New Goals for the New Year

With the end of the year quickly approaching, I, like so many at this time of year, have been reflecting.  This year was so much fun for so many reasons.  Not a perfect year, but definitely a good one.  If you follow me on Instagram, you know that we packed a lot into this year.  Big goals, big decisions, a little bit of travelling, a lot of donuts....possibly a bottle of wine...or two....or ten.

For those of you who have followed my previous blogs, you may remember that I always, always end the year with "25 Things I've Accomplished this Year".  For those of you who haven't read my old blogs, this is an exercise I encourage everyone to do at the end of the year.  Some people are really intimidated by this exercise.  I often hear, "25 things?  I can't make a list that long. I didn't really do anything this year."

I'm pretty sure you did.

You may not have won a Nobel prize, but I'm sure you did things worth taking some pride in.  Did you finish a book?  Exercise regularly?  Take your kids to the park?  Relax?  Try something new?

Ending the year focusing on what you did right feels good.  Really good.  And the older I get, the better it feels.

There are times in the past where I have shared my list, but most years, it's something I keep to myself. 

But my goals for the new year?  I tend to share the heck out of those.  I find I do this for two reasons:

1) Accountability.  There were a few mornings this year where I found myself lying in a nice, comfy bed in a hotel room really, really wishing that I was not there for the sole purpose of getting out of that bed and running 13 miles in the snow/rain/heat/mud.  But just as I was about to let myself off the hook and go back to sleep, I would remind myself that if I did that, someone was going to ask on Monday about my race for that month and I would have to say, "Ummmm....I skipped it."  And did I want to face that kind of public humiliation?  No.  So I got up and ran.

2) Celebration.  As my Instagram followers can again speak to, I LOVE celebrating just about anything.  One of my core beliefs is that there is something beautiful to celebrate in every day.  Things like "I accidentally ordered way too many tacos for National Taco Day" are frequently heard in our home.  We celebrate almost everything.  And the best thing about accomplishing a goal is definitely celebrating with the people who helped you accomplish it!

Yeah...I really like to share goals.

So to kick off the new year and this new blog, I thought I'd share my 2018 goals as part of this intro post.

10 Goals for 2018

1) Start this new blog.  What am I going to do with it?  Oh, just a little bit of this and that.  The things I love.  Travel, food, family, friends.  Books, clothes, drinks.  Adventures.  Ideas.  Little beautiful moments.



2) Abs.  I ran so many miles last year, but I really neglected any toning or strength training.  Mostly because I don't know anything about how to do either of those things (or are they the same thing? See?  I really don't know) and because there are only so many hours in a day.  But this year?  Ending it with killer abs.

3) Hit my goal weight.

4) Run a marathon - preferably in a foreign country, but that part is still TBD.  As some of you may know, I did a #12months12medals goal this year - one half-marathon per month.  It was a wonderful experience, but this year, I'd like to take a different approach.  Just one race will be sufficient.

5)  Be a better listener.  I struggled with a way to measure this goal, but finally decided on letting my friends and family measure my progress.  After being called out more times than I care to admit for forgetting something that my family insisted they told me, I have decided that improving my listening skills is an absolute must for this year.

6) Read 46 56 (I found some more that REALLY needed to be on the list) books this year.  I will share my reading list in another post and put a link here later, in case anyone is interested in my suggestions.  I always say I should join/create a book club, so if anyone is interested in that, shoot me an email!

7) Learn 12 new things.  I plan on taking one class per month on something I know nothing (or very little) about.   Some of the things I'm looking forward to learning about this year: cake decorating, kickboxing, ceramics, and ballroom dancing.

8) Iowa bar exam is in July.  Because I live here now.

9) No cussing.  I really don't think this one will be too hard.  Cussing isn't really a big thing for me - I don't find a foul mouth to be attractive or classy, especially when children are present.  That being said, I have been known to throw out a choice word or two - especially when I trip over suitcases that I left in the middle of the floor the night before flying to Savannah and somehow end up inside the d*!% suitcase.  (Those things can happen when you are only 5' tall - and it's not fun.)  So, because I know that something like that can, and will, happen to me again this year, I have to set this goal to keep a clean mouth even from inside the suitcase.  Or when I accidentally put my hoodie on backwards and the hood covers my face and I run into things while trying to take it off.  Okay, the no cussing thing might be hard.

10) Journal every night before bed - even if it's just a sentence or two.  I have discovered bullet journaling this year and I am hooked.  It keeps me organized and gives me excuses to doodle cute stuff in the name of productivity.  I'm really good at the planning part - not so good at the journaling/reflecting part.  I just get too busy.  So this year, I need to do better at not just planning the day, but recording the memories, as well.

I tried to set goals that were both challenging and realistic...those may be famous last words, but I'm really excited to see what the new year will bring!

Happy New Year, everyone!