Goals for 2021
Faith,  General,  Inspiration,  Lifestyle

Hello 2021!

1 January 2021. The rain is falling gently outside today. The cooler weather is a welcome reprieve from the delightful (not) Durban heat we have been experiencing lately. We have had a slow day at home today – playing, watching TV, sorting through cupboards, tidying up and taking it easy. Its been a good day. Its been a good start to the new year.

One thing I have wanted to do in preparation for this year, something I have never really done before, was set some personal goals for 2021. My husband is the person who inspired me to do this. He shared with me his personal goals for this year, and it got me thinking – how great would it be to have a list of things I would like to accomplish for this year? And what a feeling if, at the end of 2021, when I look back at my list of goals, I can actually tick off what I accomplished?

Jason sent me an acronym he found for setting SMART goals. When setting your goals, they need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. This got me thinking about the smart goals I would like to set myself for 2021. I took some time yesterday to make my list, and even chatted with a far away friend, to make sure some of them were in fact realistic. When I shared with her my plans to write this post today, sharing my goals, she reminded me that making them public will mean I will be held accountable. I’m not gonna lie – that made me a little nervous. And I did reconsider this post for a second. What would the point be then of setting these goals, if I am not prepared to be held accountable? Why even bother?

So here we go – my SMART goals for 2021.

1.) Draw closer to God – trust Him in everything this came really easily for me last year, especially in lock down. But I found that as life started to return to some semblance of normalcy, old habits that weren’t particularly good started to creep back in. Life became busy, I got stressed, and while I knew I needed to keep my focus on Him and stay as close to Him as possible, I did not do that. That is changing this year! I will have a quiet time each day. I will pray each day. I will thank Him for His faithfulness each day. I will listen to Him each day.

2.) Paint/draw something each month - a few years ago, just before we moved to Cape Town actually, I started feeling a desire to draw and paint. It’s not something I ever saw myself doing – I never thought of myself as the most creative, artistic person. But I kept feeling a tingling in my right hand, and I knew I had to begin the journey of learning to paint and draw (that’s a whole other blog post all on its own) . I loved learning and trying my hand at this. But over time, the tingling in my hand went away, and I lost the desire to paint and draw. Lately though, I have felt the familiar tingle return. And I just know in my heart, this is what God wants me to do. So I will work on this. I will choose a picture to either paint or draw each month and I look forward to writing a blog post at the end of the year, showing you each picture.

3.) Write more – in the five or so years that I have had this blog, I have always enjoyed sitting down and writing the posts. I may not have been very good at writing regularly. But when I have written, it has been fun. If you know me well, you will know that I will always choose words over numbers. If you want to punish me, make me do any kind of maths. But oh, how I love words. I also have a similar tingling in my right hand when I think about writing something – I truly believe God has words He wants me to write. So I commit to writing each day. I will choose a notebook (I have a drawer full of them – can you ever really go wrong with a pretty notebook?) and I will write something in it each day. Some of that writing may appear on the blog. Some of it may just be for me. But I will write more.

4.) Have at least two blog posts go live each week – like I said, I have not always been very consistent with blogging. This year, I want to change that. This year, I want to commit to posting at least two blog posts a week. I can do it, with some proper planning. So look out for more regular posts this year!

5.) Double my blog and social media numbers – eeek! This is what I needed to check with my friend Judy. She is my go-to for all things blog and social media related, as well as being an awesome friend. Everyone needs a friend like Judy in their lives! I have all my numbers for 2020. By 31 December 2021, I would really like to at least double these numbers. When thinking about this new year, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this would be the year I grow my online spaces. I have some ideas. I have some plans. They are still in the thought / dream phase – mainly because they seem a bit big and out of my reach. But I want to at least try. I want to know that I put in the effort and hard work to grow this space. So I will begin by aiming to increase my numbers. Lets see where this takes us!

6.) Pay off all debt – another biggie. We don’t have a huge amount of debt. We are also not necessarily drowning in it either. We have managed to rack up a fair amount of debt though. Paying off all debt may seem a bit unrealistic. I believe it is possible for us though. We can do it. It will require sacrifices. But it will be so worth it.

7.) Read one book a month – I had this as a sole, random goal many years ago, and if I think back to that year, I managed to double that number. I have always loved reading – that kinda goes hand in hand with having a love for words. But I have not been reading a lot lately – it can take me months to finish a book that used to take me a week, two at most. I want to change that this year. One book a month – here we go!

8.) Exercise regularly and eat healthier – this has always been a tough one for me. But I need to do something. My lifestyle needs to change. I do not feel comfortable. I am not happy with how I look physically. I need to do what I can to change that. I have an eating plan which I did a few years ago and loved. I want to go back to eating like that. I want to be more physically active. In fact, I have a dress in my cupboard. My mom-in-law gave it to my for Christmas in 2019. I love the dress. It is so pretty. But it doesn’t fit me. I want to be able to fit into this dress by the end of this year.

That’s it. That is my list of SMART goals for 2021. Please hold me accountable. I have never been very good at setting goals and sticking to them. This year, that changes. Have you set any goals for this year? Do you have any you would like to share with me? Here is to a new year, new possibilities, new habits and new opportunities!

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