I haven’t written in a long time. I can dish out excuses: I’ve been busy. My creative juices haven’t been flowing. I’ve stepped away from the city blog, so my motivation to write is low to nonexistent. There are many excuses. Writing, however, is like exercising. It requires extreme self-discipline. Like exercising, if you get out of the habit of doing it, it is easier to walk away and push it aside. You get used to a life without it. Life gets comfortable without that “thing.”
Here’s the thing, though: I love writing. I don’t want to give it up. It needs to be a part of my life. This is especially important, as I have an unfinished book that needs to get finished…and published. With that being said, I’m going to exercise my mind (and my fingers) and get to it.
To begin with, we have just welcomed the year 2019. I don’t know about you, but I am not a New Year’s resolution person. I am not even a January person. When I was growing up, the only thing I really looked forward to during this first month of the year was a birthday dinner with my bestie, whose birthday is in January. That’s about it.
I don’t like that attitude toward January, though. It seems rude. So I decided to change my perspective and look at this first month as a blank page and a chance to make some changes. It might be winter, but I need to think spring in more ways than one.
My husband asked me to come up with five goals recently. I can certainly do that. Goals sound better than resolutions for some reason. I must admit that setting goals gives me some anxiety. It feels like writing these out is a big commitment, but that is a good thing. So without further ado, here are my five goals for this year:
- Get healthy
Oh, friends. I have really struggled with this for the last two years. Again, I can dish out the excuses. I have many, including a less than thrilling Jazzercise location, new job, and general stress. It is important, however, to take my health seriously. I once said that I would never look back to the weight I was prior to 2010, but here I am friends…staring at an unpleasant number on the scales. Apathy has set in, and I am disappointed in myself but not enough to take big actions. My goal is to begin a weight loss program and to exercise at least twice a week, even if it means walking my neighborhood. - Get organized
I used to be organized. Then I got married. Then I had three kids. It seems that my lack of organization has gotten worse. My family is a busy one, and our schedule can be hectic. Also, our master bedroom has become “ground zero” for clutter. If we are hosting a gathering, ALL the stuff goes into clumps and piles in our bedroom, with the thought that I’ll clean it up later. Later has come and gone, and those piles are still there. If I could get ahold of those two things above, I feel like life would be less chaotic. My goal is to keep an updated calendar and to declutter our master bedroom. - Get enrolled
This fall, I applied for and received a temporary teaching certificate. I have thoroughly enjoyed my job as a Teacher’s Aide. Pursuing a teaching degree has given me new life. I absolutely want to be up front in the classroom instead of in the back at the reading table. There are some steps I must take to make this a reality, one being enrolling in an education course. My goal is to get enrolled in a class and to complete it, which would bring me one step closer to becoming a teacher. - Get involved
Since it has been a long while since I had a job I had to report to each day of the week, a lot of things have been pushed to the back burner. One of the biggest things that has taken a back seat in my life is church involvement. My goal for this year is to get involved somehow, whether it is in a Bible study or a community outreach program. - Get closer to God
Even though I work at a Christian school, I can feel spiritually stale at times. When I face obstacles, my immediate reaction is to stew about it or verbally process it with my husband or mother. I need to turn to God and pray instead. My goal this year is to develop a more intimate relationship with Jesus through studying the Bible and become a prayer warrior.
Totally doable, right? So simple, right?
WRONG
The first step to completing a goal is to take a first baby step. The second step to completing a goal is to give grace when you fall short. I will say that many of my goals are connected. For example, if I could organize and plan meals, perhaps this would affect my weight in a good way. Also, by getting involved in a Bible study, my relationship with God will probably get better and go deeper. So here I am committing the five goals above to prayer. I hope to look at January differently. I don’t want to dread it or make my mind up that it is a blah and dreary month. January needs to be an invigorating month for me, especially if I am going to accomplish any of those goals above.
What are your goals for 2019? What do you want to accomplish this year?
lyndshulen 