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Joanna Gaines‘ goal for 2023 is to continue her personal growth. This challenge sets her up for professional and personal success. “Presence” is what Joanna craves most in the new year. However, as a busy mom, businesswoman, and wife of Chip Gaines, those moments of personal stillness are challenging. Still, Joanna has vowed to take a moment to absorb those moments of nothingness, a craving she discussed in a blog post.

Joanna Gaines cooks in the kitchen of her discovery+ show.
Joanna Gaines | Discovery+/Magnolia Network

What is Joanna Gaines’ definition of ‘presence?’

In her message for her Magnolia website, Joanna explained her definition of “presence.” She alluded to tender family memories and other joyful moments that would otherwise go unnoticed.

“The taste of my grandad’s favorite recipe. Or, the sound of silence, broken by crackles from the fireplace. The heat of hot cocoa in my hands,” she noted.

“The details are what I’ve learned to pull close for those times when I sense the urge to sink back into them. Later, after days or months, or years have passed. To breathe them in again and feel them once more,” Joanna continued.

Joanna Gaines’s tips for embracing “presence’ in everyday life

Moments of quiet are challenging to come by as a mother of five children, Drake, Crew, Emmie, Ella, and Duke. She also runs a multi-faceted business and tends to a farm and garden. However, Joanna believes it is in these moments that one becomes refreshed and focused on the small things that soon become part of the bigger picture.

“I think it’s more about choosing to lean in when you could easily lean out. Letting something catch your attention instead of brushing it off,” Joanna wrote in the blog post.

“It’s recognizing a moment so beautiful that it steals your heart—and then choosing it,” Joanna explained. Over everything else. Seeing it through. Presence, I’m learning, is revealed in our noticing. It’s in the pause. Where all is calm, all can be bright.”

The ‘Magnolia Table’ star further discussed how life prompted her to take a closer look at the things holding her back from joy

Joanna Gaines holds a copy of her book 'The Stories We Tell.'
Joanna Gaines holds a copy of her book ‘The Stories We Tell’ | Craig Barritt/Getty Images for HarperCollins
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In her book “The Stories We Tell,” Joanna reflected on her life and the challenges that pushed her to create a life beyond her wildest dreams. Per a Magnolia post, she wrote, “The only way to break free was to rewrite my story.”

In a particularly poignant passage, part of which connects to Joanna’s intent for “presence” in 2023, the Magnolia Kitchen host shared she needed to take a closer look at her life. She explained how taking a moment to “catch her breath” helped her slow down to celebrate her wins and learn from her losses.

“To retrace as many moments of pain, regret, and grief as there have been moments of beauty, grace, and joy,” Joanna wrote in her book as if looking ahead toward her 2023 goals. “Slow down enough to celebrate the wins and learn from the losses.”

“Navigate all that I’m carrying here and now—noting what needs to be left behind so I can move forward a little lighter and freer. To learn what was holding me back and what would inch me closer to the kind of life I was building in my dreams,” she continued.

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