2012 Goals – Bring it on!

So you knew this post was bound to come.

Four days into the new year and the thought on everyone’s mind is “What are YOUR New Year’s Resolutions??”.

After the stroke of midnight, when the drinks had been toasted and the party poppers popped and the fireworks adequately oohed and ahhed over, the question was raised. Sam put it out there in a sort of game-show host kind of way and we each went around in a circle declaring what it was that we wanted 2012 to be for us.

He got to me quicker than I expected, and I panicked, still drunk on the high of the disbelief that we were minutes into a brand new year and some very good champagne. I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head.

“QUIT SUGAR”

Silence followed and I nervously started to explain “…you see I read this book and it all makes sense…” I trailed off.

But, they had already moved on, laughing at my mother’s typical goal of wanting grandchildren-and-not-the-furry-kind with a pointed look at myself.

Phew.

However, once the last person had left, the leftover food packed away, the dogs sufficiently cuddled and the final dish had been placed into the dishwasher, I started to think about the very public declaration I had just made.

WHAT had I been thinking?

You see, I’ve never been good with New Year’s Resolutions.

There is a very definitive type of pressure that comes with being a New Year’s Resolution – they’re all shiny and exciting and new with the hope and promise of helping you become a BETTER you, but more often than not by the middle of January they have been forgotten, left to the wayside to collect dust and guiltily be reminded of every time you looked into the mirror.

I, like most of the population that wake up on January 1, are sucked into making these resolutions.

And to be honest, I’m not good with goals of any sort really.

I can’t tell you the amount of times I have said “Right. Time to put on my big girl panties and just DO IT (Quoting from a very smug shoe/fitness apparel company)” and then, lasted for maybe a week.

I even had a plan.

So this time, I took my time with thinking about what I wanted out of 2012. Yes, I had made one very big resolution, and I decided to stick with it, but I spent the last few days mulling over them. One thing I did do was take a leaf out this girl’s book and create a vision board to encompass my goals and provide me with inspiration throughout the year.

Let’s see that in more detail shall we?

You probably can’t tell since I went a little overboard in the motivation and inspiration, but I have tried to categorise my goals for this year into three different areas. I kept it general for the board and have them actually written down in my notebook with a bit more detail on HOW I am going to achieve them.

Have you ever tried setting goals? For me it was eerily similar to setting my business objectives for the year for my Firm. Eerily.

Anyways, here they are (and again eerily like my plan):

Personal

In 2012, I will….

• Read more books – I have been doing this pretty faithfully in these holiday-filled days but the Game of Thrones series is keeping me occupied at the moment. Can’t wait to finish and devour the rest of my unread books on my bookshelf.
• Cook more stuff – Be more creative in the kitchen. Yep, this means restarting up my Food Safari adventures (I mean, look how quickly THAT faded!) and also learning to cook more Indian/Sri-Lankan meals.
• Make my house a home – this means actually doing half the things I’ve been meaning to do in the house. Pinterest will be my main source of inspiration here.
• Work on the blog – blogging is fun for me and I want to make this space of mine grow. So that means posting more often, for a start.
• Be more open to opportunities – Say ‘YES’ more often, even if it takes me out of my comfort zone. I think this will be exciting!
• Spend more time with friends & family – I’m guilty of not being a very good friend and family member and being content in my little bubble. I need to make the effort more.
• Take breaks – and often – I learnt in 2011 how much fun it was to travel and get away. I mean to do that more this year, even if it is just discovering my own city. Already have leave booked in for May!
• Think seriously about starting a family – haha this will definitely keep my mother happy, but I want to make sure that this year I at least think about preparing myself emotionally, physically and financially for the prospect of getting pregnant.

Professional

In 2012, I will…

• Procrastinate less – REALLY need to work on this one. I ALWAYS leave things to the last minute and it stresses me out (even though I work best under pressure!) to get it all done in time. This actually leads to my next one…
• Delegate more – I’m at a stage in my career where I have juniors working with me and more often than not I tend to do even the littlest things because I feel like I can do it better or it will take me less time. Again, this is more of a stress-relieving thing, but also to help them with their development so I can focus on the bigger things and not have to worry about doing a million things at once.
• Be more assertive (and push for that promotion) – I’m a non-confrontational person when it comes to my job and I tend to take the slack for a lot of things. To move up, I need to be more assertive and push for my own worth. Hopefully that means a promotion in the coming year.
• Seriously start thinking about changing careers – This might sound counter-productive to my previous goal, but more so than now, I’m thinking of changing things up. It doesn’t mean I won’t work hard, but it means I’ll be more open to what’s out there.
• Look for more freelance writing work – This one. Wow. Where do I start? This desire, has been a hidden whisper in my heart since the day I could pick up a pencil. All the while I studied maths and science, my heart ached for literature and creative writing. I’d have done journalism at uni if I had my time again. Being older has made me realise that we need to acknowledge our dreams. Writing them down turns dreams into goals. And that’s what I intend to do this year. Dream Big. Chase it and work hard for it.

Health/Fitness

In 2012, I will….

• Quit Sugar – to the point I don’t NEED it anymore. I have a plan to do this and I’ll be sharing it here. It’s ambitious I know, but I think I need to do it.
• Complete the Body for Life program – I started this about this time last year and lasted for about 5-6 weeks. I lost inches and never felt better. I gave up halfway due to illness and I’ve been wanting to finish it completely. Again I’ll be documenting my journey here on this blog.
• Attend yoga at least once a week – I fell in love with Power Yoga last year when I did it for six weeks and my vow to myself is to continue it this year on a regular basis. It helped me immensely to de-stress and have some time for just me.
• Reduce meat consumption – this one surprised me actually. I’ve never been a vegetarian, but living at home before I was married I was since my mum is and she did all the cooking. I ate meat rarely then, only when I went out and the occasional McDonald’s burger. Perhaps it’s me getting older again, but I’m a lot more aware of what I put into my body and I naturally tend to lean towards a more plant-based diet. I eat meat because Evs does and I can’t be bothered making two meals. I hope to at least reduce the amount of meat I eat, and that I do, make sure it’s quality (free-range, organic).
• Build up running stamina – Ok, so you all the know the story. This year, I’m taking it slow and going to rebuild my running stamina – injury free. IF, I can’t do this, my goal is to find another source of cardio exercise (e.g. cycling, Zumba, spin etc). I’m not going to beat myself up if I don’t end up a runner, but I am going to try.
• Walk the dogs every day – When we had our dog-whisperer over to tame the wild beasts we own, he said that 80% of the problems we face are due to the dogs not getting enough exercise. Toby, especially since he is young and an active breed needs exercise to stimulate him so he doesn’t get bored and destroy our yard instead. My goal is, if it ain’t raining – we take them walking. Hopefully we can do this as soon as we get home, so we don’t have a chance to make excuses once we’re parked on the couch

Ok, so that’s it.

No biggie. Seriously – it’s almost the classic Eat Healthy, Exercise More resolutions everyone has.

*gulp*

Yep – I know it’s a huge list, but I’m an optimist and I want this to be the year where I make things happen for myself. I’ve put my vision board on the wall in front of my desk so I see it every time I sit down. It’s a powerful reminder for me and hopefully it will help me keep on track this year.

I also put one of my favourite quotes into a frame I bought on my desk to give me an extra boost of motivation.

I’m excited for 2012. I have my goals, I have my board and I’m willing to give it a shot.

This will be MY year.

Other related reads:

1. New Years = New Goals But How Do I Set Them Part 1 and Part 2
2. In honour of the fact that life is short: ecstatic sex, quitting, and wearing your best
3. How to be fabulous in three easy(ish) steps…
4. Why you should wait a week before setting NY resolutions

Do you identify with any of my goals above? NY resolutions – do you do them?