I have been staring at the cursor blink for 20 minutes now. I haven’t written a blog post for a while and I have put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure that this one makes an impact. 

IMPACT

That is my word for 2024! 

As I sit here and reflect on 2023 and all the things that I did and didn’t do, I realized one thing. I want to go back to why I started. I want to build a life on that why and that why was IMPACT. That is what I am going to focus on when setting my goals for 2024.

I want to show women that when they can fall back on themselves, they can begin to grow in ways that aren’t expected. I want to grow again! I want to become a more powerful version of myself and that means that I need to take some steps that I have been avoiding. 

A REVIEW OF MY 2023

Putting a year into words can be difficult. How do you summarize a year of your life in a single blog post? 

Well, you don’t but here are some of the things that I was able to do and accomplish in 2023.

1. I started a new position that I love!
2. We took a family vacation back home to Wisconsin in the summertime.
3. I published my first book of poetry and surprised my mom with it.
4. My husband and I were able to take our first weekend away with each other alone since having kids.
5. My brother-in-law and I surprised my sister and family by bringing me home after they had their second baby.
6. I got to meet my new niece!!
7. I got to hang out with my nephews!
8. I celebrated my dad’s birthday with him for the first time since moving to Canada.
9. I celebrated my birthday with my family since my grandma passed away. (I was pregnant with Quinton when that happened!)
10. My son turned 16!!
11. My husband turned 40!!
12. I took time off for myself.

There were so many more moments in my life over the past year that I am so grateful to have experienced. As we start this new year, I am ready to step up in my own life and start listening to that little voice inside. The one that I have been ignoring for a while. The one that is now screaming at me. Trying to remind me of the life that I wanted to live. 

My word for 2023 was MORE.

I wanted to have more of everything.

More fun.

More love.

More sex.

More memories.

More time.

More laughs.

More games.

More play.

More healing.

More living.

I lived up to that word and now is the time to step into even more this year.

MOVING TOWARDS MY GOALS FOR 2024

I have done a lot of soul-searching over the past couple of months. Trying to figure out what the tug on my heart is trying to tell me. It is my mission in 2024 to listen to that more often. Even when I don’t know what it is that it wants. 

I don’t know the steps forward that I need to take but I have always been the type of person to just jump in and figure it out as I go. So here I am, telling you that I promise to just jump. To follow the little breadcrumbs that I am finding and see where they all lead me. 

The things that I want to happen in 2024 are…

Time spent with Richard. It is time that we spend some one-on-one time together. We saw the impact that it had on us in Wisconsin and it’s time that we do this for ourselves and our relationship. 

One-on-one time spent with each kid. My oldest is in grade eleven. He has one more year left and then he is off to school. I am not ready and this year I am going to focus on spending some quality one-on-one time with each child. My daughter’s got some mom-and-daughter date coupons for Christmas. My son, well, we will just play it by ear because coupons are way too cool for him. 

Declutter my home. There are times when the stuff feels like it is slowly closing in around me. I get overwhelmed by all of it and I can’t concentrate. This year, I want to get rid of things that we just no longer need. I thrive when I am organized and when things are in their place. This year that means to reduce and get rid of the things that just no longer make me happy or have a purpose. 

Putting myself first. There are things that I love to do but I always find a reason to NOT do them. Anyone else?!? This year that ends. I want to take time to go swimming, to do yoga, to read more, to nap. I want to spoil myself with lingerie and get facials. This year is the year for next-level self-care.

Do more of the things that I love. This goes hand in hand with the one above but I also want this to focus on writing. I love to write and I have put so much pressure on myself that I have decided I just can’t do it anymore. Writing is who I am. I don’t exist without it. And so, I want to throw the idea away that I need to have the perfect blog post or the perfect first draft and to just do it. Put the words on paper and see where it takes me.

Try new things. Whether that means restaurants, recipes, games, or places to visit, I want to try new things. I want to expand what it is that I know and learn. 

So where does this take me? 

I have no idea but I am excited for the journey and to see where everything is going to fall and align. 

This brings me to my goals for January. 

EMPOWERING GOALS FOR JANUARY 2024

That brings me to what I am working on for this month. What goals am I going to accomplish? What progress am I going to make every single day?

I am not going to focus on business goals for this month. This month is about digging into 2024 and figuring out what I want and bringing me closer to that vision. That means my goals are going to be geared towards that. 

Goal #1: Start working out every morning

I was on a roll and I was working out every morning before I got sick. Since then, I have had a hard time getting back into it. I started again this morning and I am ready! 

Goal #2: Increase my water intake to a liter and a half

For the past seven days, I have been consistent with drinking a liter of water per day. I am so proud of myself. I don’t drink much of anything during the day so this is a big step for me. I can’t wait to see how this affects my life. 

Goal #3: Read every day

I love to read! I go through spurts though. There are times when I read book and after book. Then there are times when I don’t pick up a book for weeks.  I want to get in the habit of reading every single day for at least 30 minutes. 

Goal #4: Meditate daily

I have stopped meditating for a couple of weeks. My body craves it but I have not listened to my body so now is the time to get back into it. I am going to start doing a guided meditation every morning and a silent meditation every night.

Goal #5: Declutter my master bedroom

I did a lot of work this weekend on my master bedroom. I would like to work on my closet and the bathroom as well. Getting rid of stuff is going to feel so good.

Goal #6: Write at least 2,000 words in my book

I won’t lie. This goal was scary to write down. Putting it in here means that it is time to focus. I have been putting it off for over a year now and I can no longer silence myself. 

2024 is the year that I will publish my book.

Those are the goals that I am working towards in January. What are you working towards? I would love to hear your goals!!