plan an at-home date night.

Order dinner, create a cozy cuddle spot on the couch, and watch a movie together. I think he would really love a video game night with finger foods since he has been asking me a lot lately to play video games with him. We just need a night to reconnect.

I want to show him my appreciation for all the hard work he does for us.

Write a handwritten letter to a friend/family

I have had so much fun writing my pen pal that I want to extend it to my friends and family. Sure we can post on Facebook, chat in Messenger, or even text, but I love creating handmade letters, envelopes, and little knick-knacks to send to them. It is more personal than a “Hey what’s up?” text.

6-month glow-up challenge

The way my brain works is that I would like to make it a weekly challenge for myself. Not focus on the whole 6 months because I WILL GET OVERWHELMED.

When starting I would like to make an overall plan of what I want to work on and then break it down into daily things and weekly things I need to get done. We just need to take the next 6 months to just focus on ourselves, our goals, and becoming a better version of ourselves.

Have you ever thought of starting this kind of challenge? What would be some goals you would put on your list?

Remember to follow me on other social media platforms so we can help each other out. Click here to find a list of all my other profiles on social media. Who wants to join me on January 1st in a 6-month glow-up challenge?

Until next time, Have a great day!