Here we are at the beginning of another year. It’s crazy how fast time passes, isn’t it? I don’t feel like it was all that long ago that I was welcoming 2016, but suddenly, 12 months have passed by and I’m thinking ahead to what I want out of this new year.
The truth is, I don’t exactly know what I want out of 2017. I know I want to travel. I know I want to save money. I know I want to get healthy. I know I want to finish my novel. But those are just goals. If I achieve them, great. If not, that’s okay, too. I guess what I’m mostly seeking from 2017 is fulfillment. I want to be fulfilled and satisfied with my life. I want to feel good about myself.
But, still, I made some resolutions for this year. We’ll see how many of them I achieve and if I even remember them by the time 2018 rolls around. So much can happen in a year and I’m excited to see what will unfold over the months in this one.
Here is what I’m hoping to accomplish in 2017:
Quit fast food and soda
Every year, I make some sort of weight loss goal that I never attain. This year, I want to make a healthy living goal. After thinking long and hard about my eating habits and how I want to feel, I know that these are two addictions I need to cut. I eat fast food maybe one to two times a week, more on a really bad week. I don’t feel like I’m hugely addicted to fast food, but it’s more that I rely on it when I didn’t meal plan well or am feeling upset and want to feel better. If I can cut it out completely, all the better! And it’s the same with soda. Over the past month, I’ve dropped down to one soda a day and I’m just going to continue dropping the number of sodas I drink until I don’t have the urge for it anymore. (The cold turkey method doesn’t work for me; I’ve tried it in the past.) Here’s to a healthier 2017!
Read four “classic” novels
I’ve already decided what the novels will be: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Count of Monte Cristo, Pride and Prejudice, and The Handmaid’s Tale. All of these novels may not be classic novels in the literary sense of the word, but they feel classic to me and that’s all that matters. (Heh.) I am terrified to read The Count of Monte Cristo because it’s nearly 1,300 pages (!), but someone counted it among one of their favorite novels on the What Should I Read Next? podcast, so I think I’m going to give it a shot. (My backup plan is to read 1984 by George Orwell if I can’t make it through the book.) I want to read more widely this year, books that I wouldn’t necessarily pick up on my own, so I’m excited about this reading goal!
Save $1,000 in an emergency fund
I am placing a priority on this goal this year. It’s ridiculous to not have an emergency fund, being nearly 30. My goal is to place $50 a paycheck into a separate savings account (and to have that money transfer automatically so I can pretend it was never there to begin with!) My money habits are not the best, and I acknowledge this, but every year, I’ve gotten a bit better at how I spend and save money and that’s all I can ask of myself.
Start seeing a therapist
This is another goal that I constantly have on my yearly resolutions and there are reasons why I keep putting off finding a therapist. My last therapist experience wasn’t positive, therapy isn’t cheap, my social anxiety means making phone calls to make an appointment terrifies me… I could go on. But I’m inspired by the people in my life who have taken the plunge and started therapy, and inspired by the change it has wrought in their lives, so I’m going to work hard to mark this goal as complete.
Write my novel
I was hoping 2016 was going to be the year that I finally wrote my novel, but it didn’t happen for me. I continued to get in my head about writing and my work-in-progress and ended up quitting and starting over a dozen times. I also had to put writing to the wayside when my freelance work picked up, but I’m hoping to make fiction writing more of a priority in 2017.
Get a tattoo
Honestly, I have no idea what I’m waiting for, divine intervention? I know the tattoo I want. I know where I want it. I know I will feel so happy when I get it. Time to stop being a baby and do the thing.
So here’s to 2017! I’ll check in on these goals every few months in the hopes I actually stick with them throughout the year and can mark more than a few of them complete.
Do you have any goals for 2017?
Hi there,
Happy new year! Just a few thoughts.
What matters most is what you do every single day, not what you do every once in awhile. So just keep working on making healthy and positive choices part of the daily, and if you make less than ideal choices now and then, accept it and move on.
Secondly, consistency is everything. If you are not consistent with any of these areas, that is when you will struggle to see progress. These all sound like cliché things to say, but I have found them to be true.
With regards to your soda habit, I have a similar one with putting sweetner/splenda in my tea. Back in the summer I was consuming 4-5 packets per day. I have been working on SLOWLY reducing this. I cut back to 50% in all teas, then I started doing one tea a day with none, then I removed in from my house, and now over the holidays I actually had 4 days where I had 0 sweetner in my tea. This literally took over 6 months. Super slow, but that is what I feel will make it sustainable. I had tried cutting it out cold turkey before and it never worked.
With regards to healthy eating, have you heard of “if it fits your macros”? It might be something you may want to try, because it is a much less restrictive way of cleaning up your diet. You have your targets for carbs, fats, and proteins, and you eat whatever you want to fill them. However, you learn that you feel better and are able to better hit your targets when you fill them with lots of volume of whole/real foods, rather than “junk” foods. but then, if you want ice cream or chocolate, you just account for it in your macros for the day, and move on. It is just a thought, I know a lot of people who have had a lot of success with it, and it is a lifestyle change, rather than a fad diet.
Anyway, you’re doing great, and it sounds like you’re seeing slow, consistent progress in all areas year after year, so you just gotta keep on keeping on.
All the best!
Dayle
Love these goals and I definitely think they’re attainable! I love soda, specifically Diet Coke. I probably drink it 2-5 days a week so it’s not too bad of a habit. I quit it entirely when I was pregnant though, so it is totally do-able!
I didn’t set many specific goals for the year, just general intentions to be better in all aspects of my life. I made one measurable goal though which is to read 50 books.
I forgot to mention – some of my intentions, or things I want to work in this year include:
– daily stretching/yoga for about 15-20 mins (using this video program called ROMWOD)
– using social media less and being more mindful of it
– drinking more water
– making better food choices on a more consistent basis
– journaling daily
– continuing to improve at Crossfit and get stronger
It’s not on my resolution list, but I plan on a tattoo this year too. I need someone to put it together for me, but I know exactly what I want and where I want it.
GO GET YOUR TATTOO! <3
I can’t wait to see your tattoo 🙂
Great goals. Get that emergency fund gurl!
Mine: 50 books again, 2 new states, upload 50 stock photos to stock sites, drink more water, video 1 second clip every day.
Check out talkspace.com. I heard about it on a mental illness podcast I listen to. Basically, it’s therapy online either via text, phone, or video (your choice). And you get to speak with licensed therapists. From what I understand, the cost is much cheaper. Personally, I haven’t done it. But it has also been one of my to-dos for a very long time. I, too, had a bad experience and the thought of going to a therapist, talking, crying, etc scares me.
I love your goals and your honesty! So with the fast food, I never grew up eating it consistently but lately because I fail to plan and I’m always somehow out when it’s lunch time and super hungry, I’ve been eating McDonald’s weekly which is unheard of for me! And for some reason when I’m pregnant, I want ALL the soda. So I can totally relate to you on that one. I find that just buying a crap ton of snack bars and keeping them in my car/purse helps so I at least have emergency food. Also not the healthiest but a lot cheaper and at least healthier than a hamburger!
With soda, I’m not sure if you like seltzer. I know some people just hate it. To wean myself off soda during my last pregnancy, I used flavored seltzer. Polar is THE best. I wasn’t a huge fan at first, but because I really just craved that crisp carbonation freshness from soda, I could at least trick myself most of the time with seltzer. Might be worth a shot!
Amen for finding a therapist. I actually wrote down a number for one in my town weeks ago but didn’t call because of the holidays/got busy and stuff. I am so with you on being too afraid to just make the freaking phone call to book it too! I really hope you find someone good that works for you. I haven’t seen one since I was a teenager but I had a TERRIBLE experience. I really hope I can find someone good.
And yay for tats! I have four but most people don’t know that 😉 I would love to get more but my hubby is not into the idea sadly. Maybe someday.
I love seeing the goals others are setting! I just love the fresh start of a new year and all the possibilities that lie ahead. I’ve read 3 of the 4 books you plan to read for the classics challenge. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is soooooo good. I should actually re-read that book. The only one I haven’t read is the Count of Monte Cristo. That’s one of Phil’s good friend’s all-time favorite book. And he’s read a ton of books! I haven’t quite worked up the courage to read it, though, as the length does intimidate me!
You’ve already seen my goals for 2017. 🙂 I’m excited about all of them, but especially the happiness project as I think it will be good to have a monthly focus!
I should read more classics. I need to put that in more goals as well!
Getting away from fast food was a tough one for me. What finally worked for me was I picked one meal, I started with breakfast, that I always planned for and always made it healthy. And come lunch and dinner, I didn’t put any guilt on myself whatsoever because I’d had a least one healthy meal. After about a month, I moved on to lunch and added it. So I had planned/prepped two healthy meals a day. It became easier and easier once one meal had become habit to add another and so on. But what worked was not making myself feel guilty about my other meals until I was ready to tackle all three meals at once. Good luck!
Many of my resolutions are the same ones from years past, that just never get done. Whoops. I want to get my tattoo this year, too! I’m using my 30th birthday as an excuse (milestones = doing things, right?). I’m trying to eat less sugar, drink more water, and begin some sort of regular exercise regimen, even if it’s super basic like walking a few times a week. I also NEED to save money now that I have a wedding to pay for.
I’m planning to get a tattoo for my birthday, also been a goal for a whillllle but, you’re right I don’t know what I”m waiting for either. I just need to do it already 😀
I started seeing a therapist last year, I’m not sure how much good it will do, but my goal is to continue through all the sessions before passing judgement just yet!
I love your goals and I think it can be helpful to write out what you’re trying to accomplish next year (or even just more generally “in the future”)… sometimes this is all it takes to get the ball rolling on things.
I think you set some great goals for yourself and I hope you can tackle them – one by one.