I can’t believe it’s already time to start thinking about goals and a word for a new year. Typically, I know well in advance what word I’m going to use and what I want to work on for the new year, but this year, I never felt a strong pull toward a particular word. The end of the year also snuck up on me, so I didn’t spend as much time pondering the future either.
Not to mention, it's also really hard to plan for the year ahead when you're in a pandemic and you have no clue what the year is actually going to look like.
EMBRACE
After a lot of self-reflection in 2020 and 2021, I discovered that I have a strong tendency to resist. I’m a resistor. I mean, I guess I’ve always known that subconsciously, but I never realized just how much of a “thing” it is and just how much joy it takes from me until I read a book this past year (Resisting Happiness by Matthew Kelly).
To explain this “resistance,” a little background information: I am a Type-A, planning, control-freak – an Enneagram 6 – and I am always prepared for everything. This means that I always have a plan or a picture in my head of what I want things to look like or how I expect things to go. And I do this for everything. Not just big things.
When things don’t go as I have planned or if things don’t look like what I pictured them to look like, it throws me into a tizzy, and my immediate instinct is to resist. This resistance on my part, in turn, causes even more frustration for me, and also for others around me.
If there’s something that I don’t like or don’t agree with (like baseball practice seven days a week during the spring or 12 hours of rehearsals on recital weekend), I tend to resist and then I end up complaining about said things until I finally (eventually) have no choice but to accept them.
This year, I want to learn to accept things (especially things I can’t control) as they come no matter what my expectations were.
This year, I want to try my very best to lean in and EMBRACE everything...
The abundant baseball practices.
The 6-hour recital rehearsals.
The changed plans.
The spontaneous invitation.
The unexpected cancelation.
The busyness in life.
The messiness in life.
I want to learn to find joy in spontaneity, gratitude in frustration, and delight in the unexpected.
I want to learn to accept each day as it comes.
Now, being as how I have been the Type A, planning, control freak my entire life, this will not be easy for me, and I’m not expecting myself to do a complete 180 in one year. I just hope to make improvements by living in the moment more often and trying not to have so many expectations for each and every little thing. I spent much of 2020 and 2021 ruminating on the past and pondering the future as a mental escape to cope with the weirdness of the world, and I hope by doing less of that and being more present this year, that I can learn to embrace things that are out of my control, which in turn should make life a little less hard.
Now for the rest of my goals…
Relationships
Try to go on one date per month with B.
Spend more time just “being”
with the kids even if we’re not doing an organized activity.
Try to get together with a
friend/friends at least once a month.
Spend more time with my parents
since they’re both retired.
Personal/Health/Wellness/Fitness/Beauty
Meditate, quiet time, affirmations every day.
Write some of my own affirmations… personalize them for myself.
Continue seeing my therapist.
Take more downtime throughout
the day.
Worry less, be positive,
complain less.
Be present in all things that I
do… less multi-tasking.
Drink 64 oz. of water every
day.
Work out at least 3-4 times per
week most weeks.
Decrease processed foods and
sugar intake.
Meet with an orthodontist about Invisalign.
Donate blood at least three times.
Family/Fun
Give the kids more responsibility.
Teach the kids some new life skills.
Encourage the kids to explore new passions and try new things.
Teach the kids to not sweat the
little things AND LEAD BY EXAMPLE.
Try new foods and find new
things to add to the kids’ plates. They’re
so picky.
Continue to stress the
importance of good hygiene with the kids.
Continue to focus on the importance
of having compassion for others with the kids.
Use the One Second Everyday app to record our entire
year.
GO TO DISNEY WORLD ONCE AND FOR ALL!
Home/Organization/Planning
Clean out the whole house.
Update the front sitting room.
Update Jacob’s bedroom.
Update Olivia’s bedroom.
Update the laundry room.
Sell all old stuff, and whatever doesn’t sell, donate by the end of the
year.
Organize recipes.
Start working on family yearbooks.
Be intentional with the things I buy to keep clutter light.
Cut down my Master To-Do List
by 10%. As of January 1, 2022, my Master
To-Do List is 167 lines long, so I need to do at least 16-17 items to
accomplish this goal in 2022.
Blog/Social Media
Post more rich, evergreen content.
Write the top posts that have been requested by
readers.
Decide whether or not to move to WordPress (and actually
do it if I decide to).
Install a new blog template for Blogger or WordPress
(whichever one I decide to use).
Share more projects, cleaning, organization, and
everyday life on Instagram.
And those are my goals for 2022!
If you want to see my goals from prior years check out the posts below!
I love this word and your intention behind it! I could take a few notes, haha! Cheers to 2022!
ReplyDeleteI am exactly the same with resistance! I guess it's something I need to work on too.
ReplyDeleteI love everything about This my friend! Including your funnies, baby Yoda and the negative tests, love it! I saw the 2022 about the old boyfriend, LOVE. I hope you have the best day
ReplyDeleteI love your word of the year and how you are hoping to achieve it!! So many fun and great goals ahead! xo, Biana BlovedBoston
ReplyDeleteI am an enneagram 6 too. I suppose that's why your blog is one of my favorites. I "get" all of this.
ReplyDeleteAw, I'm so glad! Sometimes I feel like a crazy person putting all of this out there, so I'm glad someone else understands!
DeleteI would say I am also a resistor - very hard to "go with the flow," which has been the name of the game for the past two years. Loved reading all of your goals.
ReplyDeleteI am a 6 and it is so hard sometimes to be a 6! Lol! Ohh, I did Invisalign 3 years ago and it has been one of the best things I've done for myself in my adult life!!
ReplyDeleteCarrie
curlycraftymom.com
Oh that line from that DMB song, I just love it. My late uncle always said, "control the controllables and leave the rest to God!" and that is my mantra. I am a control freak type 7, in that way. I plan as much as I can but leave room for spontaneity. I love how you do this every year, such an inspiring post! My dad swears by invisalign, he did it in his 60's!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! I do the exact same thing!! I am trying so hard to get better at going with the flow and having no expectations but it is so hard. I had this same word last year and I think it did help me. Best of luck to you!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that it helped you! I'm hoping it helps me, too! Thank you!
DeleteAs you embrace your loved ones, and all that entails this year, I hope that you find joy in the journey.
ReplyDeleteAs you embrace your loved ones, and all that entails this year, I hope that you find joy in the journey. ~Lisa Blair, https://strengthwithdignity.com/blog/one-word/
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
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