Each month, I set aside time to reflect on the previous month: memorable moments, lessons I learned, how I spent my time, how I’m different, who/what I’m grateful for, improvements for next month, and goals to work toward. I try to be intentional in my personal development, and posting each month is a way to keep me accountable (as a nice reminder, it’s also built into my favorite planner 😉 ).

Three Lessons I Learned:

• Reign in your expectations. I often joke that you should set your expectations low so that way it can only go up from there. And while that might seem like a pessimistic way to live life, I do honestly think there is some truth in it. Most of the times I’ve been unhappy has been because of unmet expectations. That trip wasn’t what I expected it to be, that birthday gift didn’t live up to my expectations, etc. I personally am learning to separate myself from my expectations— I know I can’t fully get rid of them but I can’t let them ruin my mood when expectations don’t live up.
• Make lists! Alright, so maybe I’m a little biased because I am totally a list maker. But aside from the internal satisfaction from crossing stuff off, lists help me get stuff DONE. One of my many lists was an Italian bucket list for the summer. Because I had that list to motivate me and to visualize what I wanted to do this summer, I was able to check everything off (well, except one, but I decided I didn’t really want to do it anyways). I felt so accomplished and anything that I got do after that just feels like such a blessing.
• Don’t give up on something you really care about — especially once you are neck deep. Joe and I went hiking a few weeks ago on a tough trail and almost gave up. We didn’t realize it, but we were only 15 minutes from the summit at that point. I was so happy we didn’t turn around! I would have hated myself for turning back, even if I hadn’t known how close we were. It was something I only had one chance to do, and it’s always the most daunting on the climb up. But the views and sheer pride of having climbed that peak were worth it.

Top 3 Highlights:

• Visited the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam.
• Hiked the WWI supply route called 52 Tunnels.
• Saw the pyramids and Valley of the Kings.

Monthly Motto:

Be the girl who decided to go for it.

What big lessons have you learned over the past month? Share in the comments below!