Yesterday I looked behind to what has passed over the past year. Today is all about looking ahead. Everyone always talks about New Year’s Resolutions. I am not a fan of the practice. Resolutions are often too broad and end up unachievable. It feels as though every time I have tried I only set myself up for failure. This year I took a different approach, I sat down at the beginning of this month and came up with a collection of goals, each broken down into smaller goals and rewards for completing a goal. My brother’s partner told me she teaches her students with the same method. She called them “S.M.A.R.T Goals.” The acronym breaks down into specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-sensitive. I recommend trying this out in the future instead of traditional resolutions.
For myself, my goals this year revolve around self-enrichment. I want to read more so each month my goal is to read about 3-5 books that way by the end of the year I will have read roughly 50 books. I want to visit at least 10 new places, this I left open to a variety of places from restaurants to towns to museums and everything in between. I want to finish painting my Warhammer armies! This will be aided by our local game club’s monthly painting challenges I’m sure. I want to try 1 new recipe every 2 weeks. Lastly, I want to write at least one blog post a week, while I will hopefully do more than that setting my goals for a minimum of achievement is intended to prevent me from feeling overwhelmed.
Aside from the goals I set this year I also have several plans in motion for 2024. In the fall I will return to school. Through my job I receive tuition remission, meaning I can begin to heal my GPA from my first degree for free so that later on I will be able to qualify for whichever graduate school program I end up pursuing. I will be attending NOVA, a Warhammer convention not far from home. While I am unsure if I will play I look forward to watching, learning, and of course, visiting all the vendors! I may not be the most skilled player but I love the games and have grown rather attached to the community.
Overall I look forward to what 2024 will bring, regardless of the trials I have this year, I must have faith and confidence that I will come out the other side of it a better person.