Setting some goals for 2019

Over a week into the New Year, and I am finally getting around to sharing my goals for the year. In truth, it was only at the start of the week that I actually put them down on paper. Though I have, of course, been thinking about them for the last few weeks it took me a while to be definite. LIfe has been a little chaotic the last few weeks, and I needed it to settle down before I could even think about this year.

Now thankfully things are calmer and less stressful. I’m slowly rebuilding both myself and my world. Taking some time to really think about who I am, and where I’m going, what I want out of life and how I’m going to get there.

With a baby on the way, I didn’t want to overwhelm myself with goals this year, also I was aware that some of the goals that I set at the start of last year became less relevant as the year wore on. So this time, I really thought about what I was committing too.

SO, here is my final {short} list of goals for 2019…

* Complete my OU Access Course – with the stress of the last couple of months, I fell a little behind but I am determined to get caught up and complete this year-long course. I’d intended to start a degree course in September, though with the baby due in June, I’m thinking that might be pushing myself a little too much. I’m actually considering some other changes alongside starting a degree – but that’s something that I still need to figure out. For now, I simply want to complete this course so that when the time is right, I can move on to do a degree.

* Learn to drive –  I know, I know – this has been on my list every year for bloody years! I need to somehow get past the mental block that I can’t do this and just do it. I’m thinking if I can afford to finance it, an intensive course would be my best option – for once the baby is here, it’s going to be really tricky to be able to get away sans baby, for like, ever. If anyone has any advice or tips I’d be immensely grateful.

* Find my voice – give me a pen or a keyboard, and I can express myself just fine. I can tell you just how I feel and what I want and what I need. Give me my few closest friends and I can just about manage the same in person. But that’s dependant on the day and what I need to say. I was always a people pleaser, learned from being a child that being me wasn’t acceptable and I was forever trying to be or do or say the right thing to be loved or approved of. As an adult, while I’ve come to realise that I am enough just as I a, I still struggle to speak up for myself. This means that I am easily walked over, that I find myself in situations that I am not happy in, as I struggle to find my voice and speak up for myself. Hence the 14-year relationship that I let myself stay in as I didn’t speak up – though I found my voice {just} and stood up for myself at the end of the year when I knew the relationship I was in wasn’t healthy. I just need to figure out how to be assertive and unafraid to speak up for what I want and need all of the time.

* Read 20 books – last year I set myself a goal of reading 12 fictional books, though I lost track a little, I think it was closer to 40 I read by the end of the year. The last couple of months of the year I read SO many – it was a way of escaping mentally when physically I couldn’t get out of the situation I was in. I have got a few non-fiction books I want to read this year, and am hoping to keep up the fiction reading as last year reminded me just how much I loved it.

* Keep a regular yoga practice – the first third of last year I was still manically working out. Part of me misses that dedication that I had, but I have a much healthier balance now. Yoga is something that I kept up though, it’s the perfect way to start my day, and I can adapt the workout depending on how I’m feeling each day. Some days I’m looking for a more reflective, gentle practice other days I like to work up a sweat. My time on the mat has taught me so much about myself and really helped me connect with who I am.

*Figure out what I want – keeping it easy there! Ha! I feel like this is a ‘growth’ year – a year to plant the seeds, water them and reap the rewards next year. With a baby due mid-year, it’s not the time to begin other projects – but rather a time to work out what I want, and where I’m going in life. I feel like I’m floating along a little, never really knowing what it is I want to do or be or achieve. I’m considering some kind of life coaching – I need to delve deep so I can work out which direction to head in. I’ve got a longer blog post on this topic planned.

* Keep up my daily gratitude practice – this has been such a game-changer! While I certainly missed a few days here and there last year in my journal, making a point of looking for the little things that I am grateful for every day really turned my life around. It forced me to focus on the good stuff {and there is so much} rather than dwelling on the negative. The more you give thanks the more you have to give thanks for. It’s my usual habit to write in my gratitude journal each morning with my first cup of tea when I rise – helping create a positive mindset for the day ahead.

And that’s that. My goals for this year. What are your goal for 2019? I would love to hear them!