10 Things that inspired me most in 2019
Instead of sharing the 1000th New Year resolution I thought I'd take a minute to reflect on the past year and think about all the things that inspired me. I thought it might inspire you too, so here are my Top 10 Inspirations of 2019:
1. The Gamechangers Documentary on Netflix
The medical (blood) tests on meat eaters vs. vegans left me staring with my mouth wide open. What an incredible difference. I‘m already 80% vegetarian/vegan but I try to dive even more into this in 2020. I took a lot of advice from Kenzie Burke in the past year and tried lots of her recipes, which really helped my digestion. Also my wonderful friend Eva just started an amazing Vegan Cook Channel on Youtube and she does the yummiest dishes! Amazing fact: Patrick got rid off his constant knee pain since we eat more vegan.
Also loved the short docu 73 cows – a touching documentary about a vegan farmer who becomes the first farmer in the UK to to embark upon transitioning from beef farming to entirely organic plant based farming.
2. My personal reading challenge
It started as my New Year's Resolution for 2019 and turned out to be an incredibly inspiring journey that brought me so much joy. Getting back into a frequent reading routine changed my stress levels completely and made me grow so much. I've written more about it here & here. You can follow me on Goodreads at „Carola Pojer“ if you search for some book recommendations.
3. Independent Fashion Labels
I get more and more into sustainable and/or small, independent fashion labels. My absolute favorites last year were Toteme, Peter Do, Petar Petrov, Bevza, Nanushka, Frankieshop, Dagmar. I also started to write down on each Outfit Post whether the item is sustainble or not, just to give you more transparency. In 2020 I try to lay more focus on mindful shopping, sustainability and vintage – more about this soon.
4. Travels
Last year I've decided to really narrow down my Travel Bucket List and divided it into long-haul, middle distance and nearer destinations. I tried to figure out what I really wanted to see from this world, regardless all the Travel Trends. Besides my work trips I've been to Rome, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Salzburg and Dubai (a travel guide is in the making) and it gave me so so much inspiration. The people, the different cultures, smells, sounds, the architecture, the food. This all is pure fuel for my work and if it wasn't for the environment, I would travel nonstopp. But I really try to break it down to a few trips and at least compensate my flights.
5. Deep Talks
Communication is such a huge topic and although we all engage a lot with each other digitally, we tend to forget the real interactions. A deep talk with an inspiring person or a beloved friend feels like a drug for me. It gives me so much energy and happiness, no matter the topic. Last year I've tried to meet more people in real life (or at least do more phone calls with friends abroad), make new friends, engage with strangers. Instead of the shallow „how are you“ questions, I've tried to ask specific ones. Like: What was your highlight this year? What item would you save if your house was burning? This brings every conversation to a whole new level and opens new interesting worlds. Start talking guys! Take some time to meet new people and give more honest compliments.
6. Buying Local
I tried to buy more local and I loved it. I met so many nice people and learned a lot about Vienna. This city has so many amazing shops, especially interior and stationary! As much as I like a quick online shopping from my couch, I really start appreciating leaving the house with a shopping list, discovering new places and meeting inspiring shop owners.
I also discovered a slight weakness for organic bakeries and tiny grocery stores.
7. Instagram & Pinterest
Yap, these two platforms are still my biggest source of inspiration, especially when it comes to interior and travel tipps. I can't tell you how many bedroom pictures I've saved on my Pinterest after we finally found our new house or how many travel folders I own on Instagram. Literally one folder for every city in the world... Social Media can be a curse – we all know that by know – but in this case it is a blessing.
8. Life Organization
I've always been a very organized person but after I've read Anna Newton's An Edited Life I really got hooked onto this life decluttering thing. In May we've started to go through every single room in our apartment, and decluttered it step by step. We got rid of books we didn't even know we had in our book shelf, I got rid off lots of photographs that happened to be blurry, damaged or somehow didn't mean something to me. I sold tons of clothes and furniture, donated beauty stuff and reduced everything to a minimum.
I also got rid of toxic relationships. It's astonishing how many negative people we all carry with us, without even noticing how much energy these so called „friends“ cost us. I ended some of them, it hurt a lot, but in the end I felt liberated. And I'm proud of myself, that I had the courage to do so.
9. Zeit Magazin
I've started a 6 month subscription of the Zeit Magazin and it is pure inspiration. The pictures, the topics, the articles. Oh boy! This brings me a lot of joy and motiviation, although to be honest I wish I had more time to read it more carefully. But I can't wait for the next issue.
10. MUSEUMS
I'm a museum lover. Always have been. I gain so much ideas from my frequent museum visits, no matter if I visit a modern art gallery or ancient objects. A museum is my happy place and it feeds my creativity. What is yours?
