The time has come when we start seeing the #newyearnewyou and all the other bullshit that comes with it. I can’t lie, I’ve said that same thing, but this year, I vow to be different. I want to set goals instead of resolutions. The resolutions I set, are never maintained and then am left with feelings of failure and depression. This year I want to set goals. Goals that take planning, work and most importantly are achievable. Some are small; some are large. I may accomplish them all, or it gives me something to keep striving for. I read a quote once, and it has stuck with me ever since – “A dream is a dream until you write it down, then it becomes a GOAL.” And here are my goals;
1) No-spend January – Starting the year off with a short-term goal that will lead to a long-term goal of paying off debt. I’ve never made it a whole month not spending any money on anything except the necessary items. I consider the necessities of food (groceries not eating out), household items (toilet paper, cleaning supplies, shampoos, deodorant, etc.), gas and all other monthly bills. That means no coffee, no eating out, no stopping at a gas station for a pop or tea, no new clothes, no shoes, not even any new makeup. Not spending is hard, a lot harder than some think but I’m ready to give it another shot. I know I will have weak moments I want to cave, but something new I’m going to try is to write my purchases down rather than adding it to my cart. At the end of the month, I’m going to sit down and analyze the list to see how much money I saved and what were my main impulses. By making this list, I can better budget and be more conscious of my spending. That way I can take the extra money I would have spent on useless stuff and put it back into my student loans, my car loan or even a project I’ve wanted to finish on the house.
Going back to nursing school has had me very nervous about money since I still haven’t paid off my student loans from respiratory school. However, if I work hard, focus on my spending I should be able to pay for my entire degree in cash, without taking from savings and to me, that is worth it!
2) Collect memories, not materials! This goal has many, many layers to it. I’ve always been very OCD and hated clutter, but this year I want to focus on living a much simpler life. Simple to me does not mean I’m going to go full minimalist and throw away everything I own, but it does mean decluttering and learning to appreciate quality over quantity.
Step 1: Simply clean out my closet and get rid of all those “what ifs.” You know what I mean those jeans we all save because we are going to get back to that size OR that one shirt you are convinced you’ll wear for that one thing. NO, you won’t. Put it in the toss pile. Once that is done, then take all of your hanger left in your closet and flip them backward.
My closet after cleaning it out. Don’t mind the unfinished look; this is ANOTHER PROJECT we have on our to-do list.
Think trim, new closet system, and a homemade barn-door project!
All The hangers flipped backward.
I can’t take credit for this; it’s a simple trick I found on Pinterest years ago but have never done this until now. Now that my entire closet is turned around, every time I wear something from here on out I will put it back into my closet with the hanger facing the correct way. At the change of each season, I will go through my closet and all my winter clothes that are still on the rod turned backward will be tossed. This gives me ample time to wear all these items, and if I haven’t in the next three to four months, I apparently do not like it that much. Naturally living in Michigan there will be exceptions. I won’t get rid of my tanks tops after the winter purge or my long sleeves after the summer purge, but this is a great way to clean out the clutter.
And then how I plan to put the closet back into the closet once I have worn them.
Step 2: In decluttering my closet, anytime I buy something new, I will be forced the get rid of an item. Let’s say I buy a new dress (in February of course, can’t break no spend January before it even starts) I will come home and have to get rid of an older dress before the new one can go in my closet. This will help me think about buying the new dress and if it’s a want or need.
Step 3: Now that we have covered the closet, I want to move to the rest of my house. There is something that I love about throwing things away. In the year of 2018 junk drawers, spare bedroom closet, kitchen cabinets all beware, I’m coming for you!
3) Travel to a new place once a month. 2017 was a year of travel; California, Mexico, Bahamas, a Caribbean cruise, Ireland, back to California, Florida, Chicago and many Michigan trips. It was terrific, wouldn’t have traded it for anything but in 2018 not every trip has to be that extravagant or that far. Maybe I’ll head over to the East side of the state and see the sights over there, or head to Ohio and see what they have to offer. One of my favorite things is a road trip with friends so why not make a day trip out of it. Traveling makes me feel alive, makes me appreciate this life I have and traveling teaches me more about this world than any class ever could. Since this is my last year in my twenties I might as well finish out this decade of my life by traveling just as much as I started the decade. Some potential stops on my list: Northern Michigan, Maine/Rhode Island, Charleston SC, Texas, Colorado, Toronto, Niagra Falls and local venues in Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Port Huron, and other stops along the way.
4) Focus on wellness; Like every year, I feel the need to make health a goal, it would be a new year without it. This year, however, I am not focused on losing weight, I am more focused on feeling better physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Physical wellness I want to work on working out three to five times a week. Even if it is just taking a Harley for a quick walk before work, or if it’s an hour workout that has my heart pumping, sweat dripping, crazy high intensity. Working out helps me with my digestion health. I have struggled with digestive problems since I can remember and working out has helped aid this for me. Even though I work in the medical field, I do everything I can to avoid taking medicine if can help it. Goal number two, in regards to physical health, is to drink 64 oz of water a day. I don’t struggle with this when I am home on my days off, but at work, it is tough for me to get my water intake in, which is why I am going to make this more of a priority to me. Goal number three is to complete 30 days of the whole 30 program. Like I mentioned before, I am not doing this for weight loss but after doing a lot of research Whole 30 will help me cut out all of the bad foods I’m so used to eating and then slowly add each of these items back in. By doing this, I am hoping this will help assist me in determining what foods my body does not tolerate. (You know going back to the whole, not digesting things correctly. I’m telling you it is no way to live and I am ready to move on from it.)
Mental wellness I want to work on finding time for myself. Not just time I am alone, but where it can only be me and my thoughts. Focus on my goals, my dreams, and my feelings. Turn off all of the electronics, sit in silence with a good book, or quietly sit in the backyard and appreciate life and all the good I have. With all of the distractions we have, I want to read one book a month, which may be harder for me since I will also be in school but one chapter, every night before bed, should be doable. And also helps me sleep better!
Another relevant portion of this health goal is to work on being present and unplug more than I did this year. Technology is incredible, it has helped me maintain friendships that would have otherwise suffered due to distance but thanks to all of the technology those relationships have flourished. However this year it is essential to put the phone away, turn the TV off and talk to one another. Each night at dinner Shaine and I put our phones away and just enjoy each other’s company for thirty minutes, but then we go back to our electronics. In the New Year, I would like to extend the technology free time to a half an hour before bed as well. Because we all know how it is, you’ll just lay there next to your partner both of you not saying anything just scrolling on your phones. That is something I am very excited to change.
And last but not least spiritual wellness. I have never thought of myself as a religious person, but after the year I have had I do believe I became much more spiritual. I find comfort in knowing everything happens for a reason, and that I need to keep living to learn such reason. I have also found myself thinking more about a higher power, I refer to him or her as a god, but I would like to explore more what that means to me.
5) Be present, stop planning and plotting. This one is without a doubt going to be the hardest for me. As many of you know Shaine, and I have been trying to have a baby for over a year now. We were successful once but then lost the baby while we were still in the first trimester. Even before we lost the baby, it was always hard, every month I would over analyze all of my symptoms. I would wake up with bloating and instantly would assume it was my baby bump starting to pop, or if I felt nausea it had to be morning sickness. Guess what y’all? It wasn’t. The one time I was pregnant I didn’t have any symptoms. None. So this coming year I want to stop, stop analyzing everything. Stop tracking my temperature, my cycle, what days we must have sex, and which days we can’t.
I want to go back to enjoying my life, enjoying my marriage, enjoying alcohol. All my friends that have kids talk about missing having date nights without kids, miss sleeping in, miss being about just to pick up and go without all of the details that come with having a family. While I would give just about anything to have those details, I need to step back and enjoy the freedom we have now. Being the type-A or the planner that I am, going to be starting nursing school scares me. How would a baby fit into that plan? Could I handle it all? Working, school, a baby? What I have come to realize no matter what happens, we will always figure it out. Baby, or no baby, nursing school or no nursing school — I need/will work on stepping back and enjoying the ride, because like they say, it always happens when you aren’t planning, so here’s to NOT PLANNING.
6) Staying consistent – This goal is very broad, and I made it that way for a reason. I am very good at starting things, but I have a hard time following through when things get hard, so my last and final goal is to stay consistent during this whole year. Staying consistent will help me stay on track to meet my goals. Staying consistent will help me smile more, laugh more. And staying consistent with this blog will give me an excellent memoir to look back at in three hundred and sixty-five days from today and be able to smile at the year I had.
Now that you know my goals, what are some of yours? Do you make resolutions? Do you set goals? Are you a vision board gal? Or do you just like to get very drunk and nurse your hangover into the late hours of the new year?
Whatever your plans are, I hope you and yours have an excellent end to this long, hard year and stay hopefully as we enter the new year.
❤️ Cheers!