Well, as 2014 is well under way, I thought I would take some time to reflect on the goals I set in 2013 and see how well I did with them. For the last several years, I have attempted (not always in blog format) to take time to reflect on my past year, and set goals in the new year to help me become a better version of myself. Whether or not one believes in making New Year's Resolutions, it is incredibly helpful to set goals, and take time to look back on progress or obstacles. Unfortunately, I feel that 2013 was a year during which I did not attain many of my goals, and that was particularly frustrating for me.
Here are my top ten goals from 2013, and how I fared in them.
Carve Out Time For Reflection—I had hoped to carve out at least 5 minutes per day to reflect last year, but I just lacked the discipline to maintain this habit. This is definitely an area I WILL change in 2014. I have already made some adjustments.
Blog More Consistently—For the last two years I have set blogging goals and failed at them each year. In 2012 I had the meager goal of 105 posts, and barely got past 75 posts. I tried to attain this same goal in 2013, and ended up with 36 posts. I feel like this is a realistic goal, but it will require a degree of discipline, and I need to determine what I would like to write about. During my travels, I take photos with a goal of taking time to write and reflect on my experiences, but these end up sitting on my phone/computer waiting for me to write.
Exercise—I nailed this in 2013. I'm really proud of this because in the past injuries slowed me in attaining this goal of consistency. In 2013 I exercised for an average of 30 minutes per day in some form.
Lose weight—I started 2013 weighing in at 190 lbs. I finished at 195 lbs. I wanted to be at 180. I didn't make it.
Parkersburg Half-Marathon—I had aspired to run this race my entire life. On race day, instead of running it, Jamie and I did a 21 mile training run to prepare ourselves for the Marine Corps Marathon. I'm ok with not "racing" the half-marathon in Parkersburg, because I had fun running the course with Jamie and seeing the city. We had planned to run the Marine Corps Marathon though, and we accomplished it!!!
Steward Our Resources More Wisely—In 2013, Jamie and I continued our trend toward lowering our footprint, shrinking our spending, and being more earth friendly. We hope to continue the trend in 2014. One of the best things we did was join a co-op. For $20/week we were able to enjoy a wide variety of veggies and help out some local farmers.
Get Outdoors—In 2012 and 2013, I was able to spend at least 30 minutes outside almost every day of the year. I really believe that getting outside does wonders for the constitution, and I hope to continue this trend in 2014.
Connect—Jamie and I have been blessed with an amazing group of friends, and we hope to continue to stay connected with our friends both near and far as we venture out in 2014. We were able to see a ton of friends in 2013 and we even made some new ones.
Plant A Garden—Every year we set this as a goal, but 2013 we did not have time to plant. According to some ancient Hebrew teachings on farming, it was probably good for the ground to lie fallow on this seventh year of gardening.
What about you? What were your goals for 2013? What habits would you like to make or break in the coming year?
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