My 2024 Goals
Iām not going to bother with recapping my goals from 2023 as I sit down to share my 2024 goals It suffices to say I did not achieve them, at least not in any sort of meaningful manner. 2023 wasnāt a bad year by any means, but if I had to sum it up in one word, it would be āmediocre.ā There was a lot of good in that mediocrity. Visits from friends, weekend trips, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, moving to Knoxville and accepting what is turning out to be my dream job. Good stuff. But I was mediocre.Ā
I wasnāt a productive human in 2023. My days largely consisted of wake up, go to work, come home, sit on the couch. I taught a lot of barre classes, but I only took a handful. I wrote a significant number of words, but I didnāt make much progress on publishing them. I went to church here and there, went weeks without reading my Bible, weeks without journaling. I existed more than participated in life. I think a lot of us, maybe even most of us, do that. We exist in the day-to-day, fall into a routine that we donāt break from, settle into the comfort zone we know so well. Then another year draws to an end and we still havenāt done that thing we said we were going to do or taken that trip we said we were going to take or pursued that new hobbyā¦
My last few years have been chaotic. I shared a bit about that over on my new Substack, Between The Pages. Since January 2020, I have lived in three states and four cities. Two of those moves have been cross-country, one across the state. I have had four different full-time jobs, started film school, hated film school, quit film school. I have waded through high functioning depression, let my health anxiety get the best of me a few times. Like I said – chaotic. And thatās not even beginning to tackle things like relationships and dating.Ā
I spent most of the last week of 2023 reflecting and planning for 2024. I looked at where Iāve been, what I want, what I need to change or at least edit. I leaned into the idea of taking full responsibility to determine what I want out of the year ahead. There is something poetic about 2024 starting on a Monday, after all. I donāt like calling these my 2024 goals, as they feel so much more – important? Bigger? – than that. I donāt know what to call them, however, and so, here we are. My 2024 goals.
Prioritize my physical, mental, and spiritual health.
This is the most important 2024 goal I have. Iām not focusing on losing weight, although that is certainly an outcome Iām aiming for. I donāt feel healthy at the moment. I know my body well and I feel inflamed, tense, and foggy. I have learned over the years that you truly are what you eat and that your body really does respond when you treat it kindly. I havenāt treated mine as kindly as I could over the last few months. Iām breaking this goal down into a few sub goals:
- Complete the Platinum Challenge at Pure Barre. 15 classes every month for 12 months. That works out to average 4 classes a week. Itās been a couple of years since I did this challenge, but Iām someone who is motivated by a challenge and this will be a great way to keep me active. Plus, Iām a better instructor when Iām taking classes on a regular basis.
- Find a therapist. I loved my therapist when I lived in North Carolina. We had to go our separate ways when I moved to Los Angeles and if youāre in L.A., good luck finding a therapist. Everyone had a waiting list. My insurance at my last job wasnāt great and the out-of-pocket expense for therapy was astronomical, especially if I planned to go weekly. My insurance now is excellent (recognizing the good fortune here) and prioritizes mental health coverage. Itās time to head back to therapy.
- Read my Bible and journal more. I had a great routine of waking up early and reading my Bible, maybe journaling a bit before beginning my day while I lived in Nashville and especially when I was in Los Angeles. I fell out of that habit after moving to Knoxville and I can feel the impact of not doing it. Iām less connected to my intuition and I feel adrift. Iām returning to that practice now.
Read 35 books.
I had a goal of reading 30 books in 2023. I read 28. I was pacing ahead of my reading goal until I moved to Knoxville. I may have abused the working from home privilege a bit to take a midday book bath several times a week. I also went to the apartment complex gym quite a bit to walk on the treadmill and would take my Kindle with me. Now that Iām in the office every day, I canāt sneak an hour retreat to a bubble bath over lunch. There is also the fact that half the books I read in 2023 were more than 500 pages. Thatās a lot of words to read. Despite my failure to reach my reading goal in 2023, Iām going to set the bar even higher in 2024 and go for 35. I have several series I want to read and no less than 45 books on my shelf that I havenāt read yet. We can do this!
Publish 4 books.
Say what?! Yes, you read that right. I have a substantial backlist of manuscripts in various phases of completion. Most of them need a heavy edit and several need to be finished, but I counted them up recently and the grand total was twenty-eight. Wowza. Never mind all the ideas for stories I want to write floating around in my head. My first book, Off The Record, will be published on January 23, 2024. My second, Restrictor Plate, will hit this spring, with two more to follow. I have no idea what Iām doing, but I hope that with each one, the process gets easier.
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Focus on community.
With so much moving in recent years, not to mention a pandemic, itās been hard to build a community. I had such a strong community in Charlottesville, and I really miss that now. I want to be mindful and purposeful this year about building a community. Iāve joined a book club and Iām being intentional about reaching out to people for coffee or lunch. Iām trying out churches and will join a small group once I settle on a church home. Iām also committing to attend alumni events and other opportunities to meet people and form connections. Iām not going to build a community, make new friends, or find the love of my life while sitting on the couch, after all.
Be mindful with my spending.
I love nothing more than a trip to Target and/or Hobby Lobby to just wander around. Set me loose in Barnes and Noble and itās game over. A sale at Pink Lily? I own three new sweaters now. Need a brain break at the office? I wonder whatās new at the Vol Shopā¦ Except I donāt need to add several dollar spot items, a new coffee mug, and yet another throw pillow to my cart when I stop by Target ājustā for toothpaste. I have big financial goals, and I want to be smarter about spending and saving this year. Iām starting off with a No Spend January, and from there, I intend to continue to make mindful decisions about what Iām buying and saving.
Travel to two new places.
Pre-pandemic, I was traveling fairly often. Iāve seen a lot of the country over the last few years – did I mention Iāve moved a lot? – but only from the driverās seat of my car, or during a quick pit stop during one of those moves. I took a trip to visit my best friend outside of Philadelphia at the end of November and remembered how much I love traveling. One of my 2024 goals is to travel to two new places, ideally one place in the U.S. and one place international. Iād love to get out west to Montana this year, maybe back to Europe in the fall? Weāll see where we end up.
Try one new recipe a week.
I have been bored with food lately. I have been making the same few meals and I think that has played a part in letting my health go a bit. Iām bored with what Iām making in the kitchen, so I go out to eat or pick up something to bring home. I love to cook and Iād also love to get better at cooking and so Iām challenging myself to try one new recipe a week. Iāve already made Paleo Running Mommaās Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry to kick off this goal. 10/10 recommend!
Duolingo.
At one point, my Spanish was really strong. Not fluent by any means, but I could read it well, speak it well enough to hold a conversation, and understand most of what was said to me in turn. If you donāt use it, you lose it though, and I havenāt needed it much over the last few years. With the idea of traveling somewhere new and some suggestions floating around about traveling back to Nicaragua or to Ecuador, I decided it was time to brush up on my Spanish and logged into Duolingo for the first time in ages at the end of December. Iām on a twenty-one day streak as of writing this and Iād like to hit 365 straight days.
Whew.
My 2024 goals are ambitious. They feed into my overall goal which is, in its simplest form, to be a better me and achieve a few big goals this year. These goals also align well with my 2024 Word of the Year which I will share later this week.
And Iāll go ahead and say it – hereās to no moves or job changes in 2024! I definitely feel like Iām tempting fate, but this girl would really love to stay put for a while.
What are your 2024 goals?
