The Year That Will Be 2014

Yesterday, I looked at all the goals that I made for myself for 2013 and how I fared, and my performance was less than stellar. Nevertheless, I am not deterred from making even more goals this year, though I don’t think it will approach the number and specificity of 2013. I have a few basic goals that would make 2014 better, and hopefully I will be able to accomplish them.

On with the show!

1) The Fitness Goal(s)
I know that people say that specific and numerical goals are easier to accomplish and whatnot. That said, this goal will be a combination of a couple different things:

1. Lose 80 pounds – I like this number from last year, so we’re going with it again.
2. Run 300 miles this year
3. Get my gym on at least 3x a week
4. Sleep better and like a normal person
5. Eat better, including eliminating soda completely by the end of the year

One of my friends started an accountability group for the year, and I plan on contributing to that group and using the support gained to keep me on track. I’ll be posting at least weekly regarding my progress (see next goal) and hope to end the year healthier.

2) The Writing Goal
Though it is no longer my job, I still like to think that I can write things, so the goal this year is to kick it up a notch. Instead of trying to maximize my writing for pay purposes, I just want to write for the sake of writing. Therefore, my writing goal this year will be simply to write. I want to take part in the National Novel Writing Month this year, which entails writing a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. In preparation for this, I plan on boosting my writing output throughout the year.

I’m going to start out at 1,500 words a week and go from there, hoping to reach the 12,500 a week required to write 50,000 words in a month. So expect to see posts on my progress towards goal one, as well as the occasional opinion piece and movie reviews. I let school be an excuse the second half of the year even though I had plenty of free time along the way that could have been spent writing and not doing other things. And now that my “hard” semester is over, I’m hoping that the spring will be more conducive to writing. I guess we will find out.

3) The Employment Goal
Heading back to school was something that I was hoping would help me land the next big thing job-wise in my life. So far, at least as far as the success at landing interviews, let alone offers, this has not been the case. I still have five months of school left so I have plenty of time, but the end of the tunnel is quickly approaching, and it would be nice to have something lined up sooner rather than later. It would be even better if it were back in Utah, where I eventually see myself settling again.

That being said, I also don’t want to settle for the first job offer to come along just to have a job. In order to combat this, I have been applying for a lot of jobs in areas that seem interesting and fairly close to what I want to do. Since I want to head back to Utah, the majority of these jobs have been in the Salt Lake Valley. Since I won’t be able to start a new job until June or later, this might be a negative for some of the jobs that are open now, but hopefully I’ll find something that fits my wants and needs, especially if it helps me learn how to be a financial planner down the road.

4) The Happiness Goal
Luckily for me, 2014 is starting out at a level of happiness that I haven’t experienced in a while. This is primarily because of my girlfriend Kim, who has been a very welcome addition to my life this year. But every relationship requires a little work regardless of how perfect it may seem, so I am going to focus on not being complacent in this new relationship, which should help the relationship continue to grow. She makes it really easy to be in a relationship, and I hope that it will continue to feel the same way for the rest of the year, even after I start working and have a little less free time available.

This year should be yet another one full of changes, but changes that will hopefully be for the better. I’m excited about the possibilities.

Here’s to a great year for everyone out there!

Until next time…