2016 Goals

goals

Hi, my name is Kayla and I’m a goal junkie.  I love the idea of a fresh start and looooove setting goals.  The whole achieving goals thing, I’m not so good at.  More on that later.  But I love setting goals.  And not just at the beginning of the year.  But there is something beautiful and poetic about the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another, isn’t there?  And the New Year is a great time to look back at what has been and look forward to what is to come.

As I mentioned earlier this week, 2015 wasn’t all daisies and sunshine.  we’ve dealt with and are continuing to deal with some hard, difficult, ugly things.  But as I reflect back on 2015 and look forward on 2016, one passage continually comes to mind:

Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43:18-19

A good friend got married recently and this was their wedding verse.  I so appreciated the pastor highlighting the context of this passage.  This was a call for Israel to not dwell on their deliverance from Egypt (which obviously was a GOOD thing), but to look for the new thing that God was doing… ultimately sending the Messiah to them for the ultimate deliverance!  It’s easy to look at this passage and say “forget the mistakes, forget the hardships, forget the sin, forget the crappy year, now look forward to a bright, new shiny year!”  But this passage is also a message to not dwell on the former good things.  The amazing, miraculous, transformational places God has already taken us.  It’s a warning basking in the “glory days” and missing the new, beautiful things God is doing and is going to do!

So what does this mean for me?  Yes, of course it means that I’m letting go of the hardships of 2015 (but still holding on to the lessons!).  But I’m also looking at the magnificent things (wonderful travels, new spiritual gifts, amazing confirmations from the Lord) and thinking, “yes, those were awesome, but God you’re still doing more and I want the more of you.  You’ve done the miraculous, but you are able to do immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine and I don’t want to miss it!”

And in line with this passage, I’ve chosen my 2016 phrase as “Seek Adventure.”

Literally, figuratively, spiritually, relationally.  Life is an adventure and I don’t want to shy away from the hard, challenging things.  I don’t want to miss the new things God is doing!

So back to goals… I have some general, broad goals for 2016.  I’ll also be doing specific, measurable 90-day goals, but I’m guessing I won’t share them in detail on here (but maybe? who knows).  I’m also incorporating some 30-day challenges (or 30-day adventures, if you will) in order to change some habits and reach my goals.  I think this is a practical way to make effective, lasting changes without getting burnt out.  So here are my generalized goals for 2016, which I’m sure will change and evolve, as the adventure of 2016 unfolds:

  • Become a morning person… I’ve already started a modified version of the miracle morning (I haven’t read the book, so I don’t have an opinion on it, I’ve just read some of the concepts).  So far, waking up early (as in like, 4:30 early, yikes) and incorporating things like prayer, reading, writing, visualizing, etc. has been really helpful.  I’m excited to report back on this one.
  • Blog three times a week.  To do this, I’ll need to have blog topics brainstormed and blog posts ready to go in advance.  This will also tie in to the previous goal (mornings), but creating scheduled times to devote to blogging.
  • Meal plan and grocery shop based on my meal plan.  One of the items on my winter bucket list was completing my meal plan and grocery list organization system.  So this will definitely be part of that.  When I don’t have a plan, I am 10x more likely to eat crap, and I don’t want to eat crap.
  • Start a youtube channel!  I love watching blogs, tutorials, life stories, etc. on youtube and think it would be a really fun way to interact with people.  I’l also be able to brush up on some of the skills I learned with my college degree (my major was Electronic Media Communications, aka: broadcasting), which would be really great!
  • Read more!  I LOVE to read, but I don’t take enough time for it.  I’ve rearranged my schedule a bit so that I now read my Bible right away in the morning, so I’ve started reading a book on the bus.  So far I’m LOVING the change!  I’m hoping to read at least 2 books per month.  I’m currently reading “Every Great Endeavor” by Timothy Keller and it’s wonderful.  If you have book suggestions (fiction and non-fiction, alike), please send them my way!
  • Pay off as many student loans as possible.  This will require a strict and meticulously maintained budget.  As with most things in my life, I’m really good at making a plan and creating a cash-based budget but have a hard time with the follow-through.  Something always comes up.  BUT, we now have fresh motivation and we’re planning to do intermittent 30-day “spending fasts” to boost our payoff amount.  Student loans suck and we’re sick of them!
  • Improve my environment.  This is mainly directed towards my home.  I want to make my home a paradise-type environment.  Now, keep in mind, I have an old house that doesn’t look anything like Pinterest and could definitely use some remodeling and updating.  BUT, I can still make my environment one that is stress-free and is refreshing and rejuvenating to come home to.
  • Get into a consistent workout routine.  I love working out, I really do, but something always seems to be more important at the moment.  I want my workout plan to just be part of my schedule, which I can’t miss.  I also want to do less cardio and more strength training.  I’m planning on adding BodyPump twice a week.

So there’s my goals!  Like I said, I expect they’ll likely change and evolve throughout the year, so I’m not holding on to them too tightly.  I’m excited to check back and update you on how I’m progressing on my goals.

Are you a goal or resolution-junkie?  What’s one of your goals for the year?

K.

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2 Comment

  1. […] I mentioned in my 2016 Goals, Greg and I decided to do 30-day “Spending Fasts” to boost our debt payoff this year. […]

  2. […] and so helpful (and obviously I had to get this cover since it aligns so perfectly with my phrase for 2016).  They are THICK and give you plenty of space to plan and make to do lists.  I bought the […]

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