Well hello to you my reader chums! 2021 has certainly had its challenges but also, there were many achievements and wonderful moments I'd love to relive over and over. Most importantly though, it has been a year of learning, healing, and lessons, many of which I want to take into the new year.

Whether you're feeling anxious or excited for the new year, here are 5 lessons to take into 2022.

Your body is the least interesting thing about you

I have written post after post about diet culture, body image, and body confidence as it's a journey I'm still on, learning more and more each day, accepting myself and my body. The diet industry is one that I fight with every day, wanting to stop how they promote and advertise the way we eat. Food is fuel, it's essential, and we deserve to enjoy it without feeling guilty. I could talk about this topic all day long and how we can do our bit to change our attitude around food - in a positive way for ourselves.

This food attitude leads me onto the mindset of our body and learning to love, and accept it. Your body is the least interesting thing about you. It doesn't matter what shape or size you are, it's not the thing people are going to remember about you when we're gone. We're all so fixated on how we look, we often forget to enjoy a dessert without feeling guilty, not wearing an outfit as we don't look perfect, or being present at the moment as we're so obsessed with what others think of us. It's the societal norms that enforce the idea of being skinny and perfect as we live in a fatphobic society but that's not what life is about. You deserve to feel comfortable in your own skin, you owe it to yourself. As soon as I accepted that my body was the least interesting thing about me, I could learn to love the other parts of myself and focus on the things that bring me joy. It's a thought I want to implement into the new year more than anything.

Change your thoughts and you'll change your world

This quote has got me through 2021 and something I will bring into the new year and forevermore. For me, it's really been a year of healing, learning, and mindset changes. Once you switch your mind to think in a more positive way, your whole world can change. The phrase 'mind over matter' is a very true statement as your thoughts can control everything you do in your life and how you feel. You can manifest the life you want through journalling and positive energy and that's something I've been practicing throughout the year - and it has really helped me work towards the things I want in life.

Negative thoughts and feeling low are normal, especially if you have a mental illness, however, it's how you deal with those thoughts and pick yourself back up is what really matters. And, this is something I've been learning to do more this year, changing my thoughts, to give me more of a positive outlook overall. This positive energy has really helped me in more ways than one and allowed me to enjoy life a lot more.

Choosing yourself should be your no1 priority

You need to not only be the love of your own life but the priority in your life. People come and go, jobs come and go, relationships change but the one thing that always remains is you. This is why you need to learn to put yourself first. Being selfish is seen as such a bad thing, but it's not if you're selfish for the right reasons. For example cutting out a toxic friendship, quitting a job that's right for you, saying no to an event to stopping communication with someone. Life is far too short to be endlessly selfless and go along with the crowd when it doesn't make you happy.

2022 is the year to choose you and put your needs and happiness first. You deserve to feel good in every decision you make and it's this attitude that means you can be your true self, live the life you set out, and improve the friendship and relationships around you. When you're choosing yourself, it'll help you choose the right people to surround yourself with and better everything in your path. It's all a mindset after all. And, this has to be one of my favourite lessons I've learnt.

Friendship is about quality, not quantity

I'm incredibly lucky to have loyal, trustworthy, and incredible friends, friends who have stuck with me through everything and always want the best for me. It's something I'm very grateful for every single day and everybody deserves this level of true friendship. But something, I've learnt this year is how it's more important to have a few good friends than lots of mediocre ones. It's something I've always preached anyway but this year especially, I've cut many friendships off which aren't bringing me joy and the small number of friends I do have are the ones who offer the ultimate level of joy, that they fill the gap of having lots of friends.

Healing isn't linear

2021 has been a year of healing, more than I expected it to be. I've learnt a lot about my past trauma and what I've been through, and how I'm able to heal from it. It hasn't been easy and I've certainly learnt how much healing isn't linear as I've experienced highs and lows. Days where I've been on top of the world, and other days where the trauma hits so bad and I've ended up taking a few steps back, But, that's all to do with the healing process and I'm excited to see how another 12 months of focusing on my healing journey turns out to me, to better myself.

I hope you enjoyed this post. What other lessons have you learnt?

Thank you for reading <3