Hello 2020! The old year is gone and the new year has begun, stretching out before us with a whole host of opportunities just waiting to present themselves. But opportunities don’t become possibilities unless we take action to make them happen, right?
You may have seen my post just before new years entitled “I Hate New Years Resolutions: Revising 2019” where I was a little disappointed in myself for not attaining all the resolutions I’d made and so decided that instead of resolutions which put way too much pressure on me, I’d make new year’s goals instead. Goals that represented the ultimate, preferred result of my hard work and determination, but that would be satisfied by at least getting them started or well underway. Goals that I could be proud of myself for attempting let alone achieving, achieving would be amazing but not necessary for feelings of accomplishment.
Setting goals is like high jumping, if you only ever set the bar low you’ll reach your goal pretty much every time, but you’ll never know if you could have jumped higher. So I’m setting the bar high for 2020, aiming for the sky, shooting for the stars, and any other cliche that seems appropriate. Hoping that by the end of the year I’ll have worked my way up to clearing the highest position on the high jump.
I’d like to think I’ll have time for all these things, but family and friends take higher priority, so if developing or maintaining relationships takes over, that’s completely fine and I’ll still be proud of my attempts. The secret is to do my best, to aim high and celebrate the progress, each bar cleared is a success and if I don’t reach the top by the next new years then I aim higher for 2021.
I’ll keep it simple, because let’s face it, my goals aren’t going to mean a whole lot to you, they are personal and meaningful to me because they are mine, but I’d love to share them with you to give me that extra accountability. I’d love to hear about your goals for the year in the comments section below if your happy to share them with me also.
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My Goals for 2020
1. Finish writing my novel
I managed to edit my first three chapters and write exactly one paragraph of my 4th chapter this year and that in simple language ‘totally sucks’. I need to do better this year and complete my first novel. Nuff said!
2. Steer Mum Life Stories toward helping women find their identity
This is an important one to me. I feel the trials of this life and the troubles of this world have stripped women (and men, but my focus is women) of their true God-given identities. Identities that are unique to each individual and celebrate all that each person was created to be. Identities that embrace the self but impact the world beyond self at the same time. I believe we are not simply on this planet to be the best “us” we can be, but to be the best “us” for “others” that we can be. We need to love our own identities so that we can help others embrace theirs.
3. Get a closer relationship with my friend Jesus
As a Christian I have been through different seasons, some cold and dark and filled with storms (which I didn’t handle well) and others, calm and warm and full of sunshine. I feel the last year I’ve been stuck somewhere in-between and this year I want to learn how to go through any season that comes my way with greater resilience. I want to learn how to ride the storms and not let my ship sink beneath the waves, to keep my ship above the water until the wind has died down.
I know in my heart, the only way to do this is to strengthen my walk with Jesus and solidify my identity in him and not in my human weakness’. His love for me is all I need, I will not chase meaning and value in another human being or in accomplishment, those things are icing on the cake but they do not define me, he does!
4. Find a way to make a living from home
So I’ve been out of the workforce for 16 years, long story but basically I have 5 children and have been a stay at home mum for a lot of that time. I studied a diploma in christian ministry at bible college in between, ran various social groups and a photography business, but as far as making a regular weekly income goes, that’s been on hold for some time. With my older ones finishing high school this year and my younger ones increasing care with their dad, there will be more available time and less money coming in, so it’s time to start bringing home that bacon.
I believe it’s important to be available for my kids when they get home from school though so making money from home would be ideal. Either through this blog, or writing for a living or running a creative business or all of the above, I would ideally love to be working from home and making enough to take care of my family on my own.
5. Make more memories with my older boys before they leave home
My older boys will be entering year 12 this year so it won’t be long before their education journey is over and they’ll be looking at moving out of home (that’s their plan anyway but we all know that reality is very different from what we imagine). In any case their own lives will begin next year and I won’t see a lot of them so this year is my last chance to create meaningful memories that we can reminisce about in years to come.
6. Lose 20 kilos and get fit
Ok, so this one is on 80% of most women’s resolution/goals list, yeah? It’s been on my list for a while but I’ve seriously struggled to fit exercise and meal planning etc into my schedule. I’ve started on fitness about 3 times a week but I don’t believe any kilos have been shed. I still have baby weight and my baby is 2 so it’s time to commit to the change. Now this is not about vanity, or looking good to attract a partner etc, it’s about health, energy levels and reducing pain. I have fibromyalgia and even a little bit of extra weight causes an increase in pain, fatigue and lethargy so 2020 is my year for renewed health, fitness and vitality.
7. Get more sleep
This is probably the most important and most difficult one to achieve. If it’s not my little ones waking me at 5am or several times during the night, it’s the blinking army helicopters flying over at midnight or the tropical, nocturnal birds screeching outside my window at 2am. I can’t shut my windows because it’s summer in tropical north queensland and not having any breeze come into the room would be like shutting myself in the oven on medium heat all night. On top of that my body clock is now so out of whack that insomnia is randomly showing up on nights when everything else is going well. I get on average 5 – 6 hours of broken sleep a night and it is not doing me any favours, especially for my mood.
So I need to take measures to insure a better night’s sleep is had, whether it’s forgoing any ‘me time’ when the little ones are home and going straight to bed once they are asleep and I’ve finished picking older ones up from work, or using some type of natural sleep remedy to help me drift off and have a deeper sleep, etc. This year I will get more sleep!
8. Open an Etsy store to sell things I’ve made myself
Last year, I attempted a dropshipping store and the whole time I was thinking, I really wish I had my own products to sell, products I believed in, products that I created myself with my own talents and creativity and blood, sweat and tears but how could I possibly find the time? Well I may not have time for a full-time shop, but I could get something started this year. I’m thinking possibly recycled wood products (keep an eye out for an upcoming article about my pallet wood DIY project I just finished).
Whatever it is, one thing is for sure. I believe I was born to run my own business!
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A Busy Year
I think 8 goals is sufficient as there will be a lot going on this year, with my 4th child starting Kindy, and (as previously stated) my two oldest boys doing their final year at high school and deciding on Uni next year or taking a gap year. Either way, they could be moving out of home at the end of 2020 (most likely). By the end of the year, my two littlest will also be doing 50/50 care between myself and their Dad and it will only be my teenage daughter left with me full time, so this could be my last year of chaotic, super busy family life with 5 kids, which is a pretty shocking realisation.
Next years goals will be completely different from this years goals. It’s a scary thought but exciting at the same time, change isn’t always bad, it can lead to new opportunities and fresh perspectives. A lot of decisions will need to be made this year and goals put into place in order to achieve the support and direction my family needs, but I am confident that it is achievable and that 2020 is going to be a great year!
What are your goals for 2020? Do you believe this will be your year to prosper?
Thanks
Thank you so much for reading this blog, without you, there would be no reason to write, so please keep reading, and commenting and sharing, etc. If you have a story to tell and would like me to share it on this blog, please contact me at mumlifestories@gmail.com or if you have a fictional story about a mum you’d like to submit for consideration to be published, go to our submissions page.
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