For this Blogpost I'll be going over the goals I had for 2023 and how well I accomplished them as well as adding new goals for 2024.
1) One of my goals last year was to drink more water. This goal went pretty smoothly for the first 6ish months of the year. I bought a variety of drinks instead of soda, and made sure to have water readily available. I bought a water bottle to take to work to help with this and glass jars. I also bought soda with less sugar and cranberry juice, etc. What I found however at work is that there is hardly any time to even take a second to take a drink when you're working one on one with small children. You can definitely forget to as the clients are the number one priority and take a lot of attention. For some of them if you even look away for a second they could have bolted out of the room or knocked over something. After the first 6 months of the year I started buying soda more frequently again although I am still trying to incorporate other drinks. (Basically usually I am not drinking enough liquids in general and become easily dehydrated.) (Sometimes I even get cramping in my legs which I think is due to the lack of needed water in my body.) I'll continue to work on this goal in 2024.
2) My 2nd goal of 2023 was to keep my apartment more tidy. This was both a hit and a miss during the year. A lot of the time I would get it tidy and then either not feel good due to allergies or be super fatigued after work that things would get messy again. Due to the fatigue I kept pushing off cleaning. Living alone you also don't have that accountability to keep it clean for others. When its just up to me it makes it harder. My apartment is pretty cluttered in general due to being a studio and having to find way too many places for different items. I've noticed I tend to start a bunch of different tasks before finishing one when cleaning and tend to leave things out after I use them. For example: I'll start vacuuming the living room, then notice there's a wrapper on the floor so I throw that away, then notice something needs to be cleaned up, etc. With that in mind I'm working on not doing these things, and putting things back after I use them to their designated spots.
3) My 3rd goal of 2023 was to spend less time on my phone. I was still on my phone a lot this year I think, and could have been doing a lot better things. I got really into watching live-streamers so that didn't help my case. (We love a good parasocial relationship :/). This isn't an excuse but after work as mentioned above I felt drained and would nap most days after work and then go on my phone as I didn't want to do anything that took much thought. I know I really didn't work too hard to combat this addiction either like I have in the past. I will keep working on this goal in 2024.
4) My 4th goal in 2023 was to be more intentional about doing life with people. I didn't really accomplish this goal too well. I'm so used to doing things independently that it's my go to. I would also rather do things by myself then waste another person's time to have them do everyday life things that I could do by myself. I know this isn't true and people are happy to come along with day to day stuff. I will keep this in mind for 2024, but I don't think it's as big of a goal this year.
5) My 5th goal for 2023 was to travel, and I think it's safe to say I knocked that one out of the park with all the traveling I did last year. Trip 1 being to Myrtle Beach with Rebecca during April for 5 days and Trip 2 being 13 days in Germany and England. I would like to do another trip sometime this year. Maybe another 5 day one to somewhere I haven't been yet. We'll see. 😊
6) My 6th goal for 2023 was to upgrade to a bigger apartment. This is still a goal. I would still very much like to have a bigger space and be able to have a dog. However that's currently not possible especially with the cost of living right now. I got a promotion at work and am making more than I have in my life, but I've been spending more than I make the last couple of months which is fine due to my savings. Thankfully I saved up some of my money for years so my balance never goes under. We'll have to see what happens. Even apartments have gone up in price a ton. 😥 I am still content with where I live currently though. Also my financial advisor moved to a different company. With a bigger apartment I could finally get a dog. Maybe 2024 is the year I'll get a dog. (I can dream.)
7) My 7th goal of 2023 was to learn more recipes. I have definitely accomplished this goal. I've made new recipes I found online and with friends last year including: wiener schnitzel, german meatballs, chicken pesto pasta, and shepherd's pie to name a few.
8) My 8th goal of 2023 was to spend more time with God. I feel like 2023 was an up and down kind of year for my relationship with God. I would pray and listen to worship music most mornings while getting ready for the day. I would attend church most Sundays and helped out with Cru. I drove a girl from campus to church and talked about God with her. I attended homegroup most weeks. However I rarely read my Bible which is one of the most important things you can do as a Christian. Instead of spending time with God I would go on my phone (because it didn't take as much effort). Relationships take work. I want to be excited about my walk with God again like how I was when I was first born-again. I'm still excited and grateful for my faith but it's more passive. I got some great Christian books to hopefully help me get more excited again for Christmas, but this will definitely be a goal again for 2024.
Again, like last year I will add to this if I think of anything else. I will add the same verse I did last time, because it still pertains, and is challenging.
