Goals for 2018

I have been doing a lot of thinking over the last week about what I want to accomplish this year. I don’t just want to do a resolution, but a couple of set goals to change my life.

1. Be more fit.

I feel like my fitness has been on a big pendulum the last few years in regards to my consistency. I would go to the gym, or run for a couple of weeks, then not do anything beyond a casual walk for a few months. I am going to have a few specific goals to keep me on track this year to set a healthy habit. I plan on working out or going for a run at least 3 times a week. Whether this is at the gym, at home, or on the trail won’t matter, but that I’m getting out for 30 minutes or more and exercising.

I went to a CrossFit class with a friend on Monday evening and had a total blast at the workout. It was so fun and encouraging without being pushy and I pushed my own self so hard that I’m still sore 3 days later! I get 3 free classes through my gym, and hopefully it doesn’t cost too much to continue because I really feel motivated to do it. I enjoy the quick high intensity workout and the ability to customize the exercises to fit my fitness level.

2. Get to sleep early and wake up early.

Right now my bedtime is inconsistent and I have a hard time waking up in time in the morning for work. I hate rushing around in the morning and being late, but I also am a night owl and don’t like to miss out on anything at night, so I rarely get to sleep before 11:00 pm.

I know that getting enough sleep is also healthy and I always feel energized when I do get enough sleep. I started about 6 months ago to make sure that I get up earlier, and not be so rushed in the mornings. I found the biggest key in making this change (which I have gotten out of habit with the emotional toll of losing my sister at Thanksgiving) is rewarding myself with something that I crave instead of pushing myself to work out in the morning. Working out in the morning isn’t enough motivation for me to bypass the snooze button. But getting up early to read a little bit or peruse Instagram is. So to encourage myself to go to bed on time, I tell myself that if I go to bed now instead of read, study my Bible or whatever, I can get up early and have that “me” time all to myself in the morning. It works! I just need to remember to remind myself that I need to get to bed early enough that I won’t be too tired in the morning to enjoy that quiet time.

3. Be more organized.

The last few years I’ve had to get more organized with my schedule with all the house/pet sitting that I do. I have a calendar that I use to keep all of that straight, but I now need to extend that to other areas of my life. At least with my new car, I am more motivated to keep my car clean and organized.

4. Spend less, save more.

I really want to try to save more money for emergencies, and also fun goals that I would like to achieve. I tend to spend too much money on small things that quickly add up in no time and leave me with nothing to put into savings. I have started to use the Qapital app to help save a little bit automatically towards goals like vacation and car repair. So, I need to not spend so much time on Amazon and thinking of ways to spend small amounts of money constantly, but try to make a game out of saving and get to accomplish something fun!

So there you have it, four goals to work towards and make baby steps in changing my life and habits. Oh, one last goal that is sort of a P.S. goal. I want to work towards being more compassionate towards others. I know that I’m a pretty compassionate person, but I need to remember to be more understanding to other people when they’re not being nice or easy to be around. I need to remember that they may have circumstances in their life that I have no idea about. I just need a more positive attitude!