As we come to the end of 2019, I wanted to take a look back to the beginning of the year to see what my goals were, the things I faced along the way, and where I ended up. I will get to my progress on my 2019 goals, but first I wanted to look at the notes I had written to myself throughout the year to help remind me of what happened in 2019.
There were four main areas that jumped out at me, the first being finance. I started really focusing on my finances this year. I finally achieved my goal of opening an investment account with a starting balance I’d long been saving up for. I also opened multiple savings accounts and started recurring deposits to those accounts which helped me reach two of my savings goals ahead of schedule.
After finances, the progress towards my career goals was the next thing to stand out to me. My career started out on a low note this year with me facing rejection from my dream job pretty early on in the year. Going through that rejection forced me to remember that I have a lot in my life to be happy about despite not getting the job. While I felt a bit trapped in my career after that, I ultimately narrowed down my many interests into two career fields and I started taking real steps towards my next career move. Progress!
The next big area of my life (obviously since it’s the focus of this blog) was health. The biggest change I made to better my health this year was significantly cutting back my alcohol use. It was an idea I started toying around with in 2018, but it wasn’t until 2019 that I really put it into practice by going sober for long stretches of time and instating a two-drink maximum on days when I did allow myself to drink. The thing that helped my above all else in staying sober was reminding myself any time I was tempted to drink that I needed to choose myself over alcohol. I choose me over what effect a drink might have on my body, over fitting in for a moment, over making things less awkward by caving to social pressure. It’s a mantra that worked.
Finally, the last thing that stood out to me was just some thoughts on life (and some advice). At every turn, I’m constantly seeing how true the phrase “life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans” is. Very few things about this year were expected. I’m still very far from where I want to be in life, but I’m learning that all that’s between here and there is a little hard work. Okay that’s mostly true, but there are always external factors that I can’t control. Basically I say that just to make sure my bad habit if a lack of follow-through doesn’t get the best of me.
I’m also learning that grief is a process. I’ve lost loved ones before but due to the circumstances those deaths were easier to process and move on from. Losing a loved one unexpectedly this year has been hard, and I’m still in the early stages of the grieving process. Ultimately, this experience has forced me to learn to be more kind to myself so I can support myself through this period.
My mantra this year and moving forward is to “become unapologetically myself.”
And an update on my 2019 goals. Early in the year I blogged about some of my goals for 2019:
Commit to exercise: Achieved.
I’ve kept up a regular exercise regimen with few exceptions for most of the year. I’m currently trying to get back to my regimen after taking some time off from working out while I was sick. Life just keeps throwing curveballs.
Complete a 30-day cleaning challenge: Not achieved.
I didn’t do this. I did however move into a smaller space which forced me to purge and reorganize my belongings. I will have to try some form of this in 2020.
Set a monthly savings goal: Achieved.
I came up with a figure that would work for me and I’ve been (mostly) good at keeping up with that goal each month. I will give myself a pass for December since the Holidays can be so expensive.
Be honest with myself: Improved.
I don’t know that this is one I’ll ever fully achieve but I think I’ve gotten a lot better about having an honest discussion with myself in my head when I need to.
Take more risks: Improved.
I did not do enough of this in 2019, but lately I’ve been getting better about it. I need to do more.
Recently I blogged about my goals for the end of 2019:
Save as much as possible: Achieved.
Again I don’t know that this is one I can ever fully achieve but I met two savings goals early and exceeded one so I’ll say I achieved this goal.
Find a new yoga class: Not achieved.
I didn’t even go to any new classes. I did take an online class that I’d never tried though.
Only purchase sustainable, ethical clothing: Improved.
I think since I set this goal I’ve definitely purchased less clothing, and I’ve made it a practice to research brands before I buy. I also asked my boyfriend not to buy me the clothing he typically gives as gifts from non-sustainable/unethical retailers. While I didn’t achieve this goal, I’ve taken steps to getting there.
Read in my downtime instead of scrolling: Not achieved.
I don’t know that I can honestly say I’ve improved either. I do read in my downtime at home but I still feel myself scrolling on autopilot more often than not.
Purge and declutter: Not achieved.
I’ve had it on my to-do list forever but I haven’t gotten to this yet. I will really make an effort to do this in 2020.
How are you going with your goals for 2019? Let me know in the comments! It’s okay if you haven’t achieved all of them, there’s always more time to focus on them in 2020!