Tuesday, January 3, 2023

New Year's Resolutions, Goals, or Aspirations?

Some years, I've called them resolutions, but, I've not always been very resolute.  Once or twice, I've called them goals and I've had better luck with attaining goals.  This year, I am going to call them aspirations!  I really don't know if what I call them makes much of a difference, but, these are the things I aspire to attain, in 2023:

Better Health:  I aspire to attain better health by doing the various things I know I need to do to attain a healthier weight, maintain my blood sugar levels, and increase my stamina and strength.  

Better Time Management:  I aspire to manage my time better, by being mindful of how I spend my time, prioritizing what needs to be done, and procrastinating less. 

Being More Organized:  I aspire to being more organized in my daily life, with established routines and a tidy house.

Living a Well Balanced Life:  I aspire to live a balanced life, by paying attention to all the different areas of my life.

I will continue to implement my New Year's aspirations by incorporating them into my Monthly Balanced Life Goals/  

Word of the Year

My 2022 Word of the Year was Resilient: able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.  I tried to be resilient in 2022 with varying degrees of success.  

My 2023 Word of the Year will be Journey.  Life is a journey and this year, I want to enjoy that journey to the fullest.  I shall travel in the company of hope and joy and it will be a journey of discovery and personal growth.

Monthly Balanced Life Goals: January Goals

My monthly balanced life goals are similar to the spokes of a wheel, with the length of each spoke representing my satisfaction in that area of my life, from 1 to 10, with 1 being most dissatisfied and 10 being most satisfied.  Ideally, all the spokes are of equal length and the wheel will roll along smoothly.  If the spokes are of unequal lengths, then, the resulting wheel will be lop-sided and wobbly.  My ratings for each segment are shown within the parentheses, with the beginning of the month ratings in black (later, when I do reviews, the end of the month ratings will be shown in blue.) 

This year, I am going to focus more on the areas that need improvement.  But for this initial assessment, I will list all the areas.

Monthly goals:

Spiritual (10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:
- Continue with daily prayers, meditation, being grateful, positive, and joyful
- Continue to cultivate non-attachment by being generous and giving to the extent I am able

I am starting the month of January feeling good about this area of my life.  Daily prayers, meditation, and being grateful are part of my daily routine.  I do still need to focus on being positive, joyful, and cultivating non-attachment.

House (7.5):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:
- Clean - Clean the house as needed 
- Organize - Continue to find a place for everything and keep everything in its place
- Well maintained - Keep "erasing the evidence"; implement daily and weekly cleaning schedules
- Decluttered - Continue with the decluttering process

I'm starting the month with a house that was cleaned and decorated for the holidays and tidied a bit for the New Year.  My decluttering goal for this month is 31 items decluttered.

Garden (6.5):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant:
Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed); M will continue to visit twice a week
- Focus on the winter vegetable and fruit plants

I am starting the month with Mother Nature doing quite a bit of watering for me!  

Daughter (10) The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her:
- Continue to enjoy the rest of the time together before she has to go back
- Continue to keep in daily contact once she goes back to her apartment

I am starting the month with my daughter being home with me.  We celebrated Christmas and New Year, together.  She will be with me for the rest of the week and then, she will fly back to the Bay Area. 

Family & Friends (8):  The goal is to have a close connection with family and friends:
- Regular phone calls and emails to check on them

I started off the month with wishing family and friends a Happy New Year.  I don't anticipate any in-person visits with family, but, there might be one visit with a friend.  

Community (10):  The goal is to be involved in my community:
- Continue to participate in the various community groups to the extent possible in the following ways:
  - Participate in the blogging community
  - Participate in the online organizing group
  - Weekly phone calls with neighbor T
  - Participate in temple events when safe to do so

I am starting January with phone calls with neighbor T to wish for the New Year and a visit from Neighbor S and her daughters to exchange holiday gifts.  

Finances (10):  The goal is financial security:
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose

I need to make a new budget for 2023.  The gas company sent me an email, as they do, showing how much they estimate my gas bill to be, based on the amount of gas I've used in the first 10 days of the billing period.  It is 2 to 3 times as much as my normal winter bills used to be, due to the cost of gas going up.  

Health & Well Being (8.5):  The goal is good health:
- Focus on continuing to improve my health through diet, hydration, adequate sleep, etc.
- Attend my medical appointments
- Continue to take my medications as prescribed
- Continue to take necessary precautions against viral infections

I start January in relative good health, considering I have chronic medical conditions.  I have a blood test, a mammogram, an ultrasound, an injection for bone strengthening, and a doctor's appointment scheduled for this month.

Time Management (8): The goal is to spend my time in a mindful manner:
Spend time purposefully, mindfully
- Continue to focus on making my schedule work for me
- Procrastinate less

I am starting January with renewed determination to improve my time management skills!

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Self-Care (10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Engage in daily joyful activities
- Engage in leisure activities
- Do crafts and pursue hobbies

I am starting the month doing some leisure activities with my daughter, including doing a jigsaw puzzle and baking chocolate chip cookies.  Looking forward to a month of joyful activities and crafting.


Anyone else making New Year's Resolutions (or Goals or Aspirations) and monthly goals for a more balanced life?  Do you choose a word of the year?   

20 comments:

  1. Sometimes I make goals and sometimes not. I'm in the process of thinking about them now.

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    1. Sometimes, just thinking about them is enough. :)

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  2. Wonderful goals for the year. I like your OLW of Journey & especially the fellowship of Hope & Joy - wonderful traveling companions. I liked that you shared your overflowing milk with Mama Cat. Generosity is another good traveling companion :)

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    1. Thank you, Mary-Lou. The more I think about it, the more I like "Journey" - it brings the promise of new discoveries (or, even, rediscoveries), adventures, a broadening of horizons, and learning opportunities, I think. :) And yes, I have a few traveling companions! :)

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  3. Wishing you good luck with your 2023 aspirations/goals and I look forward to seeing how you get on.

    You've already read my goals for this year so I won't bore you with them again 😂 xx

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. :) I really like your goals for this year and I know you will do well. :)

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  4. I like the word "aspire". At the moment all I aspire to is getting over my cold! Your word "Journey" is a positive one, evoking experiences and progress! Mine is "Commitment", meaning that I have to use this year well and not let it drift by. There are things to organize, decluttering to be done (despite last year's word "letting go" there is still plenty to let go of!).

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. I feel that "aspire" is better for me, right now, than "resolution". As for "Journey", it, too, seems like the right word for me at this particular time. This year marks the 50th anniversary since I undertook a different type of journey, leaving the country of my birth. :)
      Oh, I do hope that you will recover from that cold that seems to be lingering!
      I like your word, "Commitment" - one needs commitment in order to accomplish anything! I also like the idea of not letting this year drift by. I will join you in making the most of this year. :)

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  5. Nice goals. I enjoy seeing your monthly targets.

    I am going to try better with the time management. Procrastinating is something I suffer with too ha ha. I also want to be more organised. Last year was a lot of working on Jane's house. This year I want to work on mine and get decluttered and create a more organised space to enjoy.

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    1. Thank you, Sharon.
      You accomplished a lot with Jane's house, last year and it took a lot of your time and energy, leaving you with less time and energy to tend to your own house. I'm sure you'll do great with organizing your own home, this year.

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  6. Hi Bless! I'm glad your daughter got well and that you are able to have her visit for so long! I enjoyed seeing your Christmas and New Year's celebrations. Your yard is looking very nice after the rain. Your cat is just too silly. andrea

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    1. Thank you, Andrea. I'm so glad that my daughter recovered in time to come home for the holidays. It made Christmas and New Year that much more special. We've been getting quite a bit of rain and the garden is thriving! Yes, the cat is very silly, isn't he?
      I hope you've had a lovely Christmas and wish you a very happy New Year, Andrea.

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  7. You have a good approach and seem to have yourself set up to have a successful year with the things that matter to you.

    I don't do anything. lol
    I mean, nothing. hahahaha
    No word, no resolutions.

    In my day-to-day life I do try to improve things and am mindful of my health, financial life, crafting and keeping up with our garden and home so there are things I focus on and I guess that's a way of improving.
    But I do not think about them and organize my focus around them at the New Year.
    I wonder if that makes me unusual or just honest. chuckling here....

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    1. Ha, ha, maybe you are being honest! Or, maybe you do make goals and resolutions, but, you don't call them that and you don't make a formal announcement. Which is fine, too. I sometimes feel that I've been making the same goals and resolutions for too long, but, I think I do better if I can trick myself into thinking that I have a plan. Then, again, life has a way of happening, no matter what, doesn't it?

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  8. I always find how you focus on your goals to be so very inspiring, Bless.
    And I like your word of the year. I don't usually choose one as such, but the word 'Less' keeps coming into my mind. Xx

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    1. Thank you, Jules.
      I like "Less" - less clutter, less inactivity, less junk food, fewer time wasters, etc. A paring down of the unnecessary. :)

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  9. This is the first time I've selected a word for the year, "health". I have let myself get out of shape and have some rheumatism just diagnosed, so I do need to set goals. My first steps are to eat healthier meals, cut back on junk food, and also get back to taking walks. I will see if I can adapt your method of goal setting and evaluation. You and Eileen T have inspired me!

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    1. Sorry to hear about the rheumatism diagnosis, Celie. Health is a good word for the year, especially since health is so important. We all know what we need to do, but, actually doing is the hard part (for me, at least). Set some mini goals, such as 15 minutes of walking, and it makes it easier to evaluate at the end of the month.

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  10. Aspirations sound much more uplifting than resolutions. Good luck reaching those new heights.

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    1. Thank you, Susanne. We shall see how it all works out! :)

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