I’ve been meaning to do a series of posts leading up to 2019, but I’ve been so busy with the holidays and watching Little Guy that I’ve had no energy left at the end of the day. I want to sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. Actually, I want to sleep long before that. Usually it starts as soon as I hear Rosebud talking to herself in the morning since she refuses to sleep in, even if she goes to bed late. She has also given up naps for the most part, so she’s been exhausted lately. Although I love blogging, I haven’t had it in me. I’m hoping to get back on track in the new year.
I was one of those people last year who decided to have a word as a theme to 2018. Well, my word was change and 2018 turned out to be the complete opposite. If I were to sum up 2018 into one word, it would be stuck. I felt like I was in a maze, going down one path only to realize it led back to where I started. At the end of 2017, I was able to come up with a long list of wonderful things that happened that year. I reconnected with some great people I had lost touch with, I took pottery classes, I was able to make big improvements on my home and Rosebud grew so much and met so many milestones.
This year was hard. The cats were sick a lot. Most of my coworkers retired, moved away or quit because they couldn’t take it anymore. Since then, it has been a revolving door of new faces. I’m usually anxious about meeting new people, so this has definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. On one hand, I think it will be exciting to meet new people because maybe, just maybe, it will be someone I can connect with. Then I usually end up disappointed because we don’t share the same interests, our personalities aren’t compatible or there’s just nothing there. this goes for coworkers, friendships or relationships. My exploration of transcription fell through and I decided it wasn’t for me. Coaching is still an option, but I will have to take out a loan to cover the cost of training, so this will have to wait. Maybe I can start this year depending on how things go. I missed out on pottery classes because they fill so quickly and I didn’t find other classes that interested me. The improvements I made to my home were minimal, but on the flip side, I’m lucky that there aren’t urgent things that need fixing.
For the positive, Rosebud has become quite a conversationalist. She always has something adorable to say. Her latest thing is reading to me. I love hearing her try to retell a story or make up her own. The other positive thing was meeting Little Guy at work. We clicked since day one and now I have connected with his family. I’ve watched him a lot this month which not only has allowed me to make some extra money, but has given me a great trial run in childcare from home. I have to say that it has been going great except for yesterday. I woke up in a bad mood, Rosebud was crabby and Little Guy was tired and his family is in the middle of moving to a new house. He was not acting like himself for most of the morning, so it was a difficult day all around. We will all have those days though no matter where we are or what we are doing.
Here are my goals and hopes for the new year.
- To finalize a career plan. Do I want to have my own business and what will I be doing? I will be taking a training this month on home childcare since I’m leaning towards watching a couple kids from home. My long term plan would be to continue being a childcare provider for the next couple of years. Meanwhile, I could start building up a coaching business.
- Take a class for fun. It could be pottery or something else.
- Get back to a regular exercise routine. I’ve been slacking lately!
- Journal regularly. I know I’ll look back on this time later and regret that I haven’t kept up with it. I want to keep the memories of Rosebud while she is little.
- Turn one room in my house into a play room.
- Get Rosebud potty trained. This has been a hard and frustrating thing we’ve been working on.
- Let go of things I don’t need. Whether they be objects or self limiting beliefs.
- Read at least 20 books. This should not be hard with my Audible subscription.
- Take one night per week for self care.
- Post on the blog on a regular schedule. Over the past few months, I’ve figured out that Tuesdays and Fridays work best for me.
Well, I’ll be busy this year, but I’m excited to get started. If I do something each day to reach my goals, I’ll get there eventually, but I know I have to start by breaking it down into achievable steps. I won’t be choosing a word or making new years resolutions, but I will be progressing towards long-term goals. At the end of the day, I know I need to get back to basics. Spending quality time with Rosebud, maintaining a healthy mind and body and focusing on writing and creating because those things make me the happiest. Even if I don’t have a play room by next January or if I. Miss out on pottery classes once again, I know there are still things to be grateful for. I could dwell on everything I didn’t accomplish from last year, but why? Maybe I won’t accomplish everything I set out to do this year and that’ll be okay. What are your goals and hopes for 2019? Will you be working on setting goals with your kids? Introducing Smart Goals is a great way to start! What keeps you motivated? Let me know in the comments.
Whether or not you achieve all the goals you have for yourself, it’s still good to have some things to aim for. When your mind is spinning out of control-either upward or downward—it gives you something to ground you and point you back to the path of your choosing. I don’t know about you, but over the past year, my daily, weekly, quarterly and vision boards have kept me from spiraling down and from dropping out of the game for days at a time (like I used to do better when I would get stuck). Even when I feel like things aren’t working or feel like I am not strong and smart enough to climb the next obstacle, having a list in front of me has kept me moving and working, which has led to more quantifiable success this past year than I have EVER had! So even when you don’t understand it, trust the process of writing your vision for yourself. I KNOW that your 2019 will rock!
I’ve never done a vision board, but I usually write a list of goals for the year. The problem is I don’t check it often enough or break it down and make the steps specific enough. I definitely need to do more of this. Thank you for your comment.