We are 13 days into January and I am just finishing setting my goals for the year. Most people have already decided on and gotten started on their goals at this point, but I firmly believe in the idea that there is nothing magical about January 1st. We put so much pressure on January 1st, but goals can be set and enacted any day of the year. I like being able to relax and reflect at the end of the year and slowly figure out what it is that I truly want to focus on in the coming year once January comes. It gives me time to decompress and come off of the high of the holidays and reflect on the best parts of the entire year before. I also don’t love the word “resolutions,” but instead stick with goals and intentions, because these are not strict “dos” and “don’ts,” but rather things I want to accomplish, focus on and work toward throughout the year. These are deeper than the usual monthly goals, and I hope these intentions can guide my monthly goals throughout 2017.
Goals for 2017:
Be intentional – There is only so much time in a day. I want to be more intentional with what I do and how I use it. I enjoy being busy, but can get overwhelmed when I book my days to the brim back-to-back-to-back without scheduled “me time.” I want to be intentional about what I choose to do, instead of trying to do it all. I want to reduce over-commitment (which will cause stress), and focus on the people and activities that bring joy to my life.
Deepen my faith – This is something I can always work on, but want to focus on even more this year. I want to pray more and read more of the bible. I want to find a routine for these things that works and incorporate it into my weeks in a way that is sustainable. I don’t know what this looks like yet, but hopefully I can find out as the year goes on!
Gain confidence that is not based on perfection – I recently realized that I often do not recognize the things I do well because I don’t think I’m doing them perfectly or well enough. Striving for perfection means that even when I am doing well at something, I am not confident in myself until I think I am doing each task or activity the best that it could be done. This is so bad! In the end, this leads to a lack of confidence in a lot of things, because no one is perfect at everything! I want to grow my confidence and remove the idea that perfection is a necessary variable in the equation to have confidence in anything.
Love others well – This kind of falls under the goal, “be intentional,” but I also want to separate it as another specific intention. I feel so loved when I receive kind texts and notes, and I also get so much joy from spreading love to others, on birthdays, during hard days or weeks, but also just during the mundane and routine days. I want to reach out to friends and family more often to check in and let them know I’m thinking of them, send unexpected snail mail, judge strangers less, continue generosity and follow how our donations impact the lives of others.
In addition to intentions, I want to focus on a word for the year: growth. Sometimes change can make me unsure and hold me back, but without change it is difficult to grow. There are so many aspects of my life where I want to grow and learn and build. When faced with challenges and change this year, I want to ask myself how I can grow from those instead of giving in and accepting stagnation or resisting change.
Now to get started on those intentions, I have more specific January goals!
Goals for January:
Take down and find storage for Christmas decorations
Clean out and organize the hall closet
Clean out and organize 2nd bedroom closet
Deep clean upstairs bathroom
Get plant for living area
Hang framed art in our room
Go on a date and spend intentional time with Will before shelf/STEP studying kicks into high gear
Do toning exercises twice a week
Make Valentine’s cards! :)
Do you have goals, intentions or resolutions for 2017? Share them in the comments! Let’s keep each other accountable!
Leave a Reply