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Travel, learning, ceramics, film photography. A highlight of 2017. Tortus Studio in Copenhagen, August 2017.

I have big goals for 2018 (I always do but this year in particular I’m feeling it). My focus has shifted from last year. My focus and interests felt action/effort related in 2017; I’m interested in internal attention and strength for 2018. It feels like a natural evolution and truthfully, it is a sign of growth for me. I have always been achievement oriented, to a completely crippling fault, so focusing internally feels like I’ve grown up a bit. I’m not as worried about achieving ‘the shoulds’ or external successes – what I really care about is knowing my actions are true to myself and pursuing what feels good.  

Like last year, I’m motivated to share myself + my goals in public form in an effort to make myself a better person. It is vulnerable to lay all this out, particularly when I’m unclear about aspects, but I also think there is magic is putting things out into the universe and seeing what unfolds. I’m excited to refer back throughout the year and see where I stand one year from now.

Two words I’m focusing on in 2018 (+ how I’m defining them):

Surrender

an inner softening.

/I really like how this article discusses surrender. I’m currently reading Radical Acceptance and have been brought to tears a few times by how deeply I resonate with the message. I highly, highly recommend for everyone, particularly those who have suffered/are suffering with feelings of unworthiness.

Languor

the state or feeling, often pleasant, of tiredness or inertia.  

/What I seek in a good day’s work/my goal at the end of the day/my favorite feeling. A new-to-me vocab word recently learned from Just Kids, an inspiring book for artists and those forging their own path in the world. One of the things I love most about reading is learning new words, at 31 it feels like being a kid with eyes wide open again.

Now, onto my 2018 targets. Seems a bit contradictory to list out goals after just going on about surrender but oh well! These targets are a part of my productive side and I guess I need that to balance out my pensivity…

Read 15 books

I have always loved reading. I was that kid who brought a book to a restaurant, to a baseball game, etc. I read eight books in 2017 as well as so (so, so) many articles. In 2018 I want to make a concerted effort to read even more, with a focus on quality. I’m hoping to surpass my target of 15 books, too.

/My favorite tip to start reading more is to set a goal of reading five pages before bed – it’s low commitment enough that you can make it a daily habit – and most of the time you’ll keep going once you get started. And the five page commitment is easy to stick to every night. Try it for a month and see what happens!

Make $$

I have big goals for 2018. Achieving those goals requires money. AND I am ready to do the personal work and make big bucks. I’m meditating on the specifics and putting the energy in to manifesting what is true for my path. I’m excited to see what unfolds next year (and if I reach my target $$ goal).

Train myself to relax

The definition of a first world problem though I know I’m not alone. I want to strengthen my ‘relax’ muscle in 2018 by just being (not doing). This looks like less tv, less phone, less overwhelm from multi-tasking and taking in too much information, less busy work. It looks like Sunday piddle days (learned from this book by Oprah, which I listen to over and over), meditating, morning walks, more games (currently looking at gin rummy and bananagrams – would love suggestions for fun two player games, especially competitive ones ;)!), and more reading actual books (less articles on my phone).

/Further reading: I cited an article about productivity being a class signifier at the footer of this post.

Detox

Physically as well as emotionally. I focused a lot of time and effort in 2017 to physically detoxing my body (particularly looking towards chemo nearly seven years ago). Things that have worked for me: finding a naturopath, blood work + starting supplements, ozone saunas, therapy, month long breaks from alcohol, whole 30. In 2018 I’d like to focus more on physical detox (I’m currently researching NAC, for liver cleansing and immune support, and MSM, for oxygenating the body). 

/Further reading: I wrote more under the ‘ten strict pushups’ header here about my physical + emotional detox pursuits in 2017.

Write

I’ve always enjoyed processing and expressing myself through writing. I find it especially pleasant when I get into flow states while writing (which is often but not every day). I have a flexible starter goal of writing for three hours per week but we’ll see. Left to my own devices, I tend to write in one long session and then recover for a few-to-many weeks before writing again. I just started this book last night and I’m looking forward to seeing if it resonates with me to follow the structure – essentially it sees writing as a meditative practice – which I can really get behind!

Less but better

Less but better has been one of my core tenants for a few years now (dating back to 2013, I believe). To me it is a guiding force to fill my plate with less things but choose those things really sing to me. In 2018, I’ll continue to apply it to work projects, friendships + hang time, purchases, food/drink consumption, etc.

Etc.

Some extra goals I hope to accomplish in the next year:

– Get a kiln + learn how to fire my ceramic work.

– Glowy skin! I transitioned from traditional skin care six+ years ago (from soap/moisturizer to using oils for cleansing and moisturizing) and this year I want to spend more time on my skin. Drink more water, do more masks, focus on hydration (through oils), eat well, less makeup.

– Get more manicures. I don’t take care of my hands because I work with them every day (I used to think, ‘what’s the point?’) but that’s exactly the reason why I should/want to!

– Personal newsletter –  structured in the vein of emails I send to friends + new friends with recommendations based on our conversations, new things I learn as I go along, etc. I love discovering new things and find it especially rewarding when it’s a useful recommendation for a friend.

Goals I’m carrying over from 2017 to 2018: 

Strong

Play/explore curiosities

Cheers to 2018!

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[…] you’re curious to look back, I’ve shared end of year reflections/new year goals in: 2019  2018  2017  […]

Love this! So many great reading recommendations 🙂 looks like we are both focusing on writing this year

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