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Today I’m recapping my 2024 goals!
As a refresher, my word and overall focus for the year was…
GRATITUDE
After a difficult 2023, my mindset wasn’t in the most positive space at the start of 2024, mostly after suffering so long with vertigo, dizziness, and unsteadiness with no answers. There was a lot of negativity swirling around in my brain, and we all know that leads to nothing good. Negative thinking is damaging, and not only for our mental wellbeing, but for our physical wellbeing.
For most of my adult life, my mind has typically tended to fixate on the bad things that are going on in my life, and I have always blamed my anxiety, my OCD, and the constant need to “fix” and “control” everything. I had pretty much just accepted “that’s just the way God wired me,” but after finishing the book Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life by Craig Groeschel at the end of December 2023, I realized that it is possible to change, and I really wanted to try to work on this in 2024.
(If you are stuck in your ways of negative thinking and can’t seem to find your way out, I highly recommend this book. I have read many books on this topic, and none of them have actually given me the tools to change my thinking quite like this book did. Groeschel’s tactics for changing your thinking are rooted in scripture, but also in science, and combining the two, he explains why we get in these ruts of negative thinking (our brain creates negative neural pathways) and then he lays out a step-by-step plan to teach you how to get out of these ruts (create new positive neural pathways) to rewire your brain. One of my friends recommended this book to me in summer 2023, and I’m so grateful every day that he did because it was eye-opening. Groeschel walks you through several exercises throughout the book to help you lay the foundation for your own personal journey, and there are blank spaces right there in the book for you to answer, so I do recommend buying your own copy. Plus, you’ll also want your own copy so you can highlight, highlight, highlight. I think I highlighted a third of the book because there are so. many. incredible pieces of advice. The entire book is absolutely fascinating.)
So how did I do with my word?
Focusing on gratitude did definitely help me keep things in perspective. No matter how bad life gets, there are always things for which to be grateful, and I think that over all, 2024 was better than 2023 because I tried to focus on the good things. October hit hard with vicious dizziness and neck tension among other issues and then we had a rough November and even worse December, so there were definitely some hard days along the way. But it was really helpful to sit down each day and list some things that I was grateful for, and I looked forward to that time every day. I enjoyed it so much and found it so helpful that I plan to keep a daily gratitude journal again in 2025.
I also saw some improvement in my general outlook for life and my mood overall. Am I the most positive, upbeat person you’ve ever met? Nope. But I did find that in 2024, I was able to let the little things roll off a lot easier than I used to. And most importantly, I stopped dwelling on the bad things as much as I used to.
Has this daily gratitude practice completely changed my life? I wouldn’t say completely, but I have found it to make a pretty big difference overall, so all in all I’d say it was a good word to choose for 2024.
Now for the rest of my goals…
N Go on one date per month with B. – We ended up going on 10 dates last year, which isn’t too bad! We had 12 scheduled, but 2 were canceled due to illness at the end of the year. We would have totally hit this goal if it wasn’t for all the sickness in December.
Y Get together with girlfriends at least once a month.
– We got together for an organized dinner/get together every single month last
year, and I saw many of them for various other get togethers.
Y Try to finish tasks earlier in the day so I can
spend more time with kids after school. – I was really good at this at the beginning
of the year and during the summer, but in May and then October – December, it
was hard to get everything done that needed to be done in the day because it’s
just such a darn busy time of year.
Giving myself a yes for this since I did well for more months of the
year than not, but this is something that I want to work on more this year.
Y Compliment someone or let someone know I’m grateful
for them every day. – I’m not sure I did this every single day of the year (I
didn’t keep track of it in any way), but I did go out of my way a lot last year
to compliment people or do something kind for someone as often as I could.
Personal/Health/Wellness/Fitness/Beauty
Y Meditate every day. – My app shows that I missed 3 days this year… 2 days were truly missed because we had kids spend the night and I got out of my routine and one night we were in Chicago and I forgot, but 1 wasn’t technically missed… the meditation just ended after midnight so the app didn’t count it for that day. Over all, 364/366 sessions is great, so I’m giving myself a yes for this.
Y Read affirmations every day. – Yep!
Y Read devotional every day. – I did this every day…
it’s one of my favorite parts of the day!
Y Start a gratitude journal and write at least 3
things I’m grateful for every day. – I did this every day and it’s also one
of my favorite parts of the day.
Y Start a prayer journal. – I did this every day,
too, and I’m continuing this in 2025.
Y Read and meditate on the daily Bible verse in my
Bible app every day. – I did this every day, but I missed one day… the day
Olivia was sick with Flu A… it just slipped my mind because I was busy caring
for a sick child. But 365/366 days is
excellent.
Y Read the entire Bible cover to cover and complete
The Bible Recap by December 31. – I did complete this, and what a rewarding
journey it was!
Y Give things to God that are beyond my control and
try let them go. – This is still a daily struggle, but I have gotten so much
better at this. I’ve developed the
mantra “it is what it is” thanks to one of my favorite new artists and a band
who we saw live in 2024, and it has actually been pretty helpful.
Y If I find myself falling in a funk, feel the
feelings briefly, and then try to let it go. – This was a tough one, too, as
there were some tough times towards the end of the year, but I tried really
hard to be aware of this. Again, it can
be a struggle, but over all, I think I fixated on the bad things way less than I
usually do.
Y Continue seeing my therapist regularly for my
anxiety. – I saw her every 2-3 weeks all year and I still love her to
pieces!
Y Drink 64 oz. of water every day. – This did
happen most days.
Y Work out at least 4-5 times per week most weeks. – Yes,
I made working out a huge priority for me in 2024. I always feel better when I’m active.
Y Continue focusing on stretching this year. – I implemented
yoga stretch workouts every Sunday and I also started stretching more
thoroughly after every run so this was successful.
Y Incorporate more strength training into my workout
routine. – I hate strength training, but I made it a point to implement more
strength workouts this year.
Y Continue maintaining a healthy diet that’s low in
sugar and processed foods. – This was a success until the last couple of
weeks of the year… but that’s to be expected.
Haha. I stopped eating sandwiches/avocado
toast/occasional chips for lunch and started eating protein egg bowls most days
and drinking green smoothies every single day so I definitely partook way less
in carbs and sugar last year.
Y Continue to serve/volunteer at the school. – I was
room mom for Jacob and Olivia last school year, I’m room mom for Olivia this
school year, I’m still serving on the Home and School Advisory Board, I chaired
and co-chaired many events, and I helped out with various other events last year.
N Try to find other ways to serve my church and/or my
community. – I had hoped to start serving at our church’s outreach center
this year, but I just never got around to it.
Y Read at least 15 books. – I smashed this goal by
reading 31.
Family/School/Fun
Y Set up a hygiene routine for the kids for non-negotiable hygiene tasks. – I do still have to remind them and followup with them sometimes, though. Sigh.
Y Revamp the kids’ chore charts to include new tasks. –
Yep, did this and it’s hanging on the fridge where they can see it all the
time.
Y Teach the kids some more new life skills. – Both kids
learned how to load the dishwasher properly (we were a little late on that),
they both started using the toaster and microwave more often and they learned how
to preheat the oven (even though they already knew how to), they both learned
how to properly deep clean a toilet and deep clean the countertops and they do both
every weekend now, they both learned how to strip their beds, wash their
sheets, and then put the sheets back on their beds properly, Jacob learned how
to own and use a cell phone responsibly, both kids learned email etiquette, and
I also helped Jacob set up email folders + I taught him my method for filing
emails (which ones to keep and which ones to delete) and when to file them to
keep your inbox clutter free, Olivia and I went over some more “life stuff”
about being a girl, the kids learned how to use the washing machine and the
dryer and they now do their laundry on their own from start to finish, Olivia learned
how to make homemade waffles from start to finish and how to use the waffle iron,
and she learned how to bake Brian’s grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies, and
both kids spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen chopping veggies and
learning how to do various things in there.
Y Continue fostering independence. – I’m a natural
born caretaker, so I’ve always enjoyed doing things for the kids rather than
letting them do it themselves, but I took a step back from many things this
year.
Y Read and finish The Body Book with Olivia. – We’re
nearly done with the first one, so we’ll likely start the second one this year.
Y Go to Disney World! – Yes, and it was the best trip
ever!
Y Go to the beach! – Yes, and it was another wonderful
trip!
N Go to an “away” Georgia game. – We’d discussed
going to the Alabama game in Tuscaloosa in 2024, but we ended up not going because
tickets were so expensive, and I’m glad we didn’t now since we lost. Lol.
N Get outside more. – We had an extremely hot,
extremely long summer, and we had no access to a pool this summer, so we
actually got outside less this year, I think.
N Get the kids back on their bikes. – We’d hoped to
purchase new bikes for the kids and get them riding again, but we just never
got around to it.
Y Use the One Second Everyday app to record our entire
year. – Sure did and I’ll have the video done soon!
Home/Organization/Planning
Y Clean out the whole house. – I got the whole house cleaned out other than the storage closet. See below.
N Clean out the storage closet from top to bottom
(this will be a beast). – While I got the wrapping paper and our holiday décor
completely organized, I didn’t work on the other half of the closet at all.
N Part with some of the kids’ old baby toys I have
been holding onto. – This was part of cleaning out that closet, so this didn’t
get done either.
N Update the laundry room. – We did get the light
fixture updated, but I still need to have the cabinets painted and install a
shelf in there.
N Buy a new rug for the living room. – I couldn’t
find one that I liked.
N Buy new towels and rugs for the primary bathroom. – I
found Downy Rinse and Refresh which completely revived our towels, so we don’t
need new ones anymore, but I never found rugs for the bathroom that I liked.
Y Pressure wash driveway, porches, curb. – Sure did!
N Dedicate a space to items that are listed for sale
and organize them. – This was part of cleaning out the storage closet and I never
did it.
Y Be intentional with the things I buy to keep clutter
light. – I was pretty good about this mostly. Haha.
N Update all album artwork in iTunes (some of them are
blank because of the old Napster/Limewire Days.
Lol.). – I worked on this diligently for the first half of the year,
but I didn’t finish because I just got too busy with other things. I also have over 6,000 songs in my library,
so it’s going to take quite some time.
Y Back up all pictures and videos (I got behind on
this in 2023 due to Amazon changing their system). – Sure did!
Y Cut down my Master To-Do List by 5%. (As of January 1, 2024, my Master To-Do List
is 143 lines long, so I need to do at least 7-8 items to accomplish this goal
in 2024.) – I crossed 9 items off the list so I did accomplish this goal!
Blog/Social Media
Y Start doing monthly gratitude recap posts. – Yes, and I loved them so much that I’m going to continue them in 2025.
Y
Create at least one Instagram Reel per month. – I did 16 for the year.
N
Create more evergreen content (recipes, organization, crafts, holiday
content). – Sure didn’t. Lol.
N
Start doing some throwback blog posts and write about things that
happened pre-blog. – Never got around to doing many of these either.
Y
Work on year-end blog post (Ode to 2024) all year-long. – Yes, and it
made it so much easier to finish it up at the end of the year.
Y
Blog at least one week ahead as much as possible. – This was about
half and half for the year, I’d say, so I’m giving myself a yes.
Summary
37 items accomplished
14 items not
accomplished
Yearly Stats
Books Read: 31
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life – Donald Whitney
Theo of Golden – Allen Levi
Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith – Bill Hybels
The Last Letter – Rebecca Yarros
The Case for Christ – Lee Strobel
The Younger Wife – Sally Hepworth
Only Love Can Hurt Like This – Paige Toon
None of This is True – Lisa Jewell
The Good Sister – Sally Hepworth
The Good Part – Sophie Cousens
Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating – Christina Lauren
First Lie Wins – Ashley Elston
The Mother-in-Law – Sally Hepworth
The Arrangement – Robyn Harding
Darling Girls – Sally Hepworth
Pretty Girls – Karin Slaughter
This Summer Will Be Different – Carley Fortune
Bye, Baby – Carola Lovering
Too Good to Be True – Carola Lovering
Divine Direction: 7 Decisions That Will Change Your Life – Craig Groschel
Maybe in Another Life – Taylor Jenkins Reid
Expiration Dates – Rebecca Serle
The Summer Pact – Emily Giffin
Can’t Look Away – Carola Lovering
Heal. Grow. Love: Words to Help You Become – Pierre Alex Jeanty
The 4:8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy-Filled Life – Tommy Newberry
Hope in the Dark: Believing God is Good When Life is Not – Craig Groeschel
The Bible – Zondervan
The Bible Recap – Tara Leigh Cobble
The Perfect Marriage – Jeneva Rose
New Morning Mercies: A Daily Gospel Devotional – Paul David Tripp
Meditation Days: 363 days, 364 times
Workouts Completed: 343
Barre:
2
Core
Training: 0
Dance: 0
High Intensity Interval Training: 0
Hiking: 0
Mixed Cardio: 53
Outdoor Run: 40 (90.69 miles)
Outdoor Walk: 99 (134.85 miles)
Pilates: 0
Pool Swim: 0
Stair
Stepper: 48
Strength
Training: 55
Yoga:
46
Time Spent Working Out: 187:06:17
(hours:minutes:seconds)
Calories Burned During Workouts: 40,963
Donated Blood: 0 times (can’t do this right now because of my dizziness issues)
Total Steps Walked: 3,082,237
Goals by Month
2025 goals + my word of the year will be posted soon so be sure to check back! And if you want to see previous yearly accomplishments, you can see the summaries below.
2016 New Year’s Goals – What I Accomplished
2017 New Year’s Goals – What I Accomplished
2018 New Year’s Goals – What I Accomplished
2019 New Year’s Goals – What I Accomplished
2020 New Year’s Goals – What I Accomplished
2021 New Year's Goals – What I Accomplished
2022 New Year's Goals – What I Accomplished
2023 New Year's Goals - What I Accomplished
Happy Wednesday, y’all!
You have so many yeses on your yearly goals! That is great.
ReplyDeleteYou did such a great job!
ReplyDeleteI might have to give that book a try. I am a worrier and always think the worst about everything. I didn't have the best 2024 but I was grateful for everything that I learned because of it. It is good at the end of the day to find things to be grateful for.
ReplyDeleteWell done with your goals! You did really well.