Saturday, January 4, 2014

Dangling with Goals

So with 2013 being so much about the unseen aspects of my life, I want 2014 to be about the concrete goals that will help to move my life forward. Everyone has the typical New Year's Resolutions and my goals definitely go back to those ideas with my own spin. 

1. Pass each part of the CPA exam before starting work for EY in August. 
2. Run at least four 5K races and one race that is at least a 10K or longer
3. Be aware of what I am eating on a daily basis and try to limit unhealthy snacking
4. Be present in the time I spend with the most important people in my life especially during the first half of the year when I will be consumed with goal #1
5. Do not pass up an adventure or an opportunity to try something new - the year of "YES" 
6. Read at least one article a week that will expand my knowledge of either business or education
7. Stay more current with the news - sign up for notifications from a news service and pay attention when watching TV
8. Starting in August, learn how to make one new food dish per week 
9. Take on one new project that benefits the community
10. Always continue to strengthen my relationship with God and be thankful for his blessings in my life

I guess 10 goals is quite a lot for this year and maybe they aren't as concrete as I thought they would be but these are the areas of my life where I see room for improvement. Even if I can't complete all these goals at least these ideas will be on the forefront of my mind and I will be working towards their improvement. 

It's funny that the world is tied to recommitting ourselves at the beginning of each year because if our life needs improvement than we should recognize it and make a change in the moment. I guess the New Year is just that moment in time for us to reflect on all the things that fell off our radar over the course of the last 12 months and try our best to make a positive life change. I have a feeling 2014 is going to be a wild ride and I can't wait to jump on the horse! 

Dangling with Meaning

This blog doesn't get much attention throughout the year but I love being able to come back to it each January to reflect on my year and set new goals for the coming months.

In 2013, I picked Patience, Trust, and Spiritual as my watchwords for the year. I wanted to focus on growing these qualities within myself as well as strengthening my relationship with God. No one can ever be perfect and I think my watchwords bit off a little bit more than I could chew to be honest. Yes, my patience has grown but I still want things to go my way. Yes, I am slowly growing my trust in the process of life but it's hard to be committed to whatever life throws your way. Fortunately, my relationships and discovering myself this year are helping me to grow in my trust. 

And I don't know what to say about my spirituality this year. To be honest, it's the resolution that came firing out of the gate but seemed to wane throughout the year. I guess my problem is that there is not one "standard" goal to be reached in my relationship with God. My spirituality is going to be built up by my own beliefs and actions towards my relationship with God. My actions are lacking but my belief is strong. This year has proven to me that God puts into your life exactly what you need at that moment. I think the shining example from this year is that I found out I got into the Masters of Accounting program at UGA on Valentine's Day. I took it as a sign from God that the MAcc was my focus and anything that wasn't contributing positively to that goal should be set aside. Once again, God works in mysterious ways and set the path for me to discover Europe while also building a bond with a guy I would have never expected to be in my life. I was committed to me and my career this summer and then God decided someone incredibly important could contribute to my experience. I will never understand God's timing and I still want to work on my relationship with God, but I realize that my continuous commitment to him will bring about a life full of joy. 

So 2013 was the year of events that moved my life in so many positive directions while also leading me on the path of strengthening myself. I guess that's why I like coming back to the blog each January because it helps me to reflect on how much I have grown in the past 12 months. I want to make a list of everything that happened but I don't know if it's actually that important. The most important part of my year was coming to the realization that I am exactly where I am suppose to be at this very moment and God is going to shape me into the person that I am suppose to be with each adventure of my life.