It’s February. January both flew by much too quickly and dragged on for far too long all at the same time. I kind of treated January like the first pancake, goals-wise, in that I didn’t make any. I didn’t really even have time, since I ended up moving suddenly! That’s a whole other story though. Back to goals for 31…
First off, I’ll start with my word for the year. Though picking a word for the year has become quite trendy recently, I was inspired by my friend Rachael, who’s been doing this for years, and chooses her word on her birthday, for the start of her year. I loved that so much, so I started doing it, too. This year’s word is: spirit.
I wanted a word that emanated energy, positivity, and health, and decided on spirit because it has so many definitions. Some of my Merriam-Webster favorites are:
- the immaterial intelligent or sentient part of a person
- the activating or essential principle influencing a person
- an inclination, impulse, or tendency of a specified kind
- a special attitude or frame of mind
- the feeling, quality, or disposition characterizing something
With that in mind, here are my goals for 31.
- Take guitar lessons. I’ve been trying to learn guitar for over ten years now, and the only reason I even know some chords is because of a class I took in community college one summer semester. With all the resources I have at my disposal, it’s time to stop making excuses.
- Go to the gym at least once a week. I finally joined a gym again a few months ago, but my regular attendance only occurred for a couple weeks. Obviously I should be exercising more than once a week, but I’m purposely starting out small.
- Develop a skin care routine. Last year, my cousin Lily and I stood in the makeup aisle at Target, as unfamiliar (to me) goops and goos and tools loomed in front of us. “What is this?” I’d asked her, as I picked up an oddly shaped brush. A lady in the aisle near us gave me side-eye and smirked. “It’s like I’m an alien and you’re teaching me how to be a human girl!” I (more subtly) remarked. The point of sharing this dialogue was to demonstrate that I know next to nothing about skin and beauty, and now that I’m 31, I’ve been noticing other fellow 30-somethings commenting on how they wished they’d picked up better habits earlier. Too late for that, but I guess there’s no time like the present.
- Stick to my vitamins routine. In my quest to head down the path of better health, I discovered my new daily multi-vitamin solution. Ritual sends you your month’s supply of vitamins in the best millennial-catered packaging. I’ve been taking these for almost a month now, and I’m determined to keep it up.
- Get up earlier to better utilize my mornings. Most anyone who knows me knows that I am not a morning person. And many also know that I’ve been attempting to become a morning person for many years now, and my efforts have all mostly fallen short. The few times I do get up early are so enjoyable, though. I drink coffee, I read or write or pray or journal, and enjoy the quiet and calm of the morning time. So, here we go again. This year, I want to start waking up earlier to take advantage of the time that I’ve instead used to half-sleep whilst snoozing my many alarms.
Here’s to 31.