2015 Archives - Fearless Captivations

Happy 2016! + My New Year Goals

Anita — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 05:38:52 +0000

Happy New Year! Entering 2016 is like flipping the pages of a new, crisp book and smelling its pages. It’s full of wonder, anticipation, hope and ambition. I hope you had a wonderful 2015, and if not, let it go and look forward to all the beauty 2016 has in store for you. Have you set your goals yet?

At the beginning of last year, I aimed to have a year of being inspired, connected and empowered. Looking back, I would best describe my 2015 with the word “comfortable.” Parts of my year reflect the stagnant connotation because I didn’t have any big life changes and didn’t push myself incredibly hard. This is where empowered missed the mark. Other parts of my year reflected the confidence gained from being more self-aware and open-minded. This is where inspired and connected soared.

In reflecting on my 2015, here are some events that happened:

Crossed a few things off my life list: shoot fireworks, go to a major league football game, and go scuba diving (and actually got scuba certified!).
Read 14 books.
Hosted 16 parties, including DIY parties, potlucks, and seafood boils.
Took many classes, including painting, cake ball making, brush lettering, scuba diving, cheese and jam tasting and chocolate truffles.
Traveled to Costa Rica, San Francisco, and Chicago.
Went to my first crawfish boil and ate lots and lots of crawfish.
Dined with the CEO of Campbell Soup.
Ziplined in Costa Rica and Austin.
Went skydiving for the second time.
Celebrated the weddings of my friends MJ and Peter and Gloria and Aaron.
Saw Taylor Swift in concert.
Went to the Re:Make Conference.
Saw Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza show.
Baked goodies for Austin Bakes for Nepal and Austin Bakes for Syrian Refugees.
Dressed up as a grandma for Halloween.
Ran my fourth and fastest (2:43) half-marathon.
Participated in my first Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap.
Published 103 blog posts on Fearless Captivations.

Looking back, I’m thankful for the opportunities to explore my creativity, to learn and to deepen my relationships. This year flew by quickly. There were some long days but it was mostly fast months.

I’m not sure where I found this advice, but it’s a thoughtful way to think about your New Year Goals: “When you’re brainstorming possible goals for 2016, think about how you can give back to your community, what accomplishments would set your soul on fire, and what actions would make it a meaningful year.” At the end of 2016, what things do you want to proclaim that you accomplished? Is the accomplishment for others (for recognition or to say that you did it) or for yourself (for true fulfillment and joy)?

My main goal this next year is to challenge my hustle to live my life to the fullest. I’m focusing on the words connected, inspired and grateful to guide me. My goals list is a live list! I know there will be new goals and challenges that pop up throughout the year. Since I failed horribly in accomplishing my 2015 goals, I’m aiming for a different strategy in 2016. I’ll strive to be honest with myself about things I can and want to accomplish and I’ll strive to invest in monthly goals and check-ins.

To be inspired, I’ll continue seeking ways to live more adventurously and creatively. This will include diving deeper into culinary topics and exploring creative habits.

Attend a conference
Complete a 12 item cooking/baking list (things I’ve never made before)
Visit 12 new restaurants/coffee shops
Complete a creative project every month
Doodle/letter daily for one month
Read 12 books
Host 12 events

The people and the relationships in life are very important and I’m challenging myself to dig deeper and get more connected. This will include a conscious effort to maintain those relationships.

Send two letters every month
Take a girls’ trip
Spend time one-on-one with a friend every month
Monthly adventure dates with the boyfriend

Something that’s not always at the top of my mind is gratitude, and gratitude can make all the difference in attitude, inner peace, and actions. That’s why “grateful” and creating routines around gratitude will be a priority for me this year.

Journal daily for one month
Go to therapy
Maintain a regular exercise schedule (TBD)
Complete an Acts of Kindness Project (TBD)

As for my blog, my blog goals have shifted back and forth a lot this past year because of balancing time commitments, evolving social sharing guidelines and life priorities. For now, I’m aiming to provide regular and passionate content related to eats, travels and celebrations. You’ll be seeing features on my favorite restaurants, mini-trip guides and travel inspiration and DIY entertaining tips and tutorials. What do you want to see more of? Send me a message or tell me in the comments.

I hope you are ready to rock 2016! If you need some more inspiration in what you will accomplish this next year, check out these two links:

10 Values To Live By Every Day
26 Things Every Person Should Do For Themselves at Least Once a Year

What do you want to accomplish in 2016?

The post Happy 2016! + My New Year Goals appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

Life Lessons: What I Learned in 2015

Anita — Thu, 31 Dec 2015 11:37:31 +0000

The end of one year and the beginning of another is the perfect time to look back and reflect on life lessons. This year has been strangely comfortable. I’ve worried a lot less and when I do worry, I have a back-up system that kicks in and reminds me to chill. I’ve learned so much about my priorities, desires, and needs. I’ve heard it said that you mellow out and get a better sense of who you are in your 30s. I’m glad the train is early! There is always more to learn. (If you’re not learning, you’re not growing!) As I look back on my year, these are the life lessons that came into focus this year.

1. Know what you’re living for and how you want to live.
I’ve learned that my life focus is less about climbing a corporate ladder, paying bills, and living an ordinary path. It’s about giving back to my community, taking care of the people in my life and living my best life, a life chasing my desires, goals and abilities. While making more money to be able to do more things is always nice, it’s comforting to know that my worth isn’t dependent on a social status.

This thought-provoking LA Times op-ed piece really brought me back to purpose. It’s by a woman with terminal cancer. This last paragraph is the main lesson:

“I understand that my infinitesimally tiny piece in all this is coming to a close. Letting go will be difficult, but death has its own clock. So I will take solace in the idea that, once gone, I may come to occupy a small space in the hearts of the people who loved me most. And perhaps from there, I will be a source of a few simple reminders: Time is limited. Life is miraculous. And we are beautiful.”

When you die, you live on in many ways. It’s in the memories of people you love and the things they feel when they think about you. It’s also in the ways you helped better your community, be it a young person you mentor, a park you helped build, or a piece of legislation you helped pass.

How would you live your life if you knew you had limited time left? How would you treat the people around you?

I also recommend checking out these thought-provoking pieces:
Abby Wambach’s Goodbye Video
Quality Time Matters article

2. Never stop dreaming, exploring, and learning.
I think new experiences keep our brains enlightened and our happiness fulfilled. Some of my most memorable moments this year were traveling to new places, eating at new restaurants, and taking classes for new skills. There is so much to discover and learn, and no matter what age or background, you have an incredible amount of curiosity, creativity, opportunity and ability. Go dream big dreams and try new things! Your life isn’t set in stone. YOU get to wake up and make decisions every day.

3. Make priorities and make time.
I’ve encountered so many situations with myself and others where I’ve thought: if it’s so important to you then why don’t you make time for it? If you want to lose weight or be healthier, you need to make time to go work-out and grocery shop for healthy ingredients. If you want better relationships, you need to make plans and be present with people. If you want to become better at a skill, you need to invest the time, money and focus on it. It’s a simple concept with heavy discipline. But, isn’t it worth it and isn’t life about striving for better? The things you spend your hours, days and weeks on, those are your priorities. Are you happy with how you spend your time?

4. Focus on positivity.
Looking at the world events in 2015, this year has been one of anger, sadness and fear. On top of that, we’ve become an openly opinionated society, for better or worse. We can easily post our thoughts, even the negative comments that fire us up, on social media. Adding to the negativity we see every day, our self-worth is affected by what we see on social media and how it makes us feel. As I mentioned in my social authenticity post, there’s more to life than what’s on social media. I know it’s easy to get jealous and discouraged by what other people are highlighting on their social accounts. I’ve found that if I focus on what’s real and my values, priorities and gratitude, it helps me stay positive and it makes all the difference.

5. Celebrate!
Be thankful for where you came from and what you’ve accomplished. Celebrate your friendships and the people who make life worth it. Be thankful for everything you are blessed with! Being focused on your next big project or goal is great, but celebrating victories, big or small, can be a small piece of encouragement to propel you on.

What life lessons did you learn in 2015?

The post Life Lessons: What I Learned in 2015 appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

2014 Recap and 2015 Goals

Anita — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 12:29:36 +0000

2014 was a fantastic year! Here are a few of the highlights:
-Hosting a Lunar New Year Party and Pizza Party and Friendsgiving.
-Seeing Ellie Goulding and One Republic in concert.
-Interning at an event floral company and taking a semester-long event planning class.
-Being in the audience of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
-Seeing Kristen Bell and the Veronica Mars cast at the movie premiere.
-Going to the Austin Food & Wine Festival.
-Being a presenter of a social media webinar at work.
–Being outside: camping in a rainy forest and in Padre (where I learned to surf!), hiking Pedernales State Park, standing among tall sunflowers, and going paddle boarding.
-Take a fun trip to Greece.
-Earning an Associate of the Month award at work.
-Being a part of Sarah and Daniel’s wedding.
-Being in the presence of Neil Patrick Harris and Neil deGrasse Tyson (at separate occasions because two three-name-Neils in the same place would be wild).
–Birthday week!
-Taking a calligraphy class.
-Countless amazing food eaten.

This quick snapshot of all the “cool” things I did, saw and accomplished is just that – a snapshot. I’m also so thankful for the moments that aren’t that glamorous or can’t be summarized in a photo: hard conversations about what I really needed in life even though it meant letting go of good things, sweet conversations catching up with friends, the joy felt in exploring new places, dark places of sadness, and the moments of friendships deepening. It was a good, good year.

When I started thinking about my 2015 goals, I thought through these questions:
-Are these things I really want to accomplish or things I feel like I have to accomplish?
-What would make me so giddy that I would squeal/jump up and down with pure joy?
-What would help improve my life in the long-run and my every day?
-How can I live an authentic and intentional life every day?

I thought about my values and life intentions, and this year I’ll focus on being inspired, connected and empowered. My goals focus on four main buckets: self-love, creativity/passions, wellness, and community. Sharing my goals is hard for me, but one thing I’m continuing to learn from and grow out of is the fear of failure. I lose much more from not taking steps towards what could be failure or what could be a smashing success. Patience and being present helps with the pressure. Nevertheless, I am ecstatic about 2015. Here are some of the general goals I’m working towards this year:

Self-Love
-Have a weekly reflection/check-in (for catch-up and to review goals)
-Maintain a daily gratitude practice
-Learn about investments

Creativity/Passions
-Host 12 celebrations
-Practice calligraphy once a week
-Read 24 books

Wellness
-Eat breakfast every morning
-Run a 2:15 half-marathon

Community
-Write more letters (to friends and through More Love Letters)
-Take a girls trip

Also, I’m striving to finish as much of my life list as possible in the next three years, though there may be new additions here and there. (Let me know if you have suggestions or can help me accomplish any of the items!)

I would LOVE to know: what are you 2015 goals?

The post 2014 Recap and 2015 Goals appeared first on Fearless Captivations.

2015 Archives - Fearless Captivations

Happy 2016! + My New Year Goals

Life Lessons: What I Learned in 2015

Top and Favorite Posts on Fearless Captivations in 2015

Favorite Posts on Fearless Captivations

2014 Recap and 2015 Goals