Happy 2018, friends! It’s hard to believe we’re at the beginning of a brand-new year. It felt like 2017 passed in a flash and I’m sure 2018 will feel the same way.
I love the feeling of a new year and the feeling that we have this blank slate where anything is possible. And I love, love, love making a list of what I want to accomplish over the next twelve months. I know yearly goals aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they are mine and so I’ve come up with a list of 15 things I’d like to accomplish.
But first, let’s go back and take a look at the goals I set at the beginning of 2017 and see how I did:
- Quit fast food and soda. Not complete. I was chugging along with this goal fairly well in the first quarter and then fell apart in the latter half of the year.
- Read four “classic” novels. Complete! For this goal, I read The Handmaid’s Tale, A Separate Peace, Jane Eyre, and Their Eyes Were Watching God. My favorite of those was easily The Handmaid’s Tale, which was one of my top 10 reads this year. (And yes, these are not your “typical” classic novels, but my goal, my rules.)
- Save $1,000 in an emergency fund. Not complete. Womp.
- Start seeing a therapist. Not complete. I let excuse after excuse pile up for why I didn’t start therapy this year, but after some of the things I experienced in 2017 (stuff that remained largely off the blog), I know I need this more than ever.
- Write my novel. Not complete. Ugh. I got stuck around 70,000 words into my novel and I just hit a complete wall. Around this time, I also got incredibly busy at work and used my weekly writing dates to work on actual work stuff. Excuses, I know. I’m really great at making excuses if you haven’t guessed.
- Get a tattoo. Complete. I went with a friend and finally got the book tattoo I’ve been wanting for years. I’m so pleased with it… and I’m already eyeing my next tattoo.
So, I wasn’t too successful with my yearly goals in 2017 with only two out of the six accomplished. But that’s okay! I love setting yearly goals, but I also understand that they are slightly arbitrary and I don’t need to beat myself up for not accomplishing everything I set out to do. A year is a long time and I don’t set these goals thinking that I need to accomplish all of them. I just enjoy the process of setting goals and working toward them.
So, with that said, here’s what I’d like to accomplish in 2018:
1. Lose 30 lbs
2. Complete the Whole30
3. Cut out soda completely
4. Buy a new couch
5. Complete a yearly shopping ban where I don’t buy any new clothes
6. Stop using plastic bags at the grocery store, Target, etc.
7. Read 100 books, including four classics.
8. Give up all dating apps and websites for the entire year.
9. Try something new once a month (i.e., kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, yoga, etc.)
10. Start therapy
11. Finish my novel
12. Figure out my Enneagram type
13. Travel to one new state
14. Exercise at least three times a week, every week in 2018
15. Create a wedding album for my mom and stepdad
Cheers to 2018!
Have you set any goals for 2018?
Nice 2018 goals! I haven’t set any, really, but I did a “This year, I will…” post that’s part set-in-stone, part aspirational. More than anything, I want to get my health under control, from eating to exercising to sleeping/waking up on time. And I, too, want to read 100 books!
We have many of the same goals. I dearly hope I can get my health under control in 2018 – mostly from a weight and healthy living perspective because I know I am not treating my body right as it stands right now.
Good luck with your goals! The Whole30 one might help you break your soda habit since you won’t be drinking any during Whole30. I did Whole30 a couple of years ago and while it was really hard, it was a good way to reset your habits, especially cutting back on sugar. it’s hard and it requires SO MUCH PLANNING AN DISCIPLINE but once I got into it, I found it wasn’t that hard to stick to it. I would recommend doing it with a friend if that is possible because it’s nice to have someone to encourage you or someone to exchange recipe ideas with!
This is the first year in many years that I am not setting any goals. But I know that this is the year that I need to be flexible since we’ll become parents in 2 months! I know it’s going to be a year of tremendous growth for us, though, so I figure it’s a good year to let things unfold as they will!
I am hoping to do Whole30 with my mom. But I’m shooting for later in the year (possibly September) and I’m going to slowly wean myself off soda throughout the months, so that starting Whole30 isn’t such a shock to my system. I am highly addicted to the stuff, but hopefully I won’t be by the end of 2018. I’m mostly looking forward to figuring out if I have any food sensitivities that I haven’t been aware of with Whole30. We’ll see if I can do it. It scares me so much, but I think that means I have to do it!
Dude, I’ve been trying to get myself to go to therapy for….years? I spent most of 2017 trying and trying and trying to get myself to do it, talking to friends who have finally gone and are seeing results, but damn if it isn’t hard. Maybe 2018 is the year I get my stuff together and actually *go.*
I’m glad it’s not just me who is dragging her feet. I know I need therapy and I know it will help me immensely, but my first experience with therapy wasn’t great and it’s just SO much easier to not make the call or send the email. Let’s hope 2018 is the year we both get our acts together. 🙂
I did the Whole 30 a few years ago and didn’t really get anything out of it other than stress. But I do want to eat healthier and Erik and I are making some strides towards that.
My main 2018 goals are 1) read more 2) make new mom friends 3) exercise more and 4) lose all the baby weight.
That sucks that you don’t feel like you got anything out of Whole30! I am nervous to take it on, but I think I need to prove to myself that I can. And I really want to experiment with cutting out some foods and adding them back into my diet, to see if there are any that I am sensitive to. For example, dairy! I think I might have a dairy sensitivity, so it’ll be interesting to see what I find out. 🙂
I think with therapy, it’s all about making that first inital phone call and then hopefully finding someone that you connect with… because I think once you find that person, you’ll love having someone to talk with. I hope you’ll do it.
My main goals for 2018 are a) travel more, b) run a sub-2 half marathon, and c) keep up the reading.
P.S. Phew, I am finally caught up… I am so sorry about the batch-commenting, but sometimes I get so behind 😉
I didn’t have a good experience with my first time at therapy, so I think it’s making me less inclined to go because I can make all these excuses. But I know one bad experience does not mean therapy isn’t for me – just that that therapist wasn’t the right one for me. I know I’ll benefit so much from regular therapy!
Good luck with all of your 2018 goals. I really do need to exercise at least 3 times a week, but I KNOW it won’t happen every week so I’m just going to do my best. I also want to lose weight too. I lost a lot last year, but I’m still in the same weight loss program and I’m still working on that.
I loved A Separate Peace when I read it years ago. I want to read more classic novels – even if they aren’t what people think of as “classic” – whatever works, right? I read a lot for school but I still somehow missed certain ones everyone seems to have read. hah
-Lauren
Yes – I know that I won’t exercise three days a week EVERY week, but I like having it as a goal to strive for. Some weeks I’ll make it happen, and other weeks I won’t, but that’s okay. As long as I’m trying, that’s all that matters! 🙂 Good luck to you in 2018!
Love the idea of creating a wedding album for your mom & Stepdad. Want to do one for me, too? We never did one… oops! I should do that, though. Would make me happy, I think.
Also love that you are going to travel to a new state, preferably mine 😉
Whole 30 – I will cheer you on! I know there are so many resources out there so I’m curious to hear about your experience with it.
Haha, I promised my mom I would make her a wedding album and… continue to put it off. She’s never asked about it, but I feel bad that I haven’t finished it for her!
I’m so nervous about Whole30… mainly that I will become a terror to those around me due to not having my caffeine fix or chocolate. Eeks!
This is a great list, Stephany! Seems like you got a little bit of everything. I’m excited to see your progress this year. You got this! <3
Thanks, Gina! I hope 2018 is an outstanding year for the both of us. <3
Hi Stephany. Since you mentioned Whole30 I wanted to suggest a few books and documentaries to you: Forks over Knives, What the Health, Cowspiracy, How Not to Die and Proteinaholic.
I’ve been reading your blog for a while and I think you might like them.
Thank you so much for these awesome recommendations. I’ve heard great things about Forks Over Knives and What the Health so I will definitely check those out!
I went back on keto, which I had tried in the fall last year and then fell off for the holidays. I feel so much better this way – it’s really amazing (for me). Any diet overhaul (I refuse to call it a “diet”) is hard work for awhile but commitment and results (for me, I’ve lost a little weight but mostly it’s how I feel that is the result right now) make it worth the work.
I’m hoping to stick to it and exercise more regularly, and read 100 books (this year was 112 I think?). I’d love to figure out my enneagram type too! It’s one of those things I always read about and never check out.
Yes – the way a diet makes me feel is so much more important than how much weight I’m losing on the scale. I just want to feel good and feel happy in my skin. Even if that doesn’t mean getting down to a svelte 115 lbs. Hopefully, the keto keeps feeling good for you!