2023 Goals Recap

Every January I make a few goals for the new year. Generally, it involves fasting and prayer. This year was no exception. Today, I got to think back on the goals I made and how well I have done with them.

• Read twelve books I already own that I have not previously read. 

I started off pretty strong with this one, but eventually got side tracked. I realized I am not much of a non-fiction reader, of which most of my non-read, already-owned books consist. I switched to a series that Matthew had purchased and got into it enough to purchase the rest of the series before realizing that the author veers fairly substantially from her young adult fiction into straight up adult fiction. It started affecting my mood for the worse and I ended up giving up and switching to re-reading a series Matthew has written and is trying to prepare for self-publication. So while I haven't kept strictly to my original goal, I did read over 12 books and have a better habit of reading before bedtime instead of being on my phone. I'm calling this a win-win.

• Walk/run 5 miles at least once a week.

This one ended up being a great goal for me given my new work schedule. It was a doable goal, but one that still kept me moving to some extent every week. This was especially good in September and October when I was working more or less full-time. It was a good reminder for me to prioritize moving my body along with making lots of money.

• Say yes to at least one invitation once a month to do something with friends.

I'm not sure I did this every month, but I was better about keeping an open mind and being flexible as friends invited me out to do things. Oftentimes when I have an idea of how my day is going to play out, I have a hard time letting it go in lieu of playing. I need to have it scheduled. This year I worked at keeping this goal in mind. It was definitely helpful to keep in there.

• Expect miracles

This goal was definitely an inspired one for me since it didn't really seem like a goal, and I had no action items I could attach to it. But I was grateful, again, for the reminder to have it in my mind. Between Matthew doing therapy, getting a new job with more pay, his parents moving 15 minutes away, working again and actually enjoying it, it definitely felt like a year of miracles.

I love goals. As you can tell, I am not 100% perfect at them, but really, that's just fine. I am definitely better at the end of this year than I was last year, and I am so excited to sit down with God and come up with four new ones. I have no doubt God and I will come up with just the right ones tailor-made for this next year.