“With the same habits, you’ll end up with the same results. But with better habits, anything is possible.” If you know us, then you know everyone here at Camille Styles is obsessed with James Clear. We regularly pull up his quotes in editorial meetings and Slack his inspiring words to co-workers. As a group of women each focused on their personal growth, his work is a lifeline that consistently inspires better habits, rituals, and routines.
And while the choice might be cliché, I count myself among the perhaps thousands of folks who choose to start re-reading Atomic Habits in the days leading up to the start of a new year. Though the commitment to our personal growth might seem like just a fleeting, seasonal desire, the focus on self-improvement has shown me just how much positive change I invited into my life in 2022. And with that reflection, I’ve become all the more motivated to build upon my momentum in the year to come. Sound like a good way to kick off 2023? I thought so—and I’d love if you joined me.
Featured image by Michelle Nash.
Personal Growth in 2023: It All Starts With Reflection
Today, as I reflect on all the positive growth and celebrate the ways I showed up for myself this past year, I’m simultaneously welcoming more opportunities to learn and change in 2023. In this moment of serious and significant personal growth, I want to invite anything and everything in that might influence my continuing upward spiral.
As I hope and imagine is true for you as well, Camille Styles has always served as a source of inspiration to help me live my best life, year after year. Visiting the site each day, I’ve learned how to build meaningful relationships, curate a loving home, and fill my days with more joy.
But before we look ahead, let’s take a moment to reflect together. Below, I’m sharing three questions that have helped me clear through the clutter and get to the heart of what I really want for my life.
3 Questions to Lead You Toward Meaningful Change
- Do I like who I see? I’ll be the first to tell you that in life, your appearance is perhaps the least important thing about you. I let go of the “lose weight” resolution long ago because I learned that instead of serving myself, it only served to appease others’ views of how I should be. Instead, I’m looking for the more resonant details in the mirror. The bags underneath my eyes suggest a need to recommit to my sleep hygiene. My less-than-vibrant skin inspires me to drink more water and fill up on healthy fats. Look for what matters to you and let these indicators lead you toward healthier habits.
- Do I like how I feel? Do I reach for coffee at 3 p.m. every day? Are my workouts leaving me depleted instead of energized? Reflect on how you feel in your body and in your mind. Paying attention to how I feel physically and mentally has helped me make small but significant changes that create transformative results.
- Do I like how I live? This a broad question, but it gets to the heart of what you need to live the life you’ve always dreamed of. It touches upon your relationships, your work, and how you spend your time. My advice? Keep a time diary for a week. Each day, take note of the time and activities that fill your hours. At the end of seven days, reflect and re-evaluate. What do want to get rid of? What are the things you want to create more space for?
Everything You Need to Experience Personal Growth This Year
Now’s the time to intentionally shape the person you’re becoming. On this very last day of the year, I put together all the words, insights, and expert advice that have taken part in my personal growth over the past year. From building a journaling practice to filling your meals with joyful foods to creating a space you love and feel good in—below is everything you need to feel your best in 2023.
Try Journaling—It Might Just Change Your Life
I know you know: journaling is one of the best ways to invite positive change into your life. But as someone who had been hearing that advice forever and hadn’t put it into practice until a couple of months ago, I’ve found there’s endless truth in the claim. Journaling can help you gain a sense of clarity, organize your thoughts, and lead you to epiphanies you might not have otherwise had. And here’s some more good news: it doesn’t have to be hard. Start with a guided journal and just a few minutes each day. You’ll be surprised by how much good it’ll do.
Read more:
- How to Start a Journaling Practice You Can Actually Stick To
- These Guided Journals Make It Easy to Build a Healthy New Habit
- 40 Journal Prompts to Start (And End!) Your Day Feeling Inspired
- 15 Inspiring Journal Prompts to Try Tonight
Trust in the Power of Manifestation
Like journaling, I was always skeptical about the practice of manifestation. Could envisioning and dreaming up my best life really help me achieve it? In my mind, the concept rivaled toxic positivity. But after speaking with a manifestation expert, I’ve realized that I couldn’t have been more wrong. When I asked Victoria Jackson, a certified mindset coach and the founder of The Manifestation Collective, how we can trust that the practice actually works, she shared a few words that completely transformed my view on manifestation:
The goal isn’t always to have everything you desire, but to BECOME the person you desire to be first.
When we understand that we’re in partnership with the universe (or whatever “higher power” you look toward), we realize that we’re always empowered to create the life that’s available to us.
Read more:
- How to Manifest Your Dream Life—A Beginner’s Guide
- 3 Tools I Use to Clarify My Vision and Goals
- 9 Life-Changing Questions I Ask Myself At the Beginning of a New Year
- The Power of a Growth Mindset—And How to Create One This Year
- In Need of a Perspective Shift? These Positive Affirmations Could Change Your Life
Lean Into Food as Medicine
Often, one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions we make is to eat healthier. But what does that actually mean? Sure, we can opt for salads on the reg or banish packaged foods from our pantry, but what does that achieve? Instead, we like to adopt a mindset that welcomes all foods but focuses on those that help us feel our best. Sometimes, that might mean making a smoothie in the morning. Or, it could be indulging in a pizza night with your girlfriends.
The point is, a healthy life is one that’s filled with variety. Instead of depriving ourselves with strict food rules, what if we developed a more kind and loving relationship with the foods that power our days and bring more pleasure into our lives?
Read more:
- 21 Healthy Eating Habits for Lifelong Wellness
- A Nutritionist’s Top Tips for Adding More Dark Leafy Greens to Your Diet—Deliciously!
- Add These Anti-Inflammatory Ingredients To Your Grocery Basket, Stat
Find Practices That Bring You Joy
2022 was all about romanticizing the small, seemingly mundane moments of my everyday life. Instead of drinking my coffee while plowing through my email, I lit a candle to mindfully enjoy those first morning sips. Rather than getting sucked into a never-changing weekend routine, I began to seek out novelty and new experiences in my city. The point is, we can always make a choice about how we spend our time. And personally, I’d rather fill my days with happiness-boosting, joyful practices and habits that make me grateful for the life I inhabit at this very moment. Wouldn’t you?
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