Every year I make a promise to myself to list down fewer goals so that I can focus better on the existing ones, but somehow I ended up with 20 items for 2019 (oops, I did it again)! Obviously it isn’t a short list and I probably should learn how to better prioritize, but to my defense: all my objectives are totally achievable. As you can see below, I haven’t held back on being specific either (although it is a little nerve-wracking knowing that I’m making it public to the entire world) and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my practice: the more precise your goal is, the bigger the probability is that you will achieve it. It shows that you’ve likely done your due diligence and you’ve thought through the actions you need to take in order to accomplish what you want. Hence, you’re off to a good start!
Another reason why my list might be longer than the average, is that I’m pretty much responsible only for myself in this world, i.e. I have the liberty to do whatever I want with my time. Therefore, setting goals is probably somewhat easier to me than to somebody who’s married with small children and who has a huge household to take care of. I’m saying this in order to set my story straight from the beginning. Of course I have my own battles to overcome like anyone else. There’s the struggle with time management due to my work that can be rather demanding from time to time; moving between different countries as well as my anxiety that sometimes still comes to visit me. But the bottom line is: I don’t have many of the responsibilities that people my age usually do. While half of my friends are juggling between jobs, kids, husbands/wives and a household, I don’t even have a goldfish or a place I can truly call home. The only living things in my apartment are the three plants that I purchased to invite some nature to my boring concrete balcony.
This doesn’t mean that people who live a different lifestyle from me or are part of different demographics wouldn’t benefit from having a goal list, the truth is actually quite the opposite. In my opinion, time management skills and having goals is essential to anyone who is looking to challenge themselves and grow, no matter who they are or what is the current situation in their life.
Sorry, didn’t mean to go off on a tangent, let’s get back to the “list” I was referencing before.
I always try to set the goals so that all key areas in my life would have at least one goal (following The Wheel of Life method, we will cover this in one of my next posts). For myself, these key areas are: health/body, family, friends/social life, romance, career, finances, hobbies and mind/spirituality.
As eight months have passed since January when I set up my list for 2019, it is an excellent time to review my progress. 2019 has an eventful year for me so far, but unfortunately not in the most positive way. Despite having an awesome January, I had a skiing accident in February that left me with a fractured knee and unleashed a series of unexpected events: surgery, long complicated and still-ongoing recovery, months of sick leave and missing out at work, breakup from my boyfriend who couldn’t take the situation, multiple cancelled trips, endless phone calls, letters and stress with insurance companies, etc.
Reflecting on it positively, I’ve been able to be at home more than ever (it was my dream for a long, long time), I’ve had time to read, write, catch-up with friends and family, I spend less $ (as I can’t exactly go anywhere) and I exercise (even though this term now has a completely different meaning for me)! Actually, fracturing my knee has had such a big impact on my entire life that I think this deserves a separate post so it is not the last time you will hear about this. I am also planning to elaborate on the other goals listed below, so stay tuned and curious for this. But for now, let me present you my goals list for 2019:
Much love,
Liis