How I Conquered 2015

On instagram last week I talked about the 3 words I would use to describe 2015 — marathon, growth, and hustle.

Marathon: My life revolved around training for the NYC Marathon for 17 weeks. It was literally always on my mind. I said I would run the NYC Marathon in 2015, and I did. Training for something so intense taught me a lot about myself and my work ethic– I now know I can power through just about anything in the same way I powered through those training runs and 26.2 miles on race day.

Growth: I’ve had the opportunity to learn a ton at my new job over the past 7 months, literal skills like photoshop and less tangible skills like spur of the moment decision making and problem solving. I firmly believe that you should always be learning and always be growing in everything you do, and that’s certainly been the case this year.

Hustle: When I saw this tank top at the Union Square Holiday Market, I knew I had to get it.

And… I also might’ve gotten it in poster form to hang over the desk in my apartment (pssst, it’s made by Urban Cricket).

It’s been my unofficial motto for the past year. I’m not a very patient person, Jeremy and my parents can vouch for this. I want to do all the things, and I want to do them now. I don’t know how to sit still and let things happen because my instinct is to go out there and get what I want.

Being impatient sucks, but I’ll also argue it’s gotten me where I am today and my inability to sit still was all the motivation I needed to find a job that was a better fit for me and work my ass off to juggle work, boyfriend, friends, marathon training and blogging.

I love the end of the year because it’s a time to take a step back and reflect on what happened over the last 12 months– did I accomplish what I wanted to? How do I want to change my approach in 2016?

I’ve decided the word I want to use to describe 2016 is fearless. An interesting choice, no doubt, for a girl with phobias, awkwardness and other anxious tendencies.

To me, being fearless means not being afraid to hear no. It means taking chances. It means pushing myself out of my comfort zone. And it means being as authentically me as possible, even when that feels scary.

What are your 3 words to describe 2015 + how do you want to be in 2016?

photo credit: Ashley