Kine lovise Fredriksen

Author: Kine Lovise 🖤

  • Work week in my life

    Work week in my life

    I denne ukens video tar jeg dere med på en arbeidsuke i mitt liv – den vanlige gode hverdagen, med dens rutiner og opp og nedturer.

  • Holmenkollstafetten 2025

    I denne ukens video tar jeg dere med på prep og gjennomføring av Holmenkollstafetten 2025 hvor jeg løper sammen med “drikkelaget” – aka laget som stiller for å være med på banketten etterpå – til BDO Romeriket, da Innlandet ikke greide å stille lag i år. Det var en fullspekket dag, med utrolig mye folk og helt fantastisk vær! Videoen er i hovedsak på engelsk!

  • Holiday weekend VLOG

    I denne ukens video tar jeg deg med på en rolig langhelg hjemme. Her gjør jeg alle de små tingene som bidrar til at livet går litt enklere resten av tiden, og som gjør at jeg føler meg litt bedre bedre generelt. Det blir selvpleie, husarbeid, joggetur og shopping.

    Om du ønsker å sikre deg å få med deg neste video er det bare å abonnere på nyhetsbrev fra denne bloggen for å få mail hver gang et nytt innlegg deles, eller bli subscriber på Youtube. Du finner meg også på de fleste sosiale medier under “kinelovise” !

    Q: Hva skal til for at du føler deg litt bedre i hverdagen?

  • Spring Closet Cleanout

    Jeg er tilbake på Youtube (igjen), og i denne ukens video tar jeg dere med på en gjennomgang av alle klærne jeg har, får bort det som ikke kan eller ønskes brukt lenger, og i tillegg bytter ut vintergarderoben med den mer tilpasset vår og sommer. Vinterjakker og høyhalser skal ut, og sommerkjoler og olajakker kommer inn. Videoen er på engelsk!

    Om du ønsker en påminnelse hver gang jeg legger ut et nytt innlegg kan du enten abonnere på nyhetsbrev for bloggen, bli en subscriber på YouTube, eller følge med på mine andre sosiale medier hvor jeg vil dere hver gang det kommer ut et nytt innlegg.

    Q; Gjør du sesongskifte av garderoben? Og når var sist du selv tok en gjennomgang av hva som gjemte seg i klesskapet?

  • Gratulerer med kvinnedagen…?

    Gratulerer med kvinnedagen…?

    Jeg har lenge hatt vanskelig for å si at jeg skal “feire” kvinnedagen, til tross for at kvinner gjør og er mye som er verdt å feire. Utfordringen ligger nok i at jeg føler en usikkerhet rundt hvorfor vi sier den feires. Kanskje det handler om å prøve å holde oss positive, og slik velge å fokusere på alle de fantastiske kvinnene som omgir oss, og alt vi kan og allerede har fått til? Slik sett høres det jo veldig flott ut.

    Når begynte vi egentlig å si det? “Gratulerer med kvinnedagen” og “feire kvinnedagen”? Har det alltid vært slik, eller var det noen som begynte en dag de selv følte at arbeidet var ferdig – likestilling i verden var nådd, og alt som sto igjen var å gratulere og feire? Dagen ble tross alt i 1910 vedtatt som en internasjonal demonstrasjonsdag for kvinners rettigheter, og ble i 1977 også anerkjent av FN som dette. Kilder som snakker om historien til kvinnedagen snakker i hovedsak om markering av dagen, ikke feiring av den.

    Det kan nok oppleves som småpirk, men små ord kan få stor betydning. Når vi snakker om å feire kvinnedagen opplever mange tydelig at roser, flotte ord og rød løper for kvinnene rundt seg er måten å gjøre det på, også stopper vi der. Det sees ikke nærmere på kilder som forteller hva som fremdeles gjør denne dagen så viktig, eller hvilken reell betydning de kan utgjøre utover en hyggelig oppmerksomhet til en kvinne eller to de kjenner. Det gjelder selvfølgelig ikke alle, men mange tror jeg kan ha godt av en poengtering av at dagen markeres – kvinner feires.

    Om ikke lenger en kampdag i så måte, er det en dag for å rette søkelys mot kvinners situasjon og posisjon i den verden vi står i, i dag. For all del feire hvor langt vi har kommet, men fokusere på det som gjenstår – på veien videre.

    I forbindelse med kvinnedagen valgte jeg å delta på Handelshøyskolen BI’s “International Women’s Day Celebration” arrangert i samarbeid med Oslo Business Region, AW Magazine, og ABG Sundal Collier Foundation for Women in Finance. På en power point slide fra Anna Fiskå Paulsen fremkommer det et spørsmålstegn på slutten av “Happy International Women’s Day?”, og tilhørende respons fra salen tilsa en enighet om at ordet “Happy” opplevdes lite beskrivende.

    På arrangementet ble nyere forskning og rapporter tilknyttet kvinner i business, finans og entreprenørskap presentert, med fokus på andel kvinnelige styremedlemmer og daglige ledere, hvordan kvinner (ikke egentlig) investerer, og hvordan det ikke ser ut til at en eneste bransje som har et flertall kvinnelige daglige ledere eller styremedlemmer.

    Deretter ble vi presentert med et utvalg suksesshistorier presentert av kvinner som har fått det til, og som også brenner for å hjelpe resten av de som ønsker det, nå opp. Historier som inspirer, slik at de noe deprimerende faktaene vi så langt var presentert med ikke skulle bli demotiverende, men gi nye innfallsvinkler og argumenter i videre arbeid.

    Til tross for en svært stressende hverdag om dagen som revisor midt i årsoppgjør, utfordringer på hjemmebane, og et nylig lever prosjekt jeg kommer mer tilbake til ved en senere anledning, er jeg svært glad jeg tok meg tid til denne markeringen hos BI. For dette var akkurat det jeg trengte for å ikke grave meg ned i nyheter, stress og deprimerende statistikker. Det å høre at vi er fler som prøver, og som møter mange av de samme gamle argumentene av de som ikke ønsker eller greier å forstå at et arbeid og en kamp for en gruppes muligheter og rettigheter, ikke er arbeid mot eller hat for en annen gruppes. For ikke å snakke om en påminnelse om at det er folk der ute som får det til, som overkommer statistiske sannsynligheter og imposter syndrom, og når opp!

    Om så jeg tror vi trenger å fokusere på at det er snakk om en markering, mer enn en feiring, er jeg fylt med friskt mot om at uavhengig av om utfordringene er mange og ofte vanskelige, så nytter det. For vi er fler som ikke har mistet håpet – og så lenge vi fremdeles har det, skal vi kunne komme langt!

    Kilder:
    – https://snl.no/Kvinnedagen

  • Being a Multipotentialite

    Being a Multipotentialite

    Some years ago I was watching TV, a bit bored and uninspired, and therefore of course decided to open the app for TEDx talks. I found a list that I thought looked promising, and watched video after video until I came across the one that really would do it for me. This was Emilie Wapnick’s TEDx talk on “Why some of us don’t have one true calling”, that you can watch if you click HERE. They introduced me to the term “Multipotentialite”, and had me crying!

    Growing up, I have long since lost count of how often I changed my mind regarding what, and how many different things, I wanted to be when I grew up – ranging from one thing, to something COMPLETELY different.

    I both wanted to be a world famous singer, and a great writer using a pseudonym, being unknown to everyone. I wanted to teach, and I wanted to work somewhere where I never had to talk to anyone. I wanted to be able to work full time as a blogger and influencer living life on my own terms and time, and I wanted to work for someone so I was able to take a vacation, be sick, and be able to rely on a system to take of me without me having to take all of the decisions or have all the responsibility. But growing up, I was also always told that I would grow out of it and find my one place in the world. That it would just click, and I would sit there just finally knowing my one true calling in the world.

    Well, here I am at 29, and I don’t know if the problem is that I just never actually grew up (which might be the case) or if they were just not what I have found I might be – namely a multipotentialite. A multipotentialite is defined as those of us with many interests, many jobs over a lifetime, and many interlocking potentials. We have many paths, and we pursue them all, either sequentially or simultaneously (or both). And what I found most inspiring was the way they explained the potential and importance of this “trait”!

    The world today, I think, is very much favoring experts, and with good reason of course – people so interested in and great at one specific topic they know everything there is to know about it at this time. The ones you ask if you have a problem relating to that topic, the ones you want to handle that for you. But being an expert means you often have (want) to spend most or all of your time on that specific topic, giving you little time to look into other things, and therefor making it very difficult to be able to see how your expertise could benefit or revolutionize something else. That is where the multipotentialites come in!

    With so many interests and pursuits in life, one can gain a lot of basic knowledge of many different things – reading up, talking to knowledgable people on the topics, maybe even the experts themselves – one can start seeing threads, connections and correlations no one else has been able to notice, because no one else has been interested enough in both, or all, the necessary topics to be able to make the connection.

    Although the term multipotentialite is relatively new, being introduced in the TEDx Talk in 2015, what it describes is of course not. But it was the first time I was presented to it in a way that really made sense and deeply resonated with me. And it was definitely the first time I was presented with it in such a positive and uplifting way! But as I take it up in conversations with people, I am faced with the reality of very few of these people having come across the term, and knowing how much I feel I have benefited by it, I felt I just had to share a little introduction to it, so it might help you as well or someone you know.

    Multipotentialism does of course not just relate to your work or your career, as I see with all the hobbies I ping pong between! Current ones being archery, sewing, knitting, organization, reading, simple nail art and a bit of baking maybe soon pasta making(?); overwhelmed just listing them!

    Doing my mini research and update for writing this, I also noticed that they have written a book on the topic as well which I decidedly put straight on my TBR list! You can find more information on the book HERE on Goodreads. And if you’re wondering if this could be you, I implore you to go watch the TEDx talk on the link above, where you on the bottom of the page also can take a test, I saw, which we all love? Below I also found a good visualization by Tanmay Vora.

    Nothing in this post is ad based or shared on any other basis than that I wanted to.

    So, what about you? Had you heard of the term before, and do you think you might be one? What are some of your interests? I would love to know!

    For now, have a great rest of your day, and I’ll talk to you again in a week!

  • 11 Non fictions books I read in and recommend from 2023

    11 Non fictions books I read in and recommend from 2023

    This week I am back to give you another round of book recommendations, this time a selection of non fiction books I read in 2023 that I think would be worth your time. I have chosen to present them by my own categories below, and not by which I think is better nor in what order I read them. The categories below will be (1) generic, kind of feel good, personal development books, (2) more biographical, feminism-ish books, (3) helpful facts, and (4) impactful women power books. So there should be something for anyone, but not everything is always meant for everyone. But here are my recommended non-fiction books that I read in 2023.

    First out are these three, which I feel like is the most generic out of the bunch – good options for just about anyone.
    1. Make your bed, by William H. McRaven talks about, as it also says on the cover, the small things that can change your life, and maybe even the world. Admiral William H. McRaven, that is, shares his ten principles that he learned during his Navy seal training which has helped him overcome challenges, not only as a Navy seal, but also in life in general. With just over 100 pages, he gives you exactly what you need to get started and find a way to believe you can do it – that you can make it. It is such a nice and easy read, and perfect if you’re feeling a bit down or unmotivated in life. Would fit just about anyone, and a book you’d want on your bookshelf so you can read it again the next time you need a little pick me up. I gave this FOUR stars on Goodreads.
    2. The law of success in sixteen lessons, by Napoleon Hill is a classic. One of the business books recommended by everyone for almost 100 years, and the one that started off Napoleon Hill’s self-help odyssey back in 1928. This book talks about 16 lessons you need to learn to have success, those being “The Master Mind”, “A Definite Chief Aim”, “Self-Confidence”, “The Habit of Saving”, “Initiative and Leadership”, “Imagination”, “Enthusiasm”, “Self-Control”, “Habit of Doing More than Paid For”, “Pleasing Personality”, “Accurate Thought”, “Concentration”, “Co-Operation”, “Failure”, “Tolerance”, and ” The Golden Rule”. Even though this book now is old (though it has been reviewed since its release), and I really do not agree with all of the lessons completely, I do really think there are important takeaways and food for thought that makes it worth the annoyance I felt at times. Prior to this I have also read another book by him, Think and Grow Rich, which I would also recommend. Definitely written in a time where women weren’t among the intended audience, but didn’t feel it was too difficult to look past that and focus on the point being delivered. Gave it FOUR stars on Goodreads.
    3. 101 Essays that will Change the way You Think, by Brianna Wiest is I think one of today’s most talked about collections of essays designed to make you evaluate how to think and feel about almost everything. I listened to this on audiobook, but I do think I would have enjoyed it more if had read it as a physical book where it is easier to just stop and go back to really acknowledge the content better. But what I could gather and take in, did have an impact, and I would recommend it just based on that as well – but I do think the benefit will be better if read physically! Will get back to you on that when I get around to doing that though. Gave it FOUR stars on Goodreads.

    Next up, there’s two more, like, biographical books, and one more interview based, but all three on being a woman in the world.
    4. Girls will be girls, by Emer O’Toole, follows her story of trying to fit in and not, by dressing up, playing parts and daring to act differently, as she says on the cover. She shares many stories of how being a woman a lot of times is just a performance, to survive and live, and be viewed in a way you want. How the way you dress, talk, conform or change impacts how you’re treated, and why playing outside the rules is the way to go. Such an honest, nuanced and overall great book on the topic. Felt relatable both regarding my journey of becoming a feminist, and of being a woman and finding out what that means for me. Heartily recommend! Gave it FIVE stars on Goodreads.
    5. The Only Woman in the Room, by Eileen Pollack, goes into her story of being a woman in science all the way from primary school to where she is now, and “why science is still a boys’ club”. Talking about how she was treated differently from a young age, because why would a girl want or need good grades in the hard sciences even though she was better than the others? But also on how women and men in the field have different needs, and how she sees everything in hindsight after talking with some of the people involved. A very good reed, and I gave it FOUR stars on Goodreads.
    6. Secrets of six-figure Women, by Barbara Stanny, is based on talks and interviews with women earning above $100 000, and their “surprising strategies to up your earnings and change your life”. Although there were relevant takeaways in this book, I do feel it was very American focused and not that transferable to my life here in Norway. But there are definitely some good mindset shifts and ways of thinking I took from this that I feel can help. Worth a read, but not necessarily without also getting your information from other places as well. Gave this FIVE stars on Goodreads when I read it, being very hyped, but would probably downgrade to three and a half thinking back.

    Thirdly, I have a collection of two very fact based books, and a third that feels fact based and is VERY helpful – loved ALL of these!
    7. Why We Sleep, by Matthew Walker, is a book I would recommend everyone read and then recommend to everyone they know. I had to find both a marker and some tiny post-it notes, because it became obvious that this was a book I needed to reference after I was finished reading it. This talks about how sleep is one of the most important aspects of our life, and how detrimental it can be to not take it seriously, but also how much of a difference it can make in your life to do take it seriously. Written by an actual scientific expert, having done a lot of research on the topic for many years, who knows the topic well enough to be able to write it in a comprehendible way for those of us who hasn’t. A must read, and I gave this FIVE stars on Goodreads.
    8. Divergent Mind, by Jenara Nerenberg, on how to “thrive in a world that wasn’t designed for you” as a neurodivergent person. This is a formidable study of neurodivergent women, those with ADHD, autism, synesthesia, high sensitivity, and sensory processing disorder, and how and why these traits so often have been, and still are, overlooked in women. As well as why we as a society would gain so much more if it wasn’t so. This was such a good book, and definitely one I would recommend to anyone wondering if this might relate to you or any woman you know. I gave it FIVE stars on Goodreads.
    9. The Clutter Connection, by Cassandra Aarssen, on “how your personality type determines why you organize the way you do” was also a favorite of 2023, and I have started following her YouTube channel afterwards. She is also known as The clutterbug, and have made four types of organizers – and there’s also a test online where you can find out which one you are. This helped me a lot, both in bettering my own systems, but also in understanding others – especially how my systems differ from my parents. So if you too struggle a bit with making your systems work for you, definitely read this book! I gave this FIVE stars on Goodreads.

    Finally I have the two non-fiction books I read in 2023 that probably made the biggest difference for me, the first on how to take back your power as a woman, and the second on why we still live in a world where we need to read the first book – kind of.
    10. Unbound – A Woman’s Guide to Power, by Kasia Urbaniak, was such a refreshing read, my mind was just continuously blown throughout the entire read. I did read it on Audible first, but as soon as I was done I went straight to the internet to buy the physical book! This will be one of those “on repeat” books to ingrain all the lessons and continuously integrate the exercises to be the best version of myself for both me and everyone else. And a books I definitely would recommend to anyone finding it hard to stand up for yourself, what you believe in and what you deserve. I gave it FIVE stars on Goodreads.
    11. The Authority Gap, by Mary Ann Sieghart, on “why women are still taken less seriously than men, and what we can do about it”, was another new love of my life. That book now has so many markings, tags, and generally lot of things I want to look at again and review at a later time. Her points I feel are so well presented, and just gave so much sense – I was definitely pissed a lot, but that is at the world, not the messenger of course. It asks you some hard questions on that even though you maybe believe in equality, and accept that women are as intelligent and competent as men, do you actually take women as seriously, do you read what they write or books written by them and so on. I absolutely gave this book a FIVE on Goodreads.

    So, did you find anything to peak your interest? Let me know if you’ve either read any of these books, or plan on reading any of them based on my suggestion – I would love to hear your opinion. Maybe you also have a recommendation for me? Leave them in the comments below. See you again in a week!

  • Fantasy books I read in 2023

    Fantasy books I read in 2023

    Dipping my toe back into the YouTube game today to talk to you a bit about the fantasy books I read in 2023. Will also preface the fact that there should be no spoilers contained other than that I will be reading the blurb on the back of the first books in the series only – so you should be safe unless you like going in totally blind, which I think would probably not make you a part of the audience of such a video – hehe.

    If you by chance is not of the fantasy book kind of people, I will also be sharing a blogpost soon on some of the non-fiction books I read in 2023 that I would recommend. To be sure not to miss that post, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter to get an e-mail as soon as it’s out or follow me on my socials @ kinelovisecom on Facebook or @kinelovise on IG. See you in a week!

  • 29 – my thoughts and vision

    29 – my thoughts and vision

    Here I am, at 29, and feel no different than at 28. Well, that is not completely true though. Cause I don’t feel different from who I was a week ago, but I definitely feel different from who I was a full year ago having just finished my 28th revolution around the sun. It is always kind of weird looking back, and yesterday I was sat here with my neighbor and started just looking through the photo album I made from 2019 – and we were both very much certain that that was a completely different person. That was the year I finished my bachelors degree, moved to this city I’m still in, and started working as an auditor at BDO, where I still work.

    The most visible difference from the pictures, is that I was still very much in a FOMO state of mind. So scared of not fitting in or be surrounded by people, and not so scared of never living life as who I felt like on the inside. When thinking back I was kind of determined to work really hard at not really being myself. Both in who I thought I had to be for the work I was going into, and wanting to try and fit into a place I remember very much not fitting into when I last lived in the city. And only four years after 2019 was over, I am here – still not really feeling like I know my place in the world or what my purpose is to actually be, but compared to that version of myself I have come such a long way of settling in my self I almost get tears in my eyes thinking about it.

    Since it now has been a couple of days since my birthday, I have had a bit of time reflecting over where and who I am now, and what I want this year of life to be. And I do think my main point of action is to not really do anything big or new for just like one year. There is one thing I hope will happen this year I have not done before, but as that is something that’s been in the works and planned for some time – I don’t really count that. But other than that I want to just complete what I am doing, continue with what is working, and having the big thing happening be mental.

    I will be finishing my master’s degree this year, and then get back to working full time again. But other than that, I want to just focus on moving my body the way I like, spending time on my creative endeavors as knitting and sewing which I have become really comfortable with. As well as continuing on my witchy and spiritual path, that I have gotten on over the last like six months – and working on my shadow self (meaning mental unknown parts of myself) to better figure out who I am and who I am meant to be. I am really excited! And I really aim to focus on being 29, and not just thinking “soon to be 30”. Trying to live in the moment – I’ll get back to you on how I manage with this! heh.

    Of course, I have also made a new vision board for this year – trying to keep it simple and to the point – and thought I’d share it with you. We’ll do a review later and see if anything needs editing with how the year progresses, but at least I’ve got a starting point. So, let’s try and make this year the best it can be!

    Q: Have you made your own vision board this new year? What’s the thing you’re looking most forward to on it?

  • My 2023 recap and reflections

    My 2023 recap and reflections

    2023 was a weird year for me. It was kind of what I would call a depressed year, which to me is what I call a year that feels negative and that I’m happy to be over, but when I list both the positives and the negatives of the year, the positives list grows faster and longer than the negatives list. I’m quite sure this has a lot to do with having a lot of background stress during the first half, and then just never getting the chance to relax and reset again until now, but I’ll get more back to that later in the negatives prompt. So let’s go through them in the order I presented them in yesterday’s post.

    Big purchases of the year, and where my money went

    I want to start out by really underlining how privileged I know I am to having been able to make these purchases this year, and do feel allowed to skip by this part of my post if you’re in a position that makes this triggering to you.
    The five things that top my list of purchases I still am truly delighted I made this year is first both my sewing and my overlock machine, these have brought me so much joy and I’ve thought myself to sew things I really love and that fit me well. The third was my electrical bicycle, although I did not get to use it as much as I’d like because of some health things and then bad weather and bad mental health – but I really look forward to using it a lot more this upcoming summer. Forth I let go of the last chances I had of affording a vacation to buy my own archery equipment, and of my do I adore that choice. And last of my top five, I finished off this year by getting myself a new MacBook Air. The last time I bought myself a computer was back in 2014 when I started university for the first time, and although that one has been a really good friend during the years, it could no longer keep up with me – and a new one was needed and with enough funds to make that happen, I got myself the best combined Christmas and birthday present I could.

    What are some big positives of the year?

    I started of the year by celebrating my birthday with a sledging and grilling on a fire pan day with some great people, and started three new hobbies I really love and have continued – these being Archery, sewing clothes and knitting sweaters. These have all brought me so much happiness, and such feelings of accomplishment and problem solving – I can’t see myself ever quitting them. I did also get into shadow work and working with the lunar phases which I feel has been very beneficial to me. I went to my first medieval festival, and loved it, and I did as well get another tattoo from my favorite book of my favorite book series Throne of Glass. I ate so much good food, went to a cabin with Heidi and really relaxed. And although it was a result of most likely the saddest thing to happen this year, I managed to fulfill my longest held promise to my grandad “Offa”. As he 19 years ago asked me if I, when his funeral came, could sing the song Gabriella’s Song. Although that was a promise easier made when I still believed I would become a song star and not an auditor, I’m really happy and proud I managed to come through on it.

    What are some big negatives of the year?

    Back to why my first half of the year had me lost, stressed and a bit empty. One of my goals for 2023 was to do some necessary health check ups – and one of these is that from the age of 25 in Norway you’re supposed to get yourself checked for cervical cancer. But when I turned 25, the world soon went into lock down because of Covid, and that got more on the back burner. 2023 I therefore decided it was about time, and I got an appointment at the end of January – which to me already is a traumatic experience because of other experiences I’ll not get into. A bit more than a month later I got the message that I had both the relevant viruses and cell changes that required further testing. Another more invasive test done, and another month of waiting later I got the same message again and that I would be sent to the hospital to get the tissue in question removed and sent in for further testing on whether or not it was cancerous or not. Luckily the message came back that it was not, but that message did not come until the beginning of August – meaning that for half a year I always had the thought of do I have cancer or not living in the back of my mind, which was definitely very draining.

    As soon as I got that message, it was back to work and school and the normal stress of life without having the time to just breathe. There were floods and drought, there were (and are) wars going on, and in general the world felt like a negative and hopeless place. My mental health was crap, and getting out of bed and apartment in general this fall was a feat in and of itself. Exam and school stress got started for real at the end of October, and then in November one of my grandads, Offa, very quickly got sick, and ended up dying in the midle of December. Underlining this year as not one of the good or great ones.

    How have I changed over the last year?

    Over the last year I have spent a lot of time doing shadow work, diving deeper into myself and especially the parts I have for different reasons been thought to, or found easiest to hide. Some of the shadow work got pressed on my by the things that happened, making it necessary if I were to have any hope of getting back to days where it did not feel incomprehensible to want to get out of bed. But I have also found myself getting calmer with in myself with this work, and get more comfortable with what I really want and need. I feel like I’ve started to land within myself, not completely, but I’m getting there. My plans for the future have changed a bit, and I have come even more over on the side of JOMO instead of FOMO (joy instead of fear of missing out). I am both sadder and happier, more and less confused, and in the same but different place. It feels as weird as it sounds, but I am excited to see where this same but new me takes me in 2024 and all the next years after that.

    Things I’ve accomplished and am proud of this year.

    I took chances and started new hobbies I have dreamt of doing for many years, but never had the courage, money or time to really get into. I’ve made some of my favorite pieces of clothing, and even my first corset which I first started drawing and dreaming of back in 2008. And although my life was been messy and stressful, with a not awesome mental health, I have been able to finish two full semesters of my masters degree in accounting and auditing at BI without flunking any course. I also managed to get out of bed each and every day of the year, which definitely has been an accomplishment for me this year. And to bake in the improvements prompt here as well, I have during this year become a lot better at seing and taking into account my own needs, to assess my alternatives more calmly, and spend my energy more efficiently. I also have gotten better at accepting imperfection, which I’ve worked on with both my studies and my sewing projects – good enough is good enough. I’m not perfect at it, but better at least.

    What or who am I leaving behind in 2023?

    I want to leave behind more of my inherent need to prove myself worthy, or to be someone I really don’t actually want to be. This, as well as my fear that others will negatively interpret my self-assurance and my knowing who I am and what I can make happen. Some always will, and I have to quit seeing that as anything other than their own insecurities and cultural influence. And my biggest thing I want to leave in 2023, is my need of other to understand me, who I am and why I want or do what I do. I know my goal is never to hurt others or make their life worse, if others don’t believe that I can’t keep making it my problem if it doesn’t have to be.

    And finally – I forgive myself for…

    … letting it get as bad as it got at times. I know that I have dealt with anxiety and depression for many years, and feel that I should know better. But I also know that no two times are the same, and you never want to believe it is as bad as it is before you either have gotten out of it again or there’s no other choice. At least that is the case for me.

    So there you have it, the good, the bad, the great, the challenging and some of the things in between.

    I must of course preface that there is no way I would fit everything in this post, and although I to many seem to have shared very much many would want to keep private, I have in no way shared everything. I have never been as private as many, and I do share more of my negatives as well because I do feel they are important for others to see – both those that never though about those things, and those that feel feel or have felt alone due to them. I am hopeful and excited for the year to come – and may 2024 be what is has to be, and hopefully more positive.

    Q: What prompt did you find hardest to answer?

  • How to: 2023 reflections

    How to: 2023 reflections

    Over the last couple of weeks, after all my exams for the semester was over, I have slowly tried to work myself through a bit of 2024 prep. It’s not all finished yet, but I do feel that it is fitting to continue with the prep in January – or even if you haven’t started yet, it’s is never to late in my opinion if you want to help yourself have as good of a year as possible. If you’re feeling out of sorts, just a bit lost in yourself, or you’re generally just not happy with your own life? It’s always best to start when you’re ready, no need to wait for a new year or even a new week.

    But no matter when you start, I am definitely of the opinion that reviewing and reflecting over what your life has been like over the last year (or even couple of years) is a necessary place to start.

    For my own 2023 reflection, I went into prompts like these:
    – What are some big purchases I made during this year, or where did my money go in general?
    – What are some big positives of the year?
    – What are some big negatives of the year?
    – How have I changed over the last year?
    – Did you make goals for the year, how did they go?
    – What are some things I’ve accomplished this year that I’m proud of?
    – In what areas did I make the most improvements?
    – What and/or who am I leaving behind in 2023?
    – I forgive myself for…

    To make this list I roamed Pinterest for reflection prompts, and made a long list of the ones I found that maybe could be relevant for me and a friend I did this with, and then we sat down and chose this selection for ourself. There are definitely a lot of others that could fit your better, or maybe that should be added. But sometimes it’s nice to start small. These I feel like are specific, but still encompass a lot each, and they focus on the positive, while not neglecting the negative – as both are necessary to be reflected over and dealt with.

    The point of the reflection to me is to put down a base layer to build the next year on. By doing this you can see what you liked and didn’t, what you want more or less of in the new year. Remember also that there are a lot of categories to possibly think about. What about your finances, did you spend your money how you’d like or how you needed to? Did you set some new boundaries with friends and family? Did you start a new hobby (or five like me), or read some good books? Start a new job, loose someone? Maybe you checked up on your health, or had a health scare? How was your mental health? Maybe you put spirituality higher or lower in your life, or changed the way your work out or eat? Or was your greatest achievement this year that you survived?

    Your life consists of so many parts, it’s easy to forget sometimes. Especially when the focus of new years resolutions and all of that, often focus on the big things. But it’s all the little things that really make up life and how we feel about it. So do be proud of your small wins!

    If you’re wanting to do your own prep to try and help yourself make 2024 the best you can, I’ll be posting more tidbits of how I’ve done this myself this year over the next couple of weeks with both a how to like this, as well as sharing some of my own thoughts on each the day after so that you also can have an example to work with. Hope this helps you get started at least, and do let me know if you have questions! And watch our for my 2023 reflections coming up tomorrow.

    Q: Are you doing 2023 reflections this year?