Reflecting on My #2020 Goals

What a year it’s been! 

Around this time of year, I always like to reflect. I don’t do “resolutions,” but I do like to make goals. I like to reflect on them often to notice growth and to learn from the goals I was/ was not able to meet. 

I always make personal, professional, and spiritual goals for each year, based on what is in my heart.

Here are some of goals from this past year, which I assessed twice throughout the year, and am now giving myself a final assessment on:

1. Face and heal from shame. I would give myself 10/10 on this one. I read many books about shame (which I will share about in another blog), talked about it in counseling, and learned how to face it instead of trying to run or hide from it. I will work on this throughout my life, no doubt, but I am happy with the work I accomplished here this past year.
2. Live in and enjoy the present. I am naturally future-oriented. I dream my entire life before I live it. I also look back to learn and grow from past. Sometimes I have one foot in the past and one in the future, meaning I have zero in the present! Yoga/ mindfulness and constantly telling myself: “enjoy this moment!” in whatever I am doing have helped with this, but I still have work to do. I would give myself a 7/10.
3. Relearn how to seek and walk with God. I made this general goal as a baby step to help me get back to a place closer to where I was when I started out in ministry over ten years ago (borderline ascetic). I think many years in ministry made me feel a bit like I was working for God instead of just walking with Him, and I long for the simplicity of being with and learning from Him for the sake of it. For this one I’d give myself a 5/10.
4. Grow as a writer and artist. I would say 10/10 for this one! I have written more this past year than I ever have. I have learned from countless videos, articles, and grammar websites. I am not a natural grammarian, but more of a wordsmith who has had to learn all the little details. I have enjoyed painting my book cover and have definitely learned more about myself as an artist. I watched a lot of painting videos during this past year, too (Bob Ross, anyone?). I promise to share some of my paintings with you all this coming year!
5. Make $1000+/ month freelancing. I don’t like to make financial goals because it feels so money-grubbing to me, but as a freelancer I am now responsible for my business and income. I would give myself 12/10 on this one, as I surpassed that goal each month this year.
6. Figure out appropriate boundaries in relationships. I am still working on this one, but I made some important steps in this area this year. I can look back on specific instances where I could articulate the boundaries I needed clearly and stick to them! I would give myself a 9/10.
7. Get my first book published. Eh. The truth is, I was going to publish my first book this year, but the more I have learned about self publishing, the more I want to perfect my book and avoid making newbie mistakes. My book is a summer story for middle grade readers, so I also thought a June release would be better than the winter. SO, this is an unofficial announcement that my middle grade fantasy novel, The Land in the Woods, will be coming out in June 2021! I’ll give myself 6/10 for learning all I did about publishing.
8. Cultivate 5 healthy, close friendships. This has not been the ideal year for this. I like to meet with people in person. Regardless, I have been able to meet with others virtually or talk on the phone. I would give myself a 7/10 on this one.
9. Get to know ten new people. This one is a little vague. I definitely have gotten to know more than 10 new people this year, but on what level… I’ll just give myself a 10/10.
10. Find an area to serve in church. Yes! 10/10, especially because I found 2 areas: children’s and women’s ministry.
11. Communicate desires, needs, and expectations better, especially to my husband. Ha! This one depends on the day and my mood. When I’m thinking about a million different things, I generally struggle with this, as I am not as in touch with what I need and want. I have had to slow down and focus at times (journaling can help!) to realize what it is that I am really wanting or needing. Then, I have to “make a request” or figure out how to be assertive, without bullying, coercing or manipulating. I would give myself a 9/10 for this one because I’ve grown a lot here.
12. Blog once/ week. I did not blog once/ week, but I have reached 52 blogs for this year, which averages out to that. Still, I’d like to be more consistent in the coming year. I will give myself an 8/10 here.

I guess some of those were more priorities than goals, but it’s still helpful to set direction. I’ve already made my goals for next year, and the list keeps growing! I will share a couple in my next blog.

I wish you a successful start to 2021! Happy New Year!