Categories: Goals

My Theme For 2014

My favorite part of the Holiday Council is when we have to come up with a theme for the upcoming year. It’s a big decision, right? One word, or phrase, or mantra, that is fitting for the types of things we want to achieve and feel over the next year. Molly does a fabulous job at helping us map out our theme, with her many worksheets, that delve deeply into certain visions and feelings and goals we’re seeking. How do we want to feel? What happened last year that made us feel proud? What happened last year that left us disappointed? What do we want to rock in 2014? What feelings do we want to leave firmly behind in 2013? It’s hard, but it’s easy. It’s scary, but it’s freeing.

Last year, my theme was do the work. I wanted to see big changes in my life. I wanted to lose weight, gain control over my finances, make friends, and stop feeling so dependent on my mom. Those were the big goals behind my themes. In some ways, I feel like I embraced this theme. I did the work by finding a new job because my old job wasn’t serving me anymore. I did the work when I cultivated new friendships and made an effort to be a more social being, even when it’s not in my nature. I did the work when I began doing more things on my own and accepting the place my mom’s boyfriend has in our family and discovered I am so ready to be on my own. I did the work by buying my own car and helping out with the bills more.

But there were many areas where I faltered majorly. With my health and losing weight and being stronger. With my anxiety. With my finances, and the fact that I’m still in credit card debt, as well as medical and school loan debt, and my savings aren’t anywhere near where they should be. When I let my social anxiety dictate my life. With my faith, and the way it no longer feels a part of me.

My biggest goal for 2014 is to lose weight. And I hate that this is still a goal for me. This unachieved goal has become such an area of defeat for me. Every year, it goes unmarked. I have no excuses. I have no reason for why I’m continually ending every year in a place that leaves me ashamed and sad and disappointed.

I don’t want to end another year feeling ashamed and sad and disappointed. I want to feel vibrant and alive and whole. I want to feel free.

There was one key phrase that kept making it into my worksheets while I was discovering what held me back in 2013 and what I’m aching to feel in 2014. That word was captive. I feel captive. I feel captive with my anxiety, my weight, my finances, my energy, my passions, my introversion, my shyness, my body, my inability to sustain a relationship, my faith, my fears. The list goes on and on and on.

So what’s my theme for 2014? There were so many words circling through my brain. Release. Joy. Strength. Radiance. Devotion. Boldness. Revelry. Abandon. Brilliance. Bliss.

And all those words mean something to me. They are all words I want to bring into the new year.

In 2014, I want to feel free, open, and in love with my life. I want to make big changes, do big things, see big results. I want my life to look completely different and I want to feel completely different by this time next year. Not just with my health, though that’s a big one, but with the overall feeling about my life. I don’t want to feel captive anymore. It’s a terrible feeling that grips you and keeps you from fully investing in your goals and being bold with your life. It holds you down, saps your strength, and makes you feel small and inconsequential.

I have big goals for 2014. Big dreams. And there is one word that’s going to keep me focused on my overall vision for this upcoming year.

In 2014, my theme is commitment.

I want to be committed to my health – to losing weight, getting in amazing shape, and developing healthy habits.

I want to be committed to my finances – to budgeting better, getting rid of credit card debt, and saving.

I want to be committed to my anxiety – to understanding how it affects me, finding a therapist, and opening up about my fears.

I want to be committed to my relationships – to strengthening friendships, being a better friend/sister/daughter/cousin/niece/aunt/granddaughter, and keeping my heart open to love.

I want to be committed to stepping out of my comfort zone – to adventure, taking risks, and saying “yes” more than “no.”

I’m excited to see what 2014 holds. It’s a year about commitment. About crushing my goals and staying true to what I want, even when it’s hard.

Have you declared a theme for 2014? If not, what’s one feeling you’d like to experience in this upcoming year?

Categories: Goals

September Goals

Oh, goal-setting, how I love thee. I am really excited about September. Not because I have anything fantastically awesome planned, but it is the beginning of my favorite time of year. We’re back to football, Halloween decorations are out, and it’s really not too soon to be thinking about Christmas and singing holiday tunes now, is it? (Don’t answer that.) Plus, I have a really, really, really exciting fall planned. September is also a huge birthday month – my brother turns 27 (WHAT!), my nephew turns 5 (I don’t even want to talk about it), and it’s also my mom’s boyfriend’s birthday. Celebrations all around!

Let’s dive right into goals!

August Goals Recap

1. Be more social, by going out at least twice during the month (excluding book club). Yes! I actually ended up having three nights out this month: dinner and a movie with a friend, a night out at a yummy restaurant downtown with my book club girls where I also had my first taste of gelato (!), and then book club was basically canceled because nobody read the book (except for me!) so four of us met at a Mexican restaurant after work one Thursday. I made way more of an effort this month to be social, and I realize going out three times in one month isn’t crazy for most but for me, it’s a solid social month.

2. Take Dutch to the dog beach. Yes! Well, actually, we took him on the first day of September but whatever, I’m counting it. Ha. He had a blast, we had a blast, and we’re already talking about going again. Yay!

3. Ask five bloggers if I can post on their blog and pitch topic ideas. Ugh, still no on this one. It’s something that’s SO easy to let fall to the wayside because I feel a little uncomfortable about asking people if I can post on their blog. (What if they say no?!) I still need about 20 blogs to reach my goal so I just have to get over myself and just ASK.

September Goals

1. Try out a trampoline fitness class! A while back, my mom bought a Groupon deal for both of us for an “Airobics” class at a local indoor trampoline arena. The Groupon expires in mid-September and we have three classes to use, so I’m really excited to try this out! It just seems like a ridiculously fun way to get some exercise, you know? I’ll be sure to report back on how the classes go!

2. Go back to church. So, big confession: I haven’t been regularly attending church for well over a year now. And I know you don’t need to attend church to maintain your faith, but I actually think you do. You need to be around other believers, need to worship, need to hear the Word. I always feel more centered after a church service, because I know it’s where I’m meant to be. I want to regain control of my faith and I think a big step is to just get back to attending church every Sunday.

3. Sit down and create a new budget. Along with my new job came a significant pay raise, so I will need to sit down and rework my budget. My immediate goals are to bring my credit card balances back up, start helping out with household bills more (I’m in charge of our grocery budget, but want to get to a point where we’re going halfsies on all bills), and get back to a cash budget system for all unnecessary purchases (i.e., eating out, shopping, etc.).

What’s your favorite thing about fall?

Categories: Goals

2013 Resolutions: Revamped

We are more than halfway through 2013 and I haven’t been as gung-ho about the resolutions I set at the beginning of 2013 as I usually am. I know there’s a lot of negativity about setting long-term yearly resolutions since we change so much throughout the year. What we think we want in January can be vastly different come July.

Looking over the goals I set, I’m not happy with them. Some of them make me feel really bad about myself (ahem, losing 50 lbs) and some of them I just don’t care for anymore (ahem, sending snail mail). So it’s time for a change. I believe goals should motivate us, excite us, challenge us. They shouldn’t make us feel terrible about ourselves or stress us out. We have enough stressors in life and goal-setting shouldn’t be one of them.

With that in mind, I am setting new goals to take me through the rest of the year. I really want to focus on goals that are important to me, that feel achievable, and most importantly: ones I will find fun to complete. Below lists the ten goals I’ve set to focus on for the rest of this year:

I want to establish daily quiet time and journaling. I know how much I need my quiet time to do my devotionals, read my Bible, pray, and journal my thoughts. I’m using 750words.com for my journaling, which I like because I just can’t get myself into a groove of journaling by hand and it gives me a cool infographic about how I was feeling based on what I wrote when I finish. As for Bible reading, I’m currently using She Reads Truth for guided devotions and then reading 3 chapters a day in Genesis. I’ve never actually read the whole Bible, which is something I’m striving to do.

I want to pay off my credit cards. At the beginning of the year, I was out of credit card debt but thanks to my cruise and then my travels to Orlando, I’m back into debt and I really need to focus to dig myself back out of it.

I want to go brunette. For those who don’t know, nope, I am not naturally blonde. Way back in 2010, I went from being a long-haired brunette to a short-haired blonde and it was one of the most fun transformations of my life. But it’s gotten to be too much to keep up with and I am currently in the process of growing out the blonde and will soon (very soon!) be a brunette again. Stay tuned!

I want to have $250 saved in my savings account. This equals to $15 a paycheck. I currently have $45 in my savings account and I’d like to be able to have $250 saved. My ultimate goal is $5,000 in my savings account so I have a ways to go… but this is a start.

I want to get a tattoo. I know exactly where and what, and it’s something that’s been on my mind for over a year now. I just have to do it!

I want to write and edit a novel, including winning NaNoWriMo 2013. Every time I sit down to write fiction, I realize that this is what I’m meant to be doing.

I want to read 100 books. I just finished book #52! Well on my way to this goal and it’s one of my resolutions I wanted to keep.

I want to write 50 guest posts and make at least $100 from freelancing. I’ve written 27 posts so far! And I’m getting more aggressive with searching for freelancing gigs, so I’m crossing my fingers I can make this happen. (And I’m looking for more blogs to guest post on. Fill out my form, pretty please?)

I want to eat out no more than 3 times a week and snack better. I love eating out but I also really love saving money so I need to cut down on how often I eat out to do so. And snacking better? Less sugary snacks, more wholesome and filling foods.

I want to spend more weekends outside. Trips to the beach, trips to the pool, trips to different dog parks with Dutch, trips to the farmer’s market, trips downtown… I just want to be outside more! I live in such a beautiful place and I want to take advantage of it.

It blows my mind that we’re in the last half of this year. The first half had its good moments and its bad moments. I’m hoping the good outweighs the bad over the next 6 months. I’m ready to kick things into high gear and be able to easily cross off the majority of these goals!

Categories: Goals

2013 Resolutions: Check-In #1

We are one-third of the way through 2013 so it’s time for my first resolutions check-in. I like to make a lot of resolutions for the following year with the understanding that I won’t achieve them all but they give me a good basis to work from. I am a very goal-oriented person by nature, so I just love making resolutions and then setting goals toward achieving them. So let’s see how I’m doing right now, shall we?

Health and Fitness

> Lose 50 lbs. No progress made so far.

> Train for a 5K, and set a new personal record. I’m on a running hiatus for now, since I realize how much I just don’t love it. I was hoping to run Iron Girl this month and try for a new PR but decided against participating. Maybe I’ll come back to running one day – but I’m pretty sure I need about 35 sports massages for my messed-up leg muscles before it’s possible to run pain-free.

> Get my wisdom teeth removed. I haven’t made any progress with this goal and my wisdom teeth haven’t been hurting at all. I know I should get them removed, but unless they’re hurting, I don’t really see the point.

> Eat less meat. This goal is always on my mind. I really want to get to a place where I’m more comfortable with meatless dishes and not so dependent on meat for my protein source. And I’m still traumatized by the chapter on how meat is produced in Skinny Bitch.

> Quit soda cold turkey. Success! I went 30 days without it earlier this year and my body has rid itself of its dependence on caffeine. I used to be someone who could drink caffeine all the time and still sleep like a baby, but now if I have anything with caffeine after a certain time, I’m up for hours. I still drink soda, but usually caffeine-free beverages and not nearly as much as I used to.

> Complete the Spartan 1,000. I’m not ready for the full Spartan yet. Maybe later this year!

Money

> Put myself on a strict budget and evaluate how I am doing on a monthly basis. Success! I’m starting to pay more attention to my spending habits and I’m doing well in adhering to my budget. (Though my cruise has halted some of my goals for now.) While I could certainly do better, I’m really happy with the way I’m handling my finances this year.

> Save at least $83 per month to have $1,000 saved by the end of the year. Eek! I did well in January and February but had to use some of my savings to book the cruise. This is still an area I need to work on.

> Pay off my last credit card. Success – paid it in full in January! I really worked to get my credit card back to its limit, because it was something I struggled with last year.

> Set up a payment plan with the collection agency holding my ER visit bill. Not yet. It’s something I keep putting off because I really don’t feel like dealing with it, but I know I just need to bite the bullet and make the call. I know I’ll feel so much better about it once I do!

> Spend less than $100 on Kindle books. Success! I have spent less than $10 so far this year. Of course, I did have a $25 Amazon gift card from Christmas to use up, but I’m doing well with this goal so far.

Writing

> Write and edit a novel. No progress made yet. I’ve been too busy writing guest posts and posts for this blog to even think about fiction writing right now.

> Participate in NaNoWriMo 2013. I can’t wait! I had such a blast with NaNoWriMo last year and I hope I can mimic my success this time around.

> Get at least 3 freelance articles published. No progress made on this goal yet.

> Write 50 guest blogs. I added this resolution late, when I decided to write 50 guest blogs in an effort to become a better writer and grow my portfolio. Currently, I have written 22 guest posts. Almost halfway there!

Independence/Social

> Buy a car. Success! Purchased in February – she is a beauty and I’m so happy I have my own wheels now! It feels amazing.

> Go to 3 social events per month. I’m not keeping track of this goal as I should be. I’m attending book club (missed February’s meeting but went to January’s and March’s) and have been on a few coffee dates with friends, but that’s about it. I don’t mean to be such a hermit, but sometimes, it’s just easier to stay home than put myself out there with people I don’t know. I need to figure out a way to make this goal without driving myself crazy.

> Travel by myself to visit a blog friend. Still planning on doing this one – somehow! I’m really itching to visit NYC this year so I will figure out a way to make that happen.

Other

> Get a tattoo. I know exactly what I want to get and where. I’ve been thinking about getting this tattoo for almost a year now, so I know it’s something I really want – not just something I’m doing on impulse. My next step is to just do it!

> Complete Project 333. Planning on starting this in June. I’m really excited about it and can’t wait to talk about it more!

> Send one piece of snail mail a month. UM. Completely forgot about this goal. So.

> Read 100 books. I have read 25 books so far. I’m 1 book behind schedule, but I think this goal is entirely doable.

> Memorize 24 Bible verses by participating in the Siesta Scripture Memory Team. I’ve fallen off track with memorizing my Bible verses. I memorized the first two with no issues and then just fell apart after that. I should be on Verse #7 right now so I have to do some catch-up on this goal!

***

Completed Goals: 5
Goals I’m on track to complete: 12
Goals that will take a LOT of hard work to complete: 4
Goals I completely forgot about/not so sure about completing anymore: 2

Only a third of the way into 2013 and I would say I’m doing okay! I’ve already crossed off five goals (or I know I’ll be able to cross them off by the end of the year) and I’m on track with 12 other goals (which include goals I just need to do like getting a tattoo and completing NaNoWriMo). Then there are four goals I will need to work really hard at to complete (losing 50 lbs and saving $1,000 by the end of the year make the list) and two goals that I’m not so sure about anymore.

I don’t make these resolutions with an attitude of having to cross every item off my list, but with the knowledge and understanding that these are goals I want to achieve and there are a lot of them so even being able to cross out half of this list will be deemed a success. Plus, goals are very fluid and change over the course of twelve months so nothing is set in stone.

Looking forward to the next three months, I want to set five goals to achieve:

I want to lose 20 lbs.
I want to call about my ER bill and set up a payment plan.
I want to get a tattoo.
I want to get back on track with memorizing Scripture.
I want to have one freelance article published – paid or not.

How are you doing on your resolutions? Have you had your wisdom teeth removed yet?

Categories: Goals

Monthly Goals: February Recap & March Intentions

I promise I won’t start every monthly recap like this, but how is February already over? This month flew by! This month has had some extreme highs and extreme lows. There was good: such as a blossoming relationship, buying a car, and watching my mom complete two races. And then there was bad: the crash and burn of the said relationship and struggles in all areas of my life. A good friend told me to “honor my feelings” and that is what I am trying to do. Sometimes I am sad. Sometimes I am angry. Sometimes I am joyful. Sometimes I am hopeful. Honoring my feelings means being present in them. To cry if I want to cry. To laugh if I want to laugh. I don’t like being sad or angry or upset. But sometimes I need to be sad or angry or upset.

In any event, today is a new month, and with it, hopefully, a new attitude! I am sad to see this relationship end so soon, but I’m hopeful that the next guy who catches my eye will be even more wonderful. I have faith in this!

Onward to my recap on my February goals. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t do anywhere near as good as I did in January…)

February Recap

Meal plan every week and no eating out on weekdays. This was half a success. I was successful at meal planning every week but sticking to the plan? Not so great. My mom and I do not like to cook so sometimes it’s easier to just pick something up rather than spend time in the kitchen. I’m not even talking about complicated dishes here! At most, it takes us 20 minutes to make dinner. It’s definitely an area we need to work on.

Save more money than I spend. Big, fat fail. For one, I bought a car so, ya know, that’s rather expensive. And I just wasn’t very smart with my money. (More to come on this subject next week!)

Ride my bike once a week. Another failure. I only managed to get in one bike ride, due to scheduling difficulties and cold weather. It’s actually quite the process to load the bike up in the car and get out to a park to ride, but I found out it’s worth it! My one bike ride felt great! It was a windy day and my backside ached for a solid 3 days afterward (need to invest in padded shorts!) but I enjoyed it a lot. Hopefully, I can make this a regular Saturday morning routine for me.

Stop eating after 8pm. I didn’t track this goal, really, but I feel like I accomplished it. Mainly, I made this goal to stop snacking after dinner. If I’m hungry, I give myself a pass but usually, I’m not. It’s just routine for me and I eat more out of boredom than actual hunger. Success-ish?

Set up a payment plan to take care of my ER bill from 2010. I did not do this. Oops.

So 1.5 goals out of 5 achieved. Eek. In January, I made a habit of checking in with my goals every weekend. I even made myself a checklist where I could tally things up and make notes and decide on what I needed to do the following week. It was a mini-progress report for myself. I didn’t do this in February and it shows. It may sound silly, but it helped immensely and I want to get back at it in March.

March Intentions

Complete a Buy Nothing challenge this month. February was not a very good month for me, financially. I wasn’t very smart with my money and then there’s the whole buying a car thing. My bank account took a big hit, even with my tax return. I’ve wanted to complete one of these challenges for a while now and this month is the perfect time to do it. (And now that I’ve been researching cruises for the fall, this may stretch into a “Buy Nothing So I Can Afford a Cruise” challenge…)

Set up a payment plan for my ER bill. So, oops, didn’t quite get around to doing this in February. On the list for this month! Can you tell how much I am procrastinating about this?

Go back to church. Confession: I haven’t been regularly attending church for well over 6 months now. It’s mostly laziness than anything else keeping me away. I know I feel better about myself and I need the connection I find at church. It’s time to go back.

Make three meals a week at home. Baby steps, my friends. I am inspired by those of you who seldom eat out but I am not one of those people. As mentioned above, I despise cooking so I take the lazy girl’s way out and pick something up. This month, I’m making a goal of making 3 meals at home a week. It’s not much, but it’s a start.

Complete the Spartan 500 in under 1 hour. This will be the third Spartan event I’ve participated in. I’m still not brave enough to complete the Spartan 1000 (400 burpees, you guys. 400!) but I really want to kick some major ass at the 500. My previous times have been around 1:11 and 1:15 so I know I have it in me to do it in under an hour. It’s the sit-ups that kill me. Time to train! (And if you’re local…. join me! Here’s the link. It costs $10 and is a killer, killer workout.)

How was your February? Any goals accomplished?

February Recap

March Intentions

picture credit