2020 was hard, and I don't feel like 2021 was really much easier. However, I do feel like I was pretty successful in my goals for the year. The check marks mean that I did exactly what I set out to do. The questions mean I feel like I hit the goal, but not in the way I anticipated. Below are the original goals, and how I felt I did.
GOAL 1: READ MORE
I'm setting my goal for 2021 to be 40 books. If I can hit more, that's wonderful!
It was close, but I did manage to read all 40 books for 2022! Some of them were for fun, others for school or work stuff, and several were audiobooks, but I'm still happy.
GOAL 2: WRITE MORE
My goal is to create at least 1 new thing each week of the year, which could be a blog post, a prayer or poem, or an article. I'd like to also write my very first book in 2021
This is the first goal that I feel like I succeeded, but not the way I anticipated. My original goal indicated that I'd blog and work on my first book. However, half way through the year I had the opportunity to enroll in a Master's Program and decided to take that on instead. This means that my time, and writing, was focused on this degree. I still did get many posts made, and a continued writing, but it definitely did not look the way I expected it to.
GOAL 3: KEEP LEARNING
Scholarship is a very important part of my spiritual path. With that, I'd like to complete two separate study programs through 2021.
This is another goal that I feel like I succeeded, but not in the way I originally planned. While I did not complete any organization study programs, I did manage to create 19 credits of Master's classes, so I'm very pleased with my efforts here.
GOAL 4: COMMUNITY BUILDING
I've spent the past year working really hard to build a community of like-minded people and am happy with the growth I've seen. For me, this isn't a number of "followers" but legitimately building a community of respect and appreciation with the people I am interacting with both on social media and in real life. I hope more of that is possible in real life this year, but right now it's all up in the air.
I feel like I succeeded in this as well. I don't know exact growth statistics, but I have watched my community grow and have met some incredible people in the last year.
GOAL 5: MORE SELF CARE
Self care is something I'm really bad at. I feel guilty for taking the time to do something for myself when there are other "more important" tasks to be doing. This year, I'm going to try to give myself at least one hour a week to do this. It could mean the typical, bubble bath and candles routine, or it could be walks in nature or exercising in general. Essentially I want to give myself the opportunity to take better care of myself.
I'm giving myself a YES on this topic as well. I took care of myself, left a job I was unhappy with, started therapy, and even said "no" to things, which isn't easy for me. There are still things I would like to do here of course, but I've made a lot of progress here.
GOAL 6: MORE NATURE TIME
I'd like to grow at least 3 separate things. I hope those are vegetables, but if all else fails I'll plant some more herbs and flowers.
This one, I was VERY successful in, and I'm thrilled. My children and I planted a small 8x2 foot vegetable garden this year. My new position allows me to work from home, so I also setup a plant corner in my "office" that has allowed me to plant some new things, and propagate a few others. I definitely grew WAY more than 3 things.
LOOKING BACK
Overall, I'm very proud of the effort I put into my goals this year. My approach to some of them may have changed, but I feel like I was still consistent with the intent behind them so I am very pleased. My next post should be my goals for the coming year. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. Happy New Year