An intentionally-fuzzy look at my completed 2017 Mood Board with my word of the year.
My attempts to prepare for the new year before January 1st were foiled by sleepiness and a general lack of motivation. But I am pleased to announce that I am still completing my New Year’s plans, if only a day or two late. I just finished re-reading all of my journal entries from 2016 and have made my highlights lists. Now it’s on to the resolutions.
First, I’d like to review the resolutions that I set in January of 2016 and see how well I did!
2016 Resolutions Review
Back in January of 2016, I decided that I would:
Get my first big girl job. First, second, and third. Check!
Open my own Etsy shop. As of March 17, Check! However, I didn’t end up actually selling a single item. As getting the shop set up (making all the inventory, packaging, posting, and postage) was such hard work, I still consider this a win. The shop is now on hiatus until I can come at it again with a better strategy.
Build my blog community on Keeping the Flame. Not so much. I wasn’t nearly as dedicated to this blog as I wished to be, and I didn’t fulfill any of the smaller goals that led to this resolution. Next year.
Adopt a puppy. CHECK!!!! I actually was so excited about this resolution that I completed it early in December.
Read 20 books. Check! :) If you’re interested in my favorites for 2016 and my goals for the upcoming year, be sure to click over to this post.
Keep up daily self-care habits. I did an admirable job of this one. I kept a pretty stable bedtime all year, finally developed a bedtime routine, ate healthily, drank a ton of water, and stayed pretty active. While I didn’t accomplish absolutely every small thing that went into this original resolution, I still think I did a good job.
Achieve financial independence. Check. I may be in a bit of debt, but I have a stable income and money is no longer a constant source of worry in my life. Thank goodness.
I do so love glitter. Especially purple glitter.
In the interest of complete honesty, I didn’t realize that I had accomplished the vast majority of my resolutions this past year! I’m proud of myself– and giving a little stink-face to my inner critic who told me I didn’t complete any of them. HAH! On to 2017, folks.
2017 New Year’s Resolutions
This year, I’ve decided to set 3 major goals for myself to focus on. I’ll still break these goals down into actionable steps in my journal, but these are the important resolutions for the upcoming year.
Kick the social media addiction. I’ve done media fasts all year and have successfully broken the hold of Facebook and Pinterest. YouTube has really been my downfall this year, and I’ve watched an unbelievable sum of hours that I don’t even want to dream of counting. I’d like to successfully watch only one video per day.
Pay off my credit card. Starting out in a new city, incurring debt from emergency room visits, and not receiving some salary payments has put me a little bit in the hole this year. As calculated, if nothing else drastic happens, I can make it in 12 months if I really, really try. Sooner if I can manage to sacrifice further each month.
Journal daily. This follows as part of my mantra for the year: “Write when you can. If you can’t write, read.” I plan on putting pen to paper every single day this year, if only to write the date. I’m determined to not skip weeks/months when I’m feeling happy/sad. I can do this!
Collaging is all about enjoying the process– not perfecting the product.
Well, those are my resolutions! Of course, I will also continue trying to eat a vegan, whole-foods diet when at home, get plenty of sunshine and outdoor activity with Leben every day, drink tons of water, plugging away at my monstrous to-read bookshelf, and pushing myself to go out and do fun things in Austin. These are just smaller goals that didn’t quite make the cut to the big three.
What are your resolutions this year, if you set any? Are there any that you’re worried about completing? I’d love to hear your tips for staying motivated on your goals in the comments below. That’s definitely an area that I could use a little help on!
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ― Henry David Thoreau