This Year...

With the turn of a new year, so many of us take the time to reflect and reevaluate our lives. We see a new year as the opportunity to start afresh and make changes that we're certain will make us happier; more fulfilled, and a better version of ourselves. We look for what it is we want, we set our goals, and with some new found hope and motivation, we take our first steps towards achieving them. Some of us see them through to the end, but far more give up before they get there. I don't know why that is, exactly; I'm no expert, but perhaps some goals are just a little unrealistic or unattainable in the short-term.

I don't make resolutions, instead I favour setting goals that I can achieve at my own pace. I find I achieve far more this way. So, when I came across a new year challenge on Pinterest recently, I couldn't resist taking it on, and coming up with my own answers for each of the nine questions. They're all aimed at improving different areas of our lives, like learning a new skill, dropping a bad habit, and  bettering ourselves at something, and I personally think these are achievable goals worth committing to!

[Source]

This is what I hope to achieve before the year is through...

A bad habit I'm going to break:

I am going to stop dipping in to my overdraft for non-essential items. It's a habit that I don't want to have or encourage, and I'm going to avoid doing so as much as possible. I'm not going to die if I have to go without leave in conditioner or a magazine for a few weeks.

A new skill I'd like to learn:

There are many things I would love to learn to do: crocheting, patchwork quilting, card making, making candles out of tea cups... to name but a few. For the last couple of years I've repeatedly expressed an interest in jewellery making, and I hope 2014 will be the year I start trying. I've little interest in turning it in to a trade, but I would love to be able to make my own accessories out of quirky little trinkets... say, turning a Sylvanian Family figurine in to a necklace.

A person I hope to be more like:

I hope to be more like my best friend, Angela. She is such a strong, hard-working woman who will take everything that's thrown at her with her head held high, and a smile on her face, even when she's going through hell. She handles everything with such grace and dignity. She never moans or rants about her life in public for all to read / hear, instead she remains so positive. Instead she focuses on the good in life. Her son, her friends, her family. She works extremely hard to give her son the best in life, even if it means going without herself, and she always put others before herself. I wish I could be more like her. I wish I had her strength, dignity, and outlook on life.

A good deed I'm going to do:

This is a hard one, as so many good deeds require more mobility than I have at the moment. I can't go and help an old lady with her shopping, or roll up my sleeves to help somebody whose home has been flooded. I can't even do all the house work to give the rest of my family a break... I want to do more random acts of kindness, though, like secretly sending my best friend something frivolous she has her eye on, or letting people cut in front of me in the queue at the supermarket. I'd like to work on being a kinder, more thoughtful person.

A place I'd like to visit:

Since the odds of me being in a fit state for a holiday or any form of major travel are slim, it's unlikely that I'll be able to get away for a break this year, otherwise I'd be answering with Italy or New York. The latter because I'm dying to return, and the former because I've always wanted to visit it. Instead, I've been thinking of local places I'd like to aim to visit.

I hope to manage a walk around my local wildlife park (zoo) which is just a few miles from home. As zoos go, it's small, but it's one of my favourite places which I've been visiting since I was a baby, and the grounds are so lovely to wander around. (Plus they have tapirs!) I plan to attempt a visit this Spring / Summer, and my reasoning is: if I only manage to view a small section of the park before I have to admit defeat, it will be worth it. I've missed not being able to go for the past two and a half years. 

A book I'd like to read:

Just one? I have at least 60 books waiting to be read on the shelf, and more than 300 to get through on my Kindle! (Most of them were free Kindle books, FYI; I'm not a book-buying addict!)

I would like to finally get around to reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which I've been meaning to read for years now. Everybody's been raving about it since the film was released (which I've also not yet seen), and I'd like to see what all the fuss is about.

A letter I'm going to write:

I want to make a habit of sending hand written letters to my best friend again, from time to time. We used to write each other on a regular basis, before social media and email grew in popularity and became easier and more efficient- and before life's commitments got in the way. It's become so much easier and faster to keep in contact by text message, email, and Facebook, but I'd like to send her letters every now and then when there's no occasion involved. Just because. 

A new food I'd like to try:

Not a food exactly, but I'm going to go with coffee. I've never tried a single cup of coffee, and I think 2014 should be the year I finally pop that cherry. I like the idea of trying a seasonal flavour.

I'm going to do better at:

Keeping on top of emails and blog comments. I've fallen so behind in recent months, and I know the length of time it's taking me to respond to them is absolutely atrocious. I appreciate every comment and message left for me, and I assure you I always read them. They make me smile! Taking weeks to reply to them is unacceptable. Once I've caught up on the back log over the next few days, I'm aiming to keep on top of them and respond within a couple of days at most.

Well I know what I want to achieve in 2014. What about you? What do you hope to achieve this year?