Goal Check-in

Look at us, nearing the end of the year. How fast or slow did this year go for you? I can hardly believe it is coming to and end. It has been awhile since I’ve done a goal check-in. Since we’ve still got 8 weeks left, I figured I would do this for myself. But also, to encourage you all to look back over your 2021 goals. Determine what you’ve made progress on, what fell off the priority list and what you’d like to continue doing in 2022.

Before the new year starts I will be posting a 2022 planning. However, for now this is meant to be a reflection on goals for 2021 and an 8 week chance to finish anything!

That being said, let’s go back to my original goal setting for 2021. As you may remember, I used a vision board to put mine on display! The goals I set out to complete for 2021 were as follows:

1. MINDFULNESS 

• Daily Meditation Practice
• Daily journal, prayer and bible study before the day begins
• Read at least 15 minutes per day

2. HEALTHY BODY

• Yoga 2x per week for an hour each
• Strength & Cardio 3x per week
• Hiking 2x per month

3. CAREER & HUSTLE

• Create realistic individual development plan using tool at work & update system
• Create blogging schedule & expand audience x 3

4. HOBBIES (NEW & OLD)

• Improve upon photography by taking class
• Try one new thing with a friend and document experience

Initial reflections

Wow! My initial response to this was to giggle. I have the tendency to laugh at my previous self whenever I go back and look at these blog posts or old journal entries. Not only did I want to laugh, but I am happy to report I’ve completed my list except for one item.

The facts:

Starting with what I haven’t accomplished yet. The one item I didn’t complete is taking another photography class. I ended up not taking any photo classes this year. However, I took online classes related to my profession and expanding my career. One of them was in creative thinking and innovation. I do feel as though I got a lot out of these classes, so whilst it wasn’t related to my hobbies, I did take a few classes. That being said, I still have 8 weeks and time to sign up for a class, so maybe that is what I will do!

On to what I have accomplished. I am happy to report that so many of these items I have completed!

1. MINDFULNESS 

• Not only do I do meditation daily, I also came across Wim Hof. Wim teaches breathing techniques, which can be helpful to those that have trouble with meditation.
• Although I do not always get to journaling, prayers and reflection before the day begins, I typically do do this at some point during the day. I’ve been much more mindful as to what I am thinking and how it is reflected back to me. Being more intentional to think about what I do want, versus worrying about what I don’t want has improved my overall stress level!
• So, the reading. Although I don’t consistently read 15 minutes a day, which was my original plan; I do read more and have been finishing one book before opening another. At one point in my life I would start too many books at a time and it just wasn’t helpful. This year I read at least 3 books cover to cover in a single sitting. While this didn’t help with my being active, it was super fun to do!

2. HEALTHY BODY

• Yoga. Instead of doing an hour twice per week, I’ve done 15-30 minutes per day, most days. Now that I am traveling frequently again, this is so important to do more often.
• Strength & Cardio. I ended up only joining a gym again for about a month. Instead I actively did cardio and ensured I’d get my steps in. This was the biggest change to my overall routine. Not doing strength based exercise bothers me a ton. Now that we are back in the office a bit, I intend to use the office gym and get back into my strength training routine!
• Hiking. Wow did this ever come true. Not only did I go hiking regularly throughout North Carolina, but I also went on a hiking trip to Montana. (Be on the look out for a post dedicated to this trip). We went to Glacier National Park, and it was by far the best trip I’ve taken so far!

3. CAREER & HUSTLE

• Sure enough, my career evolved during this time. Getting a new boss for the first time in SEVEN years, we are only a month in, but its been going great so far. Because it is almost time to re-set my individual development plan for the coming year, I won’t comment too much on this right now.
• Blogging! For most of the year I kept to the schedule I set early on (which was Monday’s and Thursday’s). As things have picked up personally and professionally for me toward these last few months, I’ve backed off to doing less posts. My intention is to set a new goal for 2022, so that I can maintain a balance and keep everyone up to date. I did expand my audience quite a bit and in general have enjoyed this platform so much! (If you’ve been here since day one, please comment down below!!)

4. HOBBIES (NEW & OLD)

• Improve upon photography by taking class: we already talked about this – I might book a class before the year ends, if I do I’ll let you all know!
• Try one new thing with a friend and document experience. This one didn’t have guardrails on it when I wrote it. Not only did I take a trip to my first national park, but I also tried skiing! There are a few more activities I’d like to try out but they will have to wait until the new year!

Adjustments made

Throughout the year I made adjustments and updated everyone about once a quarter, you can find those posts here:

First month review. Where I included a line item for unplanned fun that added to my overall month! Another great post was on the habit tracker I purchased. I’ve been using it ever since and really enjoy it!

In June, I did a goal check-in and talked about intention setting. Half way through the year sometimes things get lost in the mix or I go on auto-pilot and forget about what I set out to accomplish. This post was a good reason to remind myself! Not to mention it was a few weeks after my Mohs surgery was performed. One day I will go into greater detail on how this affected my mental health…

Connect

Once you have completed your own review, I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments down below. Let me know how it is going and what you are thinking of changing up for 2022!