2020 in review + my goals for 2021

When I look back on 2020, it’s a weird juxtaposition of crushing pain mixed with joy. Moments of happiness were over-shadowed with the hardships, so we focused on taking care of our family. Even though there was great sadness, there was also growth.

When I think about this past year, I feel hopeful and even a little proud of myself, and I hope that you do, too. We’re moving forward. I read a meme that said while we may not see dramatic changes immediately in 2021, we completed a marathon, barefoot, and untrained. It’s a reason to be grateful and I hope you can take a moment today to close your eyes, breathe, and send yourself gratitude for all that you’ve overcome this year.

With the sadness and unknown of 2020, I think we still made the best of it. It’s the most we’ve ever been together as a family, and I soaked it up. I love having the kids home, and we spent so much time in nature: walking, hiking, and swimming. Both girls learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels, and P transformed from a kid who was still kicking around the pool in her puddle jumper to a full-up fish. She can dive to the bottom of the pool, do underwater flips, and swim around confidently. The Pilot traveled more than ever with his airline, but compared to previous years, I feel like he was present more.

Professionally, I still managed to accomplish a couple of things: I wrote my second book during the spring (it was published this year!), launched Fit Team memberships and online personal training, and posted more videos on the blog than I did in 2019. I loved being able to virtually hang out and connect with you, especially when so many of us were alone and chillin’ at home. I’ve enjoyed teaching Zoom fitness classes and plan to do more of these in the new year! I expanded my team and now have an incredible VA who took my inbox from 200,000+ emails to 100. It was nothing short of an act of magic.

Heath-wise, I really dialed into the habits that make me feel good. I focused on eating more fresh produce and drinking more water, got in movement almost every single day (even if it was just a short walk or some mobility work), started to emphasize sleep quality (my Oura has helped so much with this!), enjoyed my supplement routine (working with Ali has been such a gamechanger and I feel great), and invested in a couple of other health-related items, like occasional Sakara deliveries (my next one will be here this week! You can use my link for $50 off), and my sauna blanket. I use this about 3x a week for 25-30 minutes and it.is.amazing.

There were certainly more “YOLO” moments, and I did extra things that brought me a shriveled crumb of joy. I wore pajamas way more than real clothes and had more makeup-free days than makeup days. I ate a little extra sugar, tortilla chips, and drank more wine. I watched TV. I stayed up late and slept in. That part has been pretty dang nice.

This year definitely had the potential to take it’s toll on our relationship. Despite the challenges, this whole experience has made us stronger and more resilient as a team. We balanced our respective work schedules the best we could to take care of ourselves, the kids, and work. Fortunately, our kids are in a good spot – we had a sensory flare back in February that was completely resolved – and we feel like we’re cautiously optimistic about the upcoming year.

Some of my goals for the upcoming year: (trying to keep them low-key because who knows what will happen lol)

Health:

Continue to focus on the habits that make me feel good and keep our family healthy. Sleep, exercise, sunshine, fresh air, stress reduction, fresh produce, supplements, and lots of water are the goals. I’m committed to sticking with my strength training program – we’ve amped up our home gym and I’ve also had a lot of fun testing out new workouts!! – and fueling myself well for all of the things I need to do. I stopped meditating again, so I’ll absolutely bring it back in the new year.

Professional:

I have some pretty big blog-related goals for 2021, but my main goal is to continue to provide as much valuable and helpful content as possible. You guys gave me so many amazing topic ideas and requests in the annual survey and I can’t wait to get everything put together. Definitely expect a motivating Home Workout Warrior challenge at the end of this month (details and signup here!), Fit Team re-launch in February, and Barre Bootcamp 2 this spring. I’m working with a business coach in 2021 and she’s helping me streamline my processes and sharing her expertise for upcoming launches.

I hit Senior Director with Beautycounter this past year, which was one of my huge goals for 2020. I enjoy my work with Beautycounter and our team SO much —  it’s been such an enjoyable and rewarding aspect of my business. I currently have 50 amazing women on our team and I would love to grow that number to 75. We have monthly team calls where we brainstorm and share ideas, and I enjoy mentoring everyone who joins us on this mission to share clean and safer products with those we love. My goal is to hit Executive Director in 2021 with 75 team members. If you’re interested in learning more, please send me an email (gina@fitnessista.com) and I’d love to chat about it! Whether you’re looking for a side hustle or a full-time income, you’re surrounded by other like-minded women, cheering you on.

Personal:

– Every day, I want to make sure our babies feel cherished and supported so they can truly thrive. I’m always striving to be the best mom and wife that I can be, and while I’m absolutely a work in progress, this is something I’m going to continue to focus on for the upcoming year.

Going forward, I’m still not sure about what we’re going to do about the school situation. Liv’s schedule is bananas, and the distance learning is fairly involved for parents which end up doing a significant amount of the teaching despite the Google Meets.

I’m supposed to enroll P for kindergarten, but I can’t fathom dropping her off at school the way things are now. There’s no way she would let me drop her off at a new school, on the curb, without being able to walk her in. So, I might be keeping P home unless things change. I’m also considering puling Liv out and homeschooling, as well. The school thing has been a big stressor for me because I have to work during the day and hate feeling like I’m ignoring them while I work. I feel like the social benefits of school are so huge, but since that aspect is so removed right now, it might be worth it just to keep them home and save the higher tuition costs. If you have any tips on homeschooling + working from home, please send them my way!

– I’m crossing my fingers that we have a symphony season next year so I can sing again. Our season was canceled and I was pretty bummed about it. I’m pretty sure that if I get to sing Messiah at Christmas next year, I’ll cry like a weirdo the entire time. Choir something that was so soul-hugging for me and I was pretty sad when it was (understandably) removed.

– Home improvements! We have some pretty big ones coming our way in 2021. We’re ripping out the original upstairs carpet and installing wood (we did our master bedroom years ago but carpet will be finally be GONE) and a couple other fun projects that we’ll share later.

– Cultivating friendships. I used to work out at a gym with an awesome group of gals, but haven’t been back since February. I’d love to be able to make it back and am hoping that regular girls’ nights and small trips with friends can be on the agenda for 2021.

– Read more, pray more, more stretching/yoga, less time on my phone, more organization, more kicking back and enjoying the moments. It feels like the kids have already grown SO quickly, so I’m just trying to really cherish these times with them. They challenge me and make me laugh every single day.

If you’ve made it through this insanely long post, I’m sending you a high five and a hug. I’d love to hear something that makes you proud when you look back on 2020. What’s something you’re planning on doing in 2021?

xo
Gina