if you’ve been following me this past year, you probably know 2022 was a really challenging year for me, personally, for several reasons. we’ve been walking through secondary infertility now for 3 years, went through 3 rounds of IVF, 3 pregnancies, and 3 losses all in the course of 6 months. infertility, ivf, and miscarriages brought a level of grief into my life i’d never experienced before. these things took a toll on our marriage, my mental + physical health, and pretty much every other area of life.
so as i started reflecting on 2022 at first i thought “ugh, i don’t want to reflect on this past year, it was so hard.” but as i started thinking about it i realized…through all of that pain, so much growth happened. through the heartbreak, new habits were formed, light shined through the brokenness in new ways, and i truly am a different person today than i was at the beginning of the year. kind of a “no pressure, no diamonds” type of year.
although i wouldn’t wish infertility or miscarriages on anyone, the difficulties of this past year have allowed me to really re-orient my life in a way that’s truly allowed me to align myself with my core values and work on becoming the woman i really desire to be! so today i want to share 7 new habits i formed in 2022 (or GOOD things that happened) that i’m SO thankful for and hope to carry on into the new year!
one. counseling
i started seeing a counselor once a week after our 3rd miscarriage in july. i’d done counseling before but very sporadically and never really found a therapist i connected with. i finally found one in july (who actually specializes in grief / all things pre / postnatal) that i really connect with who has been INSANELY helpful for me in this healing process. at first we pretty much talked about grief and loss but the longer i’ve met with her, it’s brought up different areas in my life that i’m working to heal from.
michael and i also started seeing a marriage counselor this fall and we both LOVE it so much! we meet with him every few weeks – so we’ve only had 3 or 4 meetings so far but it’s already been so helpful for our relationship and something we both feel super thankful for! i definitely hope to continue my own individual counseling as well as counseling in 2023.
two. meditation
after hearing SO much about the benefits of meditation from so many people i really admire, i finally decided to give it a try. i am not an expert by any means and still feel very new to meditation but this has been such a life-giving habit for me these past 6 months. i typically meditate for 10-15mins every morning and sometimes at night before i go to sleep. this practice has helped with my anxiety, with my own relationship to my body, and just being more present + intentional overall. similar to how when you go to the gym one time, you don’t leave with a six-pack…meditation is a practice and something i know i’ll continue to get better at and see more and more results from!
three. reading
i made a goal in 2022 to read a book a month and i think i read around 25 books this year! i’m so proud of myself. that’s more than i’ve ever read before and it was SO life-giving. i probably read like 18 physical books and listened to about 7 on audible (another first for me). in 2023 i’m making it a goal to read 2 books a month (one fiction, one non-fiction) because this new habit was SO helpful for me in so many ways
four. slowing down with exercise
you guys know how much i love to be active and workout. previously, i mostly did HIIT or cardio workouts with some strength training mixed in. starting in august..i drastically changed my workout routine from mostly high impact to almost completely low impact. yoga, pure barre, pilates, etc. i could write an entire blog post about this alone but i’ll try and keep it concise here ha. it was VERY scary at first. i did this to help heal my relationship with food / exercise / my body and also for fertility reasons. it’s now been about 5 months of doing almost all low impact workouts and i have grown to love it SO MUCH. i feel like my body just feels so much more balanced / happy and it’s been so life-giving to break the relationship between what i ate / what workout i need to do to burn X calories. it’s no longer about the calorie burn but about what sounds enjoyable to me and what would be healthy + beneficial for my body! i really hope to grow in my yoga + pilates practice in 2023 because i’ve loved these workouts so much!
five. giving up alcohol
in all of 2022 i probably had 5 alcoholic beverages. i gave up alcohol this past year for so many reasons (see THIS POST on why) and it has truly changed my life. i have a few moments every now and then where i’ll kind of miss having a margarita at a really good mexican restaurant (and once in a blue moon, i still will), but overall i feel SO much better, mentally and physically, without alcohol in my life!
six. morning routine
i’ve always been a morning person but this year i really nailed down a morning routine i love. each morning i meditate, drink my athletic greens, spend time with jesus, and go for a walk / watch the sunrise. this routine gives me so much life and helps prepare me for a great day ahead!
seven. supplements
i finally found a supplement routine that works really well for me and it’s truly made my body feel more energetic + balanced and i think also helped with hormone / fertility health as well! i drink athletic greens every morning and also have 3-4 cymbiotika supplements i take (and love) everyday
follow along @laurenkaysims
so even though this past year definitely had it’s fair share of challenges, i’m so thankful for everything that happened because it’s truly grown + shaped me in so many new ways that i hope i carry into the new year and beyond. as cheesy as it sounds, i really believe and have truly lived that without rain, we wouldn’t have rainbows. i am hopeful that i’m entering into a ‘rainbow’ season of life as i continue to grow and heal, and carry all of these new practices with me into the new year!
just want to encourage you guys to take time to reflect on this past year before setting goals for 2023. what were your biggest wins? challenges? this process is always SO helpful for me as i come up with intentions for the new year.
thanks for reading!
xo Lauren