Today I turned 31. Whew has it been a whirlwind of a year. I love that my birthday falls in the middle of the year – it’s the halfway point to the holidays, the starting point of summer, and the perfect time to set new intentional goals. My birthday has always felt like a refresh point.

For some, birthdays signal another year passed. They signal growing older and the loss of time. I’ve never felt this way about my birthday, but perhaps it is because I do my very best to attempt to see the glass as half full. Birthdays are also about making wishes right?! Today my biggest wish for the year ahead is to make this year the best year yet. Seems cliché – doesn’t?  Goals and dreams, are supposed to have definable features in order to be worked towards and achievable right? Bear with me there are more layers to this wish…

Today I am sharing – albeit late in the evening but oh well better to share than not to share) – the 12 things I am working towards in year 31 (all of which contribute towards the goal of striving for the best year yet).

1. More Time Following My Heart
2. Less Time Worrying About The Naysayers and The Comparison Thief
3. Laying the Foundation for Big Business Changes
4. A Focus on Quality Over Quantity
5. More Self Care
6. Clearer Boundaries
7. Less Stuff
8. An Engaged Member of a Life Giving Home
9. Together Find Financial Freedom
10. More Faith Less Fear
11. Give More
12. Be More

These goals are so much more than goals. They are value based drivers I have been praying over for a few months – particularly when the chaos of life seems to on the rise. And right now – with a recent move and the hustle of wedding season, there seems to be more chaos than what is usually welcomed in our home and in my heart.

Being that we are halfway through the year, this natural 6 month reflection point that beautifully coincides with my birthday allows for new goals to be set. At the beginning of the year, I set a lofty goal to cultivate peace in all aspects of my life. Truthfully this was going well for a while and then life, projects, and busy came roaring back. It’s interesting to see that the values articulated above all contribute to a search for internal and external peace. Over the next few months I plan to share the heart behind these goals and ways in which I am working towards them. Maybe they will resonate with some of you – encourage you to believe that your time is valuable, your dreams are valuable, and the ones you called love ones are invaluable. They will be featured in a series of posts that I hope to put together regularly on the journal – ones that I hope speak from a place of encouragement, a place that resonates with many regardless of your life season.

I mentioned in a recent Instagram post that I can feel my heart being pulled towards simplicity, towards quality, and towards things, moments, experiences that bring joy. Perhaps it is turning a year older or maybe the recent move but right now there feels like there is so much excess in many areas of my life. It reminds me of the current state of our new home’s yard – overgrown, not well tended to (and probably hasn’t been in years), and a little chaotic if I am being honest. But through all the mess – I clearly can see the potential. I know I’ve said this before but there is beauty in the mess and it comes from knowing you are not alone in the journey. So here’s to birthdays, wishes, and making the second half of the year/next year one for the record! Cheers to 31!

All images | Caroline Logan Photography | Photography & Workshop

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