Cultivating (Literally and Figuratively) in 2021

Two hands cup seeds over egg cartons filled with soil

Last year, I chose to approach the year with a word in mind, rather than focusing on a specific resolution. I really enjoyed spending the year working toward the general theme of investment, especially considering a lot of 2020 was kind of useless for things like travel, something I initially thought would be a big part of the year. Opting for a focus over a resolution made it easier to make progress without feeling like the whole goal was pointless.

With so much still up in the air, choosing a word to focus on seems like a good idea for 2021 too. This year, I’m approaching things with the word cultivate in mind. There are five ways I’d like to incorporate it into my life throughout 2021:

Growing a Garden

This is a very literal interpretation of the word cultivate. Last year, I had some modest success starting flower and vegetable seeds in our living room. I’d like to have an even bigger and better garden this year, so I’ll start planning soon! I grow primarily in containers, so I’m not going to let our house hunt keep me from enjoying the weird pride of watching your seeds sprout and flowers bloom.

Creating Rather Than Consuming

Over the last year, I’ve sunk pretty deep into the habit of doom-scrolling, especially during breakfast and right before going to sleep. I’d love to mindfully opt for creating rather than consuming once in a while. Whether this is doodling in a coloring book, taking photos or writing blog posts (more on that in a minute), if it keeps me off my phone, I’m in.

Enriching My Community

I volunteered a lot during high school but I let it fall to the wayside during college. It’s way past time to find a couple of organizations I care about and start making a difference in my community.

Expanding My Personal Brand

When we were stuck at home last spring, I jumped on the online course train with everyone else. I started Introduction to Personal Branding through Coursera and made it through a quarter of the syllabus before it got warm enough to spend time outside. It’s time to revisit the material and put some real thought into what I want my personal brand to look like, especially online.

Building Succulents & Sunnies

Succulents and Sunnies did not benefit from my extra time in 2020. It was really hard to find the motivation to post on a lifestyle blog when my lifestyle was something like “work from home gardener” rather than my usual “weekend getaway-obsessed Buffalonian.” I do miss documenting the big (and little) moments with something more substantial than an Instagram post. I want to spend some time creating a blog that feels more like me and be better about amplifying the posts I do write.

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