2014 Reflections & Goals for 2015

Instead of having a New Year's resolution for 2015, I've decided to set goals for myself to work towards throughout the year, as I've done in previous years. If you missed last year's post, check it out here. Again, I've set goals in 5 important areas of my life: Career, Finance, Relationships, Spiritual, and Wellness. Along with these goals, I've chosen small tangible steps to take daily that'll help me achieve my goals within the year.

Using this method, I accomplished 12 out of the 14 goals I set last year. In 2014, I managed to earn a promotion and pay raises, keep my blog active, continue to pay down my debt and school loans, strengthen my friendships with my co-workers, spend more time with my family, live more optimistically, be kind, inspire others, run 2 Half-Marathons, drink more water and tea, eat pescatarian more often, and be more mindful of the foods I eat.

With the accomplishments I've made within this last year, I knew that I wanted to do this again. That said, here are my goals for 2015!

CAREER GOALS
- Earn a raise or promotion
- Re-launch my YouTube Channel
- Hit 2,000 YouTube Channel subscribers
- Keep blogging

Tangible Steps
- Speak up during meetings and don't be afraid to share my ideas and opinions.
- Create a new blogging, filming, and uploading schedule.

FINANCIAL GOALS
- Continue to pay down debt and school loans
- Have a substantial amount in Savings

Tangible Steps
- Stop using credit cards!
- Consistently pay all monthly bills.
- Save 10% of every paycheck and any extra funds whenever possible.

RELATIONSHIP GOALS
- Strengthen friendships with both old & new friends
- Continue to spend more quality time with my family

Tangible Steps
- Don't be afraid of small talk. (If you're an introvert like me, you'll understand. I thrive during deep conversations, but somehow small talk doesn't come as easy to do. It's also the small talk that leads to a deeper and stronger relationship.)
- Prioritize family time. 

SPIRITUAL GOALS
- Travel!
- Stay optimistic
- Continue to be kind
- Continue to inspire others

Tangible Steps
- Take time to enjoy life and fulfill your wanderlust. 
- Continue to look on the bright side. 
- Continue to perform random acts of kindness.
- Continue to be supportive of other's dreams and goals.

WELLNESS GOALS
- Run more often
- Eat more fresh fruit and veggies
- Strengthen my core, thighs, and butt

Tangible Steps
- Run 4 times a week.
- Buy fresh produce whenever you go grocery shopping.
- Order salad 1/3 of the time when eating at a restaurant.
- Choose a new 30 Day Fitness Challenge to do each month(Planking, Squats, etc.)

I'm super excited to see what 2015 will bring! I hope I'll be able to achieve majority of my goals this year, as I've done in previous years. What are your New Year's resolutions or goals for 2015? Let me know in a comment below!

xoxo

Denise Joyce

2013 Reflections and Goals for 2014

Last year, instead of having a New Year's resolution, I decided to set more realistic goals for myself that I could work towards throughout the year. This decision was inspired by Nikki Phillippi's "How to Be Happy" January. (You can see her original video here.) Instead of the usual New Year's resolution, I decided to set goals in 5 important areas of my life: Career, Finance, Relationship, Spiritual, and Wellness Goals. Along with these goals, I decided on small tangible steps I could take that would help me achieve them within the year.

By using this method, I found that I accomplished a majority of the goals that I had set for myself. In 2013, I managed to find a new job, find an even better job in the Beauty industry, earn a pay raise, gain 1,000 subscribers on YouTube, blog and upload YouTube videos on a regular schedule, have a substantial Savings account, feel closer to my friends and family, live more optimistically, and run my very first 10K.

With these amazing accomplishments that I've made last year, I immediately knew that I wanted to do the same thing for 2014. So with that in mind, I'll begin sharing my goals for 2014 with you all.

CAREER GOALS
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- Earn a raise or promotion
YouTube/Blog
- Hit 2,000 subscribers
- Keep my YouTube Channel and blog active

Tangible Steps
- Speak up during meetings and share my ideas and opinions.
- Consistently exceed daily ipsyCare resolve goals
- Create a new blog and upload schedule

FINANCIAL GOALS
- Continue to pay down debt and school loans
- Have an even more substantial amount in Savings

Tangible Steps
- Stop using credit cards
- Consistently pay all monthly bills
- Save 10% of every paycheck & any extra funds whenever possible

RELATIONSHIP GOALS
- Strengthen friendships with co-workers
- Spend more quality time with family

Tangible Steps
- Be more open to invites from your co-workers
- Plan family time whenever possible

SPIRITUAL GOALS
- Be optimistic
- Be kind
- Inspire others

Tangible Steps
- Always look for the silver lining
- Perform random acts of kindness
- Be supportive of other's dreams and goals

WELLNESS GOALS
- Run a Half-Marathon
- Drink more water and tea
- Eat pescatarian more often
- Be more mindful of the foods you choose to eat

Tangible Steps
- Set a running schedule
- Always carry your re-usable water bottle with you
- Be open to pescatarian options
- Consider healthier options before indulging

Those are my goals for 2014! I'm excited to see what the year will bring, and I'm eager to see what goals I'll be able to accomplish this year. The best part about setting goals for specific areas of your life is how these small tangible steps make your goals more easily attainable. With this method, I can slowly work my way to accomplish them throughout the year.

What are some of your goals for 2014? Let me know in a comment below!

xoxo

Denise Joyce