It’s hard to believe that the new year is here. To be expected, 2017 was full of ups and downs, though I’m so pleased and thankful that there are so many beautiful, fun, and exciting moments that overpower a lot of the negative ones, and I am really excited to see how 2018 stacks up and brings even more great things!
To be expected, a new year brings about a lot of reflection from the year past and planning and dreaming for the year ahead. While I’ll save you from the onslaught of thoughts that have been swirling in my mind the last few days (and weeks), I am a goal-oriented individual and as an obliger, I know the importance of sharing my goals with others as a form of accountability.
There’s been a trend the last few years around setting a word for the year and this year, I wanted to jump on board. I started thinking about my goals and then found their common ground to land on my word. What’s funny is that after talking to a few other friends about it, it was interesting to see that there are some similar goals but we’re all going about them in a different way and with the word that most resonated within us. Maybe my word will resonate with you and maybe it won’t, but either way, here’s my word for 2018:
expand
As I broke down my goals for the year, I found that many seemed to fit within larger categories of expansion…
1. Knowledge
-Get my yoga teacher certification (on track for March!)
-Write my book (it’s outlined)
-Read 52 books
2. Travel
-Explore new places (inside and outside of the country)
-See friends and family near and far
3. Connection
-Love more, harder, greater than ever (stop letting the fear of being hurt hold me back in all kinds of relationships)
-Grow my presence and influence while inspiring others through my blog, social media presence, and in-person
4. Financial Freedom
-Pay down debt and increase savings
-Find a realistic budget and stick to it without feeling limited
5. Health/Wellness
-Run 365 miles or more this year
-Continue to expand my yoga practice
-Eat intuitively for my body
I’m sure as the year goes by and as I evolve with it, some of these goals may fall to the wayside while others that align better with myself rise to the surface but I love so many of these. We often hear (and truthfully, I have also preached) the importance of setting goals that are specific and measurable and while I do think that’s important, I like throwing some others in that are a bit more broad because there is no good way to measure intuition, but it sure feels good when we feel that kind of connection to ourselves so why limit it?
I still plan to check in with goals specific for the month ahead but I want to make sure they are circling back to my larger goals for the year. I’m not making any crazy plans for January, but here’s a few things I’ll be working on:
- Get my fitness and “diet” back on track (consider joining a gym again vs just using the apartment fitness center, more healthy fruits and veggies, less sugar and processed foods)
- Grow my Instagram account to 1800 (be engaging and engaged myself)
- Put away holiday decor (and work on decluttering in general)
- Read 2 books (I hope to actually double this number)
[ctt title=”“Don’t be afraid to expand yourself, to step out of your comfort zone. That’s where the joy and the adventure lie.” tweet=”“Don’t be afraid to expand yourself, to step out of your comfort zone. That’s where the joy and the adventure lie. via @iamkatiearnold https://wp.me/p2vQc1-339 ” coverup=”8e0a2″]
Did you set goals for the year (or month) ahead? What do they look like? How do you need support or accountability?
PIN IT
