by Andrea Renee Cox
Can
you believe it’s 2017 already?
It’s a bit hard to imagine, but it is that time of year
again. Time to crack open a new calendar. To eat black-eyed peas (if you’re
into that; they aren’t to my liking and I don’t buy into the superstition of
the tradition). And to make new year’s resolutions.
I stopped making resolutions probably fifteen years ago. I
never saw them through. Most of the years, I barely made it two weeks. Of
course, I was a teenager at the time and hadn’t yet developed good
follow-through skills.
Rather than making resolutions, I set goals. These are
different to me, because they aren’t necessarily for the entire year. They can
be, sure. However, more often than not, they are for one or two months. Once I
accomplish those goals or reach the designated time without finishing what I
set out to do, I relook at what my goals were. I analyze where I am in life and
if there are any changes I need to make. Those changes can involve my habits, spiritual
life, emotional health, how I spend my leisure time, or any number of other
things. Once I consider everything, I make adjustments to my plan and set new
goals.
In addition to lifestyle goals, I also make reading goals. I
began doing reading challenges through a group in Goodreads last year, and I
enjoyed them so much that I’m jumping right in there again this year. There are
a wide variety of challenges out there, and they’re incredibly fun to
participate in. A new one for this particular group this year is the Disney
challenge. There are twelve different categories to read books for, including “The
Little Mermaid” and “Tarzan.” The former is a book where a character is a “fish
out of water,” or in a situation far outside their comfort zone. The latter is
a man verses nature tale. It’s going to be interesting to see which books end
up fitting each category. This is a challenge a person can’t really plan ahead
for, because book blurbs don’t always tell enough to know if the content of the
story will match up well with a particular category. I’m really looking forward
to this Disney challenge, and I hope it becomes a favorite for not only me, but
many of the other participants.
Another set of goals I’ll be setting are writing goals. I
tried this in December, but that turned out to be a super-busy month for me.
Christmas plans, tutoring, copyediting, and attending a few basketball and
hockey games (not to mention being under the weather for the last week or so) kept me quite occupied, and therefore, I was unable to meet my
writing goals for one of my favorite months of the year. So I’m setting a
smaller goal for January, which promises to be another busy few weeks for me. I’m
excited to get back to work on my epic novel, so hopefully I’ll be able to meet
or even surpass my current goal.
This year will certainly fly by quicker than I’d like, but
at least I’ll be making progress along the way by continuing to set goals
throughout the months.
What about you?
Do you do new year’s
resolutions?
Or do you set goals
instead?
What reading goals are you setting this year?
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2 comments:
Agreed! At mid-week service last night the pastor was saying that as Christians we should geer more for a revolution at the new year, rather than just a resolution. Most people fail with their resolutions!! I have a couple goals this year (nothing too extensive). Mainly, to get 10 miles of walking in each week, work on any of my writings (whether it means writing, brainstorming and so forth) five days a week, and find more ways to serve others. My main reading goals is just to get a lot of kindle books read this year :)
Olivia, I love those goals. They are for your body (walking), mind (writing), and community (serving others). Not to mention fun (reading). I wish you the best for each of those goals! You can do it!
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