MY GOALS FOR 2019

Like practically every other person on the planet, I usually fail to keep my New Year's resolutions.  A few weeks into January, they become swallowed in the chaos of everyday life, reduced to a few lofty statements on a piece of crumpled notebook paper.

However, goals are a different story.  When I take the time to create thoughtful and realistic goals for myself, and I think about the steps I should take to reach those goals, I usually make concrete progress--hence the title of this blog post.

During 2019, I want to focus on how my small, seemingly insignificant actions impact other people and things in significant ways.  I also want to master a few new concepts.  Hopefully my 2019 goals can give you some inspiration for what you want to achieve over the next twelve months and beyond!

1. Keep track of my daily habits.
Our little habits and daily rituals are what we spend the majority of our lives doing, so I want to focus on cultivating more mindful habits during 2019.  I recently started experimenting with a habit tracker, and so far I've really enjoyed using it to keep track of the small yet significant activities I want to accomplish each day.

2. Watch out for the environment and the planet's organisms.
It isn't a stretch to claim that our planet is on a downward spiral.  Many resources are dwindling, unlawful and damaging production methods are common, some species are nearing the brink of extinction, and our oceans are being overwhelmed with waste, among other issues.  Therefore, I really want to focus on changing my lifestyle in order to benefit the environment.  This year I'm planning on recycling more and buying plastic products less, as well as purchasing more cruelty-free products and checking to see which foods have environmentally sound production processes.

3. Learn a couple of languages.
I've used the app Duolingo off and on for the past few years, and while I have picked up bits and pieces of Italian, I haven't practiced regularly enough to really reap the benefits of learning a new language.  I plan on making this more of a daily priority during 2019.  Hopefully I'll be watching K-dramas without any subtitles in the far-off future.

4. Maintain a monthly budget.
Due to the nature of my scholarship, I haven't had much need to stick to a strict monthly budget.  However, I'm going to be living in an apartment next year, so I'll need to learn how to budget my finances now so that I can do it with ease when rent and utility bills come into play.  I used this simple guide to set up a budget template in Google Sheets.

5. Love more, judge less.
This is definitely more of a "lifetime" goal rather than a goal for a particular year.  My faith has taught me that I should love others as I love myself, and even from a non-religious viewpoint, every person has a responsibility to acknowledge and respect all humans.  I often fail at this, because it takes less effort to dismiss another person as just a face, or a passing judgement, or even a stereotype.  This violates something we all know to be true:  that humans are dynamic creatures, with so many complex emotions and experiences.  I want to focus on realizing this truth so that I can gradually learn to love others as I love myself.

What are some of the goals you have for 2019?

Love,
Tori