Aspirations for 2024

 

If you've been following me for a while, you know I do goals each year.  Sometimes in tthe past I've chosen a word guide me, but not this year.  Putting my goals, hopes, aspirations, dreams, down lets me process what I really want to focus on in my life.  It's not about judging myself, it's more about thinking about what matters to me the most and reassessing if I am putting time into the right things.  2023 was a wonderful year and as I reflected on what I invested in, I was really happy about it.   I've lived through hard in the past, as a child, as a teen and a young married couple, so I count our blessings.  So many of my goals are centered around focusing my attention on things that make me feel good and happy.  That help me stay the best version of myself and less about getting distracted by others opinions or even my own perceptions of what might be important, that gets in the way of what truly I value.  Let's jump in!

PERSONAL 

• I feel like we have a good rhythm with our girls these days, as well as my grandma, parents and time with friends.   I want to continue to make them a priority in my life and I don't want any of the other goals to compromise those relationships. Let's jump into specifics! 
• Host a murder mystery party with friends.
• Enjoy a family trip to Mexico.
• Trip to BC to watch T.Swift with Anya in Dec. 2024.
• Logan and I want to try to do a date each month.
• Continue my reading streak.  I read or listened to 22 books in 2023, and I love my new reading before work routine.  I've been really trying to sit and read either before work or after work/early evening for 20 minutes.

PHYSICAL

2023 brought me back to half-marathons, including my BP at 2:00:14.  So in 2024 I want to: 

• Clock 1000 km of running.
• Improve my bike time in the Frank Dunn Triathlon with my team. 
• I would like to jump back into the pool in the first quarter of the year to be able to do a mini-triathlon in May.
• Continue to get regular dry needling once a month for maintenance, maybe also add a massage to the routine.
• Floss after supper on regular basis (5days/week).
• Stretch 5 days a week for a minimum of 5 minutes in the evenings.

PROFFESSIONAL

• My photography business saw an influx in family photography in 2023 and included indoor holiday sessions which were a hit!   I'd like to see it continue to grow in 2024 at a steady pace, as well as to post regularly on my IG page and FB page, and advertise my mini-sessions more strategically this year.    I also joined some free learning lessons and would like to continue to find opportunities to learn and challenge myself.  My hope is to expand my portfolio to couples and graduation sessions, as well as I'd love to do some more newborn lifestyle photography sessions. 
• I plan to stay in my current school and position for at least another school year.  I am learning so much and loving it!

FINANCES

• This is a goal that I keep putting on my list and yet fail at each year.  Mr. and I really need to sit down and take an inventory of our income and expenditures over a few months.  We also need to decide how to put some extra money aside for the long term now that we have a little lump sum for emergencies.  This is an area we struggle, as we do have retirement savings through work but we also need to be putting extras away as well.  If you have a blog or podcast for dummies, send it my way.

That's me!  What are your aspirations for 2024?  What do you want to keep or let go of?   What do you want to focus your time and energy into?