Goals for the Year Ahead

I have a confession to make.

I don’t make New Year resolutions.

Many years ago, I made a resolution to not make any more resolutions--I always broke them by the middle of January, anyway.

Or I set myself resolutions that were unachievable or impossible, such as ‘Get brace off by September’. (My adventure into orthodontics lasted around six years!)

I found that by setting myself resolutions, I was putting pressure on myself to attain them, even if they were impossible. And when I didn’t succeed?

I felt like a failure.

(And believe me, I am an expert in feeling like a failure.)

For a long time, I’ve not thought of making any changes, come the New Year. Sure, I’ve considered things such as, ‘I must stop eating so much junk food’ or ‘I must see my friends more often this year.’ But I’ve never resolved nor challenged myself to do those things.

  

Again, it all amounts to putting pressure on myself.

 

This year, I’ve decided to stop being so lazy and avoidant.

I have set myself some goals…

01. Make 100 unique necklaces

02. Start up an etsy store to sell said necklaces!

03. Create some sewn items to sell on etsy, too

04. Prepare blog posts much further in advance…

05. …but don’t get bogged down with following ‘blogging trends’ (unless they’re interesting to me)

06. Likewise don’t feel pressured to create ‘seasonal’ crafts/posts (Halloween crafts at Easter? Why not!)

07. Get a hair cut. Seriously. It needs doing.

08. Practice photography, both for blogging and in general

09. Write more original fiction outside of NaNoWriMo.

10. Have a big clear out and sell things on ebay.

11. Use Royal Pavilion & Museums membership card more before it expires!

12. Paint.

13. Finish reading ‘Tired of London, Tired of Life’ and actually do some of the stuff in it.

14. Complete ‘Wreck This Journal’ (I got one for Christmas and its so much fun)

15. Write more ‘personal’ blog posts (like this one!)

This is a combination of a to-do list and a wish list: things I would like to achieve or do.

 Unlike resolutions, I am not committing to do everything.

I am committing to attempt these things.

Undoubtedly, I will change my mind about some goals!

I lose motivation sometimes. Or I’ll look further into something, and decide it’s not for me.

Or I’ll just plain lose interest. I tried to do 101/1001 once, and about a year in realised I wasn’t interested in half the things I had listed!

Likewise, I might add other goals…

 

So, how many of these goals will I achieve by the end of 2013?

Who knows! Better watch this space to find out! :)