2017 Goals and Intentions // A New Approach

Before writing this post, I scrolled back through previous annual goals lists of mine, and noticed something.  They're pretty much the same list.  Ooops!  Guys, I am such a procrastinator and it is not even funny at all.  Every year that goes by, I look back at the things I wanted to accomplish only to realize that I didn't do much in the way of reaching them.  I could come up with a load of excuses that might make me feel better...but I know they would just be excuses...so I'm not gonna do that.  Instead I'm going to take a new approach to meeting my goals.  I tend to look at the big picture and imagine myself at the end of the year.  What would my life look like...what would I look look...how would I spend my days if at the end of the year I could cross off everything on my list?  That strategy just ends up making me feel like I'm in a never ending tunnel...I can see the end and it feels like I'm moving forward...but the end of that tunnel just keeps getting further and further away.  Soooo.....instead of taking that approach, I'm going to just relax and take this year one month at a time.  I'm just going to have fun with it and see where it leads me.  If I want to alter or replace a goal 6 months from now, I'll do that and not feel bad about it.  I want to see what happens if I just take things one day at a time and make an effort to remain positive throughout.  So here are my intentions for the year in no particular order:



BE HEALTHY + FIT I am going to CRUSH this.  I list this as a goal every single year, and at the end of every year I have nothing to show for it.  This is the year it's going to happen, and here's why:  1) I have given myself a head start by dropping 10 pounds over the past few months already! Yay!!! 2) I reeeally want to be ready to jump back into Roller Derby in 6 months so that I can give so much more at every practice. 3) I have a fail-proof plan.  *Note to self: if you disappoint me the year, you're gonna be in BIG TROUBLE!*  My plan is to keep things simple by continuing the healthy changes I've made to my diet and incorporating a fun fitness routine, and to not focus on things like numbers and sizes.  I just want to feel better in my body.  Here's the breakdown!

• 65oz Daily Water Challenge
• Clean Eating: Meal Planning + Meal Prep
• FitGirls Workouts 3X a Week
• Hula Hooping Practice
• Sunday Hikes
• Roller Skating

Instead of focusing on the end result, I'm taking this as a monthly challenge, one day at a time.  If I can look at each day knowing that I can add a star sticker for completing that days goals then I'm set.  Having lost the 10 pounds I've already dropped is probably the biggest motivating factor going for me right now.  I'm super proud of the changes I've made and am excited to have that extra momentum pushing me forward. 

IMPROVE MY PHOTOGRAPHY This is another biggie for me, and it's on my list ever year.  Again with the procrastination!  2016 was the year I disconnected myself from a lot of things, and nearly let photography go. 😟 2016 was the year that I lost confidence in myself, my abilities, and my direction in life.  But hey, 2017 is looking up and I am feeling so damn confident in my plans for improving my photography skills and really making an effort to achieve my goals.  I'm a huge fan of Lauren & Rob over at Photography Concentrate and I'll be following their free "How to Photograph Life" course throughout the year.  The course is laid out as a 14-Day program, but I'm going to stretch it out into a monthly challenge instead. This months focus is all about camera skills, so I'm looking forward to getting comfortable with my camera again.  Of the few photos I did take in 2016...this is the one I'm most proud of, and I'd really like to try my hand at more night sky photography.

EXPLORE TEXAS If time and money were no barrier, I would pack a carry on right this minute, jump on a plane, and start living my life as a wandering nomad traveling the globe.  Time and money ARE definitely a living breathing thing holding me back right now, and seeing as I live in the giant and geologically diverse state of Texas...I have no excuse not to travel this land I call home.  It's easy to marvel at far away places around the planet and imagine that they must be the most beautiful and exciting places that I may or may not see in my lifetime outside of a photograph or film.  Know what else is super easy?  Overlooking all of the incredibly close-to home places just waiting to be explored.  Texas has some pretty incredible travel destinations and interesting things to see for sure. Here are a few definitely worth checking out: The Marfa Lights, Bracken Bat Cave (home to the worlds LARGEST bat colony!), Caverns of Sonora, Palo Duro Canyon, Enchanted Rock, and Caddo Lake!  Unless we're stormed out or I have a family meetup planned, I intend on spending every Sunday hiking and exploring as much of Texas as I can.

BE MORE INDEPENDENT + LESS SOCIALLY WITHDRAWN I hate to admit it, but I'm just a little very dependent on others and hate being an adult/doing things on my own.  Down to the point that I will sometimes forego going to the grocery store by myself if Matthew isn't going with me.  This is probably the one thing about myself that I want to change more than anything else.  In 2017 I'm going to make it a point to take myself on dates so that I can spend some quality time not being dependent on anyone else.  Aside from traveling solo, going to a concert alone sounds terrifying...so perhaps I'll make that happen at some point before the end of the year.

I'm also incredibly shy and withdrawn.  If I can get away with being as invisible as possible, then I'll go for it.  I'm terrible at small talk, I'm always thinking that my contribution to a conversation is going to come out all wrong, be awkward, or that nobody will care what I have to say.  I've been that way since childhood and it's mostly around people I don't know...but occasionally around people to that I DO know which makes me sad.  At one point I even shut myself in my room and went to bed hungry while my sister was having a get together because I was afraid to leave my room and someone talking to me.  I've come a long way since then, and there's no way I'd miss food if it meant I had to do a little socializing to get it.  Especially pizza...if you need me to come out of hiding in my room...just tell me you have pizza k? 😉

Confidence is key, and that's what I'll really be working towards in 2017.  If I can be confident in myself, then I think being more independent and less shy will naturally come a lot easier.  

PAY OFF MY CREDIT CARD DEBT I haven't completely narrowed down what exactly it is that I want to do for a living, but I'm due for a change sometime within the next year or two.  I have some concrete ideas, but before I jump into something else I need to start clean by eliminating my credit card debt.  I paid down quite a bit over the past few months, but I still have quite a ways to go.  I'm on top of it though, and I know it can be done.  Reaching this goal will require me to be more frugal and to stop impulse-buying (which I do a lot of).  I will have such a sense of freedom when I reach this goal, and I'm going to become a super saver afterwards.  

LEARN SPANISH I've always wanted to be able to speak a language other than English, and German is what has always interested me the most.  I discovered DuoLingo last year, and I had fun learning a bit of German although I wasn't very committed.  Because Spanish is most practical considering my geological location and the number of Spanish speakers here, it only makes sense to start there if I really want to tackle this goal.  There are even several customers that come into the pharmacy I work at that speak only Spanish, so there's an opportunity for practice right there!  That along with practicing on DuoLingo daily should have me speaking Spanish on some level by the end of the year.  I've been practicing for just a couple of days now, and the only setback so far is that I keep thinking of the German answers first haha!  DuoLingo is free and they have a new feature where you can compete with friends which is pretty neat.  If you're learning Spanish this year, add me as a friend so we can compete with each other!  You can find me HERE.

READ 17 BOOKS The number of books I've read over the past couple of years just brings me down so I'm not even going to share the number.  I plan on reading at least 17 books in 2017, but hopefully more.  I just finished The Girl on the Train and am currently reading Misery by Stephen King.  I've added a fair number of books to my amazon wishlist, several of which will be movies in 2017.  I get pretty excited about book to movie deals, so that should keep me pretty motivated.

CREATE MORE In 2016, I surprised myself by jumping back into drawing.  I got myself a set of colored pencils and had fun with a bit of fan art.  I was so proud of my work and want to continue to explore artwork, mediums, and making things in general.  I have a hard time sticking to one medium for very long though, so my goal is to just create more.  That could mean drawing, painting, jewelry making, learning to sew, or who knows what else.  As long as I'm making something I'll be happy :)

SPEND TIME WITH FAMILY This one is so important.  I haven't spent nearly enough time with my loved ones, and I'm all too familiar with the fact that tomorrow isn't guaranteed for anyone.  I need to take advantage of my time here by making memories with the ones that I love while I can, and I intend to do just that.

So there they are!  My big intentions of the 2017.  I'm determined to not let this be just another year that I set goals and let the time slip by without making progress.  2017, I'm going to love you.  Happy New Year!!!