The new year is fast approaching and I, like most of the world, am looking for what is to come and looking back one what has been accomplished. When I look back at 2017 all in all I am happy with what was accomplished.
-- I went from a job that I really liked that didn't pay the bills to a job that I love that does pay the bills. WIN
-- I've lost 22.4 pounds while just half assing my efforts. WIN
-- I've helped my husband get off his pre-diabetes medication and lose over 40 pounds. WIN
-- I won NaNoWriMo 2017 and wrote over 50,000 words in November. WIN
-- I am truly happy with where I see my future going. WIN
I did not lose the 50 pounds I wanted to. I did not finish my novel. I did not make my 1000 purposeful miles. I did not get close to any of these goals that I shared on December 31, 2016. But I feel like I did achieve goal number 1 on that list.
Goal number 1 was Happiness. I feel like I did that. I am happy. I feel at ease. I feel content. I feel accomplished. I feel more me than I have in years. I have never had a job I enjoyed as much as I do now. My job at the bookstore is amazing. I've worked office jobs before. I worked in the oil industry and I worked at a law firm. Though both jobs paid very well, I will tell you right now: they stole my soul. I didn't realize it at the time, but I do now.
How do I know it now?
Because now I have my soul back. I didn't realize it was missing until I got it back. There is an overall calm, completeness, contentment, and ease that I have now that I honestly can't remember ever having before. It's so strange to think about it. I say it's strange because I've never sat around feeling incomplete or soulless before. It's like I didn't know anything was missing until I got it back. When I look back on my goals from last year I don't concentrate on all the goals I did not manage to fulfill, I see the important goal that I was able to meet. The happiness and contentment I have now overshadowed the fact that I want to lose another 70 pounds, and I still have a novel to finish, and I did not get anywhere close to 1,000 purposeful miles reached.
The fact that I am okay with not making those goals means I have made it to a spiritual part of my life that is infinitely more important than the number on the scale or in the running log book. The important goal was reached, and the others are inconsequential.
That said, I am making goals for 2018.
1) Finish my novel
2) Lose 50 pounds
3) Make it to 1,000 purposeful miles
4) Run 10K without stopping
5) Be Happy
6) Be Healthy
7) Help others when at all possible- make the donation at the grocery store, buy the Girl Scout cookies, and send a kid to Boy Scout to camp
8) Don't lose sight of the important stuff. Money, possessions, and vanity are not remotely as important as family, friends, and strangers.
With these seven goals in mind, I am happy and excited for 2018. I am working on my action plan and getting organized. And my little nerd-self loves the planning and organizing. Training plans and to-do lists and calendars are my happy-place. And if I can color-code it... that's the best thing ever!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and a Happy New Year!
-- I went from a job that I really liked that didn't pay the bills to a job that I love that does pay the bills. WIN
-- I've lost 22.4 pounds while just half assing my efforts. WIN
-- I've helped my husband get off his pre-diabetes medication and lose over 40 pounds. WIN
-- I won NaNoWriMo 2017 and wrote over 50,000 words in November. WIN
-- I am truly happy with where I see my future going. WIN
I did not lose the 50 pounds I wanted to. I did not finish my novel. I did not make my 1000 purposeful miles. I did not get close to any of these goals that I shared on December 31, 2016. But I feel like I did achieve goal number 1 on that list.
Goal number 1 was Happiness. I feel like I did that. I am happy. I feel at ease. I feel content. I feel accomplished. I feel more me than I have in years. I have never had a job I enjoyed as much as I do now. My job at the bookstore is amazing. I've worked office jobs before. I worked in the oil industry and I worked at a law firm. Though both jobs paid very well, I will tell you right now: they stole my soul. I didn't realize it at the time, but I do now.
How do I know it now?
Because now I have my soul back. I didn't realize it was missing until I got it back. There is an overall calm, completeness, contentment, and ease that I have now that I honestly can't remember ever having before. It's so strange to think about it. I say it's strange because I've never sat around feeling incomplete or soulless before. It's like I didn't know anything was missing until I got it back. When I look back on my goals from last year I don't concentrate on all the goals I did not manage to fulfill, I see the important goal that I was able to meet. The happiness and contentment I have now overshadowed the fact that I want to lose another 70 pounds, and I still have a novel to finish, and I did not get anywhere close to 1,000 purposeful miles reached.
The fact that I am okay with not making those goals means I have made it to a spiritual part of my life that is infinitely more important than the number on the scale or in the running log book. The important goal was reached, and the others are inconsequential.
That said, I am making goals for 2018.
1) Finish my novel
2) Lose 50 pounds
3) Make it to 1,000 purposeful miles
4) Run 10K without stopping
5) Be Happy
6) Be Healthy
7) Help others when at all possible- make the donation at the grocery store, buy the Girl Scout cookies, and send a kid to Boy Scout to camp
8) Don't lose sight of the important stuff. Money, possessions, and vanity are not remotely as important as family, friends, and strangers.
With these seven goals in mind, I am happy and excited for 2018. I am working on my action plan and getting organized. And my little nerd-self loves the planning and organizing. Training plans and to-do lists and calendars are my happy-place. And if I can color-code it... that's the best thing ever!
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and a Happy New Year!
yay for a win year! i hear you on the happiness thing (and work...) - I am currently in a soul sucking situation (chemicals) and am focusing on moving away from that. these things take time so patience is also key!
ReplyDelete2018 goals look great! how do you plan and organise these things? I use a bullet journal (also color coding! yay!) since last March and it's helped me tremendously!!!
(followed you over from FFTFL blog link)
Thanks for commenting, Renee! I love my FFTFL family! You guys are an amazing support system.
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