Hello, 2023!!!!!!
It’s a new year and new beginnings!!
I’m excited to set some goals for this year. And yes, there are 23 goals, and this will be my last year doing 20+ goals. Starting next year, 20 will be the max goal I have.
I wasn’t super excited to have 23 goals this year, but I couldn’t determine which ones to cut from my list. I’m already emotionally attached to all of them. But I am trying to focus mainly on thirteen specific goals; the rest are just things I want to try to do.
You will see a lot of things from previous years on here because these are things I feel I need to work on more.
Let’s get into it, shall we?
1. 2023 Reading Challenge
On Barnes & Noble’s Instagram, they posted a 52-week book reading challenge. I want to combine that with the alphabetical challenge, which makes it much more complicated, and find a way to read the nine books I purchased when Barnes & Noble’s had 50% off all hardcovers.
2. Practice Mindfulness
I plan to meditate and get in the right headspace a few moments a day. I want to be aware of what I’m doing without being overwhelmed. I aim to step back from my thoughts and watch them and control them rather than them controlling me.
3. Staying Consistent
Whether at work, on this blog, or even with my diet, I want to be consistent. Otherwise, I’ll abandon things without realizing it. I feel like this may become a problem when I’m uninspired or upset about not seeing results, and I need to prepare for that and work around it.
4. Get Back into Journaling
Journaling helps me control my thoughts and emotions; I feel super stressed without journaling. Some days I’m just feeling a lot of things and I don’t always know how to express it.
5. Eliminate One Bad Habit
I have tons of bad habits, and it’s time to break them. I didn’t notice them until they began affecting my daily life. Mostly the overspending, slouching, procrastinating, negative self-talk, overthinking, failing to say no to people, and eating poorly. I’m sure there are more.
6. Write 100 Blogs
I think I can do it. I wrote over 50 blogs last year, so now I believe I can bust out 100 posts. Is this false confidence? Absolutely. But the new year, new me baby, and confidence are where it’s at.
7. Strengthen Relationships
This year I want to be there for the people in my life. Sometimes it feels like I don’t reach out unless it is a holiday or beneficial. And I want people to stay in my life, so I’ll start making the first move.
8. Create a Regular Exercise Routine
I want to end this year being smaller. I don’t need to reach a specific weight point, but I would like to be smaller. And even if not smaller, just more physically fit.
9. Prioritize My Happiness
I love making other people happy, but there comes the point where I also need to make myself happy. I need to acknowledge that it is not selfish to fill myself with joy. Give me what I genuinely want and need emotionally.
10. Speak Better Spanish
Do I speak better Spanish today than at the beginning of 2022? Heck yea, I do, but it’s still very elementary level. I’m nowhere near conversational in my Spanish. And surprisingly, I am better at writing and reading Spanish than I am at speaking it. The goal is to be able to have a conversation.
11. Another No Buy Month
When I had the no-buy month, I felt the most relaxed. No looming worry about where money was going or shock over how much I spent on food. It was a simpler time. Also, it helped control my impulse purchases.
12. Pay Off ALL Debt
My debt isn’t all that bad. I know people with hundreds of thousands in debt. Luckily I don’t have that, but when you live in California and barely make above minimum wage, it is like you’re living paycheck to paycheck, so paying off debt seems to be a little more complicated.
13. Focus On My Business
I announced that I would sell Ice Cream, but I never did. I got cold feet about actually doing something. This year is different; I have plans. I want to have a spot at Smorgasburg, Los Angeles. I want to get a business license. I want to do something with my hands that makes me proud.
14. Sew A Costume
I keep saying I will sew a costume, but I never do. Between the last-minute planning and the mental breakdown about my weight by the time Halloween comes, I don’t even have a costume more often than not. This year is different. I want a costume. I want to be Anastasia from the 1997 cartoon.
15. Reflect On Each Month
I would really like to just get in touch with my feelings and remember what happened each month. What did I learn from each month? What were the high and low points? How can I make the next month better?
16. Spend More Time Outside
I’m never outside, and I hate that. My skin looks pale and even a little sick because I don’t remember the last time I was outside for longer than just walking to or from the car. I mean, I do, but that was back last March. Maybe I’ll try to do the 1000 hours outside challenge.
17. Take a Skill Class
I would love to try something new. I have been thinking about doing a yoga class or an art class. Just something to break up the norm, and you know, on The Sims, every time one of them takes a skill class, they always feel more inspired and focused. So, I’d love for a life that imitates art moment and would like to see if it works in real life.
18. Enforce Boundaries
I have a hard time setting personal boundaries as well as acknowledging others. It is not by choice, but it is something I need to be aware of and respect. I think for myself if I start to
19. Be Tidier
I want to declutter and organize my living space and life. In books, a character’s mental state is represented by their living space. I want a clean mind and a clean home. I plan to spend 25 minutes a week cleaning. This isn’t a lot, but for a person like me who procrastinates and is constantly tired, 5 minutes is more than a lot of time.
20. Have a Family Dinner Once A Month
I want to prioritize being with my family. My family is always doing something, and I never see them.
21. Fix Things I’ve Been Avoiding.
My house needs some TLC, and I’ve been saying I’ll get to it, and then I never do. Mainly because it’s so expensive but also because it’s all things that are for looks and not function. But they need to be done. So no more procrastinating.
22. Save for a car
I know this is always on my list. But this year, I mean it. For the last few years, I didn’t want to drive at all. I was scared to drive, but then I was forced to because I was house-sitting in a completely different city and had to go to work; Uber would have been way too expensive. And now I like driving. I’m still super anxious about it, but I feel better.
23. Volunteer
Last year I made more excuses about not having time to volunteer and once again donated money. It feels like just giving money is a cop-out. It feels like here’s money go away. And that’s not even close to how I think about giving. So I would like actually to do something for my community
