2024 Goals

New Year. New Set of Goals

I wrote these 4 goals down on New Years Eve. I started thinking about what I wanted my year to look like and those 4 goals came very organically. Last year, I set SO many goals that I was overwhelmed by them and judging from my goal review from yesterday, I accomplished only 30% of my goals and making attempts with 42% of them. I wanted to get back to basics and simplify things this year and I've learned that keeping things simple, makes everything easier. 

This year my goals are:

1. Focus on YOU

2. Save, Save, Save

3. Focus on friendships and connections

4. Workout to feel good

5. Romanticize your life

I have been working on these little by little since the Fall of last year. I really want to focus my energy on these and see what the outcomes are by the end of the year.  I think the best way to accomplish any goals is to make tiny, actionable changes allow you to keep moving forward without going into a mindset of "all or nothing". 

As you can see these goals don't have numbers attached to them (ie. save $1,000 or Workout to lose 10 lbs.), I think that puts a lot of pressure on me and I believe it can de-motivate me from trying to accomplish these goals. I want to do my best, whatever that shall be. 

I am really excited about these goals this year. 

Look back on previous years goals:

2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2016

[[Set goals that make you want to jump out of bed]]

2023 Goal Review

We can all agree that 2023 was a weird year, right?

The thinking that went into my goals for 2023 was weird. I think I over stretched myself in so many areas, you can read that post to see how cryptic and delulu I was. I tried to follow Dave Ramsey's idea of the seven areas of life to set goals in. I set two goals in each category. (What was I thinking?!) In 2021, I followed this same principle BUT I quote " I am not going to put pressure on myself et al" HAHAHA 2021 Gabrielle seemed to be thinking more clearer than 2023 Gabrielle. I honestly don't know why I was so cryptic either. Was I embarrassed I was setting so many goals OR was I worried that if I shared my goals then I wouldn't accomplish them? I would love to have a conversation with 2023 Gabrielle when she wrote out her goals. 

SEVEN areas is a lot of different areas to focus on in one year. I took it even a crazier step forward by setting TWO goals in each of the seven categories. I was truly delulu with a lot of things last year.

My 2023 goals are as follows:

I will mark each of the 14 goals with a 

➰if I attempted them

✔ accomplished them

❌ didn't even try

2023 Goals:

Career

Start my own business ❌

Continue to work hard at job ✔

Spiritual 

Use Prayer Journal Weekly➰
Small Moments of Prayer➰

Financial

$5 Bill Challenge✔

100 Envelope Challenge✔

Social

Try something new each month➰

Library/ Gravity Vault Events ❌

Physical
12 in 12 5K's✔

Gym/Yoga/Climbing Weekly➰

Intellectual

Read 1 Book A Month➰

Learn Six New Skills❌

Family

Family/Home Binder➰

Dinner out 1x on me ➰

Out of the 14 total goals, I accomplished,4 goals; I attempted 7 goals; and I didn't even try 3 goals. 

I am pretty pleased about my accomplishments and attempts. The 3 goals I didn't even try, I can honestly say, I was very gung-ho about starting a business BUT it didn't get past that stage.  With the other two goals- Library/Gravity Vault Events and Learning Six new skills, those are definitely up in the air. Thinking about it now, I don't think I attended ANY events at the library and I stopped going to Gravity Vault in March so it was just both matters of circumstances. Learning Six new Skills..... I learned ALOT last year but skills I am not so sure about. 

I was REALLY proud of the two financial goals I completed: $5 Bill Challenge and the 100 Envelope Challenge. I was continually getting excited every time I was able to save a $5 Bill or stuff one of the envelopes. If you want to read more about those check out $5 Bill Challenge and 100 Envelope Challenge . FYI, For the Envelope challenge, all you need is envelopes you can get from Dollar Tree, you don't need to buy a binder or special envelopes for that challenge. 

You can read all about the 12 5K's I ran this year, under the label 12 in 12. It was a fun experience and I am pretty proud that I accomplished 10 out of the 12 5K's. One of the 5K's I was sick and the other one it was rainy and cold. I learned that I love a race with a great theme and if I can dress up, its even better. 

Check back tomorrow to see what non-delulu goals I am setting for myself this year. 

Did you set your year goals yet?

[[Grace not perfection]]

Mid-Year Goal Review

Back in January, I shared my goals for this year. You can read the original post here. With it being halfway through the year, I figured it would be fun to check in and see how my progress is going with my goals. 

My goals are:

1// To be the best version of myself

2// Move at least 3x's a week

3// Be more creative

4// Spend 1000 Hours Outside

Overall, I think I have been doing good with all of these. Up until last week, when I had COVID, I was moving 3+ times a week and spending at much time as I can outside (in the warmer months). I know 1000 hours outside is a lofty goal; it has been a lot of fun trying to see how close I can get to that number. 

The hardest goal I think has been to be more creative. Creativity used to be something that came so naturally and I know you need to use your creative-ness each day to keep it going. While that has been even a challenge for me, I think deep down, I am nervous to mess up and make a mistake. Which is so unusual because in art, there are no mistakes. I think I have to just jump in a try and not have any preconceived notions or think to hard. I just have to do. 

The most abstract goal is definitely to be the best version of myself. It's hard to quantify this and who is to say I am not the best version of myself already? What do I need to work on to be even better than I am now? How much better do I need to be- 1%? 50%? 100%? I like things that are more solid and easy to measure, this has been interesting to think about. 

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How is your progress towards your yearly goals going? Have you made any big revelations about yourself?

[[A goal is a personal promise to your future self.]]

Looking Forward

I have been blogging since 2011, perhaps earlier if you count Xanga and Myspace. You can read those angsty filled posts here from 2004 and 2005. (they are cringeworthy!) In those early days of blogging, it was new-ish and very unstructured. The blogs I found, usually through another blog, was very organic- posts about their life and what was happening. Now I feel like a lot of blog posts contain affiliate links, sponsored posts and posts about their lives that are curated. Everyone (even myself sometimes) curate their lives to make it look good. I like to read posts about the real things, life unfiltered.  Its crazy to think how much blogging has changed in the past 10 years. 

The idea of having a personal archive of your life- a blog- is a really neat thing. Yes, paper journals provide the same thing but I was never really good or consistent of keeping a physical journal. My planners have become more of a journal in the recent years, which i really love. Short, sweet and to the point. I have a finite amount of space to write and I have learned to write the things that are important to me in that space. 

Blogging for me has always been a place where I can share my life and shed some light on things that are important to me, most notable, speaking openly about Crohn's Disease and my life.  Ever since I first joined Blogger back in 2011, this space has grown as I've grown up. In the beginning it was something fun to do, now its something I look forward to doing and connecting with others in the blogging community. I think social media has become a huge part of blogging and while I don't exactly think it will stay like that forever, I am curious to see what will come of it. I have been thinking about how I would like WonderGraceJoy to look going forward and what I want to do with it. Here are a few goals/ideas that I am hoping to accomplish in the future. 

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Everyday Jersey Girl. I would love to incorporate this name into WGJ. Everyday Jersey Girl was a blog name I wrote under and I absolutely LOVED this name. I feel like at the time- in my mid twenties, it was a perfect depiction of me. As I got into my late twenties/early thirties, I didn't love it as much. NOW in my mid thirties, I have been thinking about who the Everyday Jersey Girl is NOW.

Enjoy Documenting My Life. Writing for me has always been relaxing, fun and little pressure. This is my main goal, to ENJOY this process. 

Staying True. I am not a fashion blogger. Back in the beginning, everyone was a fashion blogger by default and while some have continued, others have carved out their own niche in this community. I am not one to talk about clothes non stop or find enjoyment in finding sales and posting consistently about clothing all the time. If I am going to continue to write, I need to write things that I like and enjoy and actually want to read. 

Finding my niche. I am at the point where I want to find my own niche. I would consider myself a lifestyle blogger because more time than none, I am sharing something about my life- either photos, or events or just what I am doing. I feel like I have more to share that would fall under the lifestyle umbrella but its challenging to figure out if that is where I will ultimately stay.  

Build a community. I love seeing other bloggers who have built their brand and a community to go along with it. I love seeing the interactions and I would love that for my blog. I think finding my niche would help with that and connecting perhaps with other local bloggers too. 

and lastly,

Monetize the blog. Who doesn't want to make extra money doing what they love. I wanted to work with sponsors/brands I actually love and will actually use. I don't want to promote anything that is not in align with me and what I believe in. This is probably my biggest obstacle and biggest goal- putting myself out there. I figure small, slow steady steps are better than no steps at all. 

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This is a small look in to the inner workings of my mind and my action plan for this blog. Is there more behind the scenes that I didn't share, of course! I can't show all my cards at once! 

I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who clicks on my blog and reads these posts. I truly appreciate your time and you!

[[If your goals don't scare you, then they aren't big enough.]]

Review of 2021 Goals

Somehow review my goals from 2021 slipped through the cracks and what better time is the present to do that. You can read my post about my 2021 goals here and to be honest, I forgot I set these goals last year. It was such a crazy year that I didn't even think about them until a few days ago. I was pleasantly surprised to see I accomplished in some way all the goals I set out to complete. Color me surprised. 

My goals for 2021:

Move each day (walking, paddle boarding, virtual classes) 

I think I did this 75% of the time. I think that is better than nothing. 

Have gratitude in each situation

This was hard to measure but I think I did accomplish this 75% of the time.

Continue with my savings plan and keep my debt very low

I hit a few savings goals this year and I will continue to keep saving my money. I know it will pay off in the end; I have to be patient.

Read 25 books

I ended up reading 47 books! Woah, I almost doubled that goal! How exciting is that?!

Be more creative

Not too this was fully accomplished. I tried and that is what's important.

Be intentional with my time

I also tried hard with this one as well but I am not sure if I truly was intentional with my time. 

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I revealed my goals for 2022 in January and I am so curious to see if I am able to accomplish them! One thing I have to remember is that its not always about the end goal, its about the journey too. 

[[Don't wish for it; WORK for it. ]]

My Goals for 2022

I had this image saved from the Fall of 2019. I was at the point of picking myself back up and realizing what I really wanted. Who knew it would take me to 2022 (better late than never) to fully understand that. 

I also think I was setting the stage for myself, a bit of foreshadowing, because those four things are exactly what I want to do this year. I set 4 goals this year. These goals provide me with a challenge to keep me going throughout the whole year. I cannot wait to see how I can accomplish these goals this year.  

These goals are on the vague/abstract side and I 100% made them that way. I want to have flexibility when it comes to achieving these goals. I know going from start to finish is rarely a straight line. I don't want that pressure to make it perfect, I want this to be as organic and in my way/ on my own terms as it cane be. 

2022 Goals

1. Be the best version of myself
       This is an abstract goal but I truly want to be the strong, happy, grateful, purposeful, confident and joyful woman I know I can be. I want strangers to be able to look at me and say "Gosh, she is living her best life" and it not being about the material possessions I have but my true self.

2. Move at least 3x's a week
        To accomplish this: take walks (at least 30 minutes), gym, bouldering, bike rides, paddleboarding, kayaking, hikes, yoga, etc. I think this goal will also help with goal #4 too. Win win!

3. Be more creative
        Get back to my old imaginative self by painting, doodling, crafting, sewing and just trying. I get frustrated trying to be creative and I am hoping small spurts of creativeness in the beginner will encourage and push me to 

4. Spend 1000 hours outside
       This seems like a lot and a bit of a reach for me but I think this will be attainable (once the weather warms up) with hikes, walks, paddleboarding, kayaking, bike rides, beach, reading, boardwalk and the zoo to name a few. ANYTHING outside. I'm excited to see how creative I will get with this goal.

Woah! I know this year will be exciting and I cannot wait to see it unfold. 

To do a mini recap, here were my goals from 2021:

-Move each day (walking, paddle boarding, virtual classes)

-Have gratitude in each situation

-Continue with my savings plan and keep my debt very low

-Read 25 books

-Be more creative

-Be intentional with my time

With the wackiness of last year, I completed all my goals in one way or another, which is really impressive considering last year wasn't a year that great. I am happy to look back on goals and to see in a messy season of my life, I was still able to complete these. 

Have you set goals for this year?

[[Work on your goals a little bit each day, no matter how small]]

April Goals brings....

Happy April! April, you came at just the perfect time and I am so excited to see what adventures await me this month!

Here are my goals for the month:

What are you trying to accomplish this month?

Goal Review

This month.....whew... for once, I am happy a month is over. This month was rough for me and I am happy for a fresh start tomorrow with April. I always have high hopes and excitement for an upcoming month.

My goals that I.....

Completed:

-Having better Posture// this was a goal I worked on daily- if I felt myself slumping over or slouching, I would immediately sit straighter. I feel as if my back feels better after a long day and I feel taller (just a teeny bit!)

-Creating a more organized closet// this was a long but fun project that I am happy it is over. You can read all about my messy closet and the transformation here.

-1000 minute exercise challenge// 1,200 minutes were done through 3 yoga classes, 1 training class and a spin class each week.  I felt amazing after each workout.  I am going to continue with this intense schedule next month too. ( I honestly didn't think I completed this goal until I tallied up the days and numbers!)

Attempted:

-1/2 hour of studying each day// this was hard finding a time I can sit for a little to read my notes or review a chapter out of the review book. I was able to complete only a few hours of studying. I will work on this next month too.

-Home Binder Organization//I didn't get to print anything out or actually fill out the paperwork but I did start to research what to put into the binder and how to organize it. I will work on this next month too!

No Attempt:

-Paint More// I can't even say I thought about picking up a paint brush. I didn't have time ( I know priorities but it was a crazy busy month!) April might be better for me to paint and I am looking forward to it.


What goals did you complete this month?

White Rabbit!

Happy March!! I hope this month holds good vibes, fun adventures and amazing things for you. Here are my goals for this month.

What are you hoping to accomplish this month?

February Goal Review

I cannot believe its the end of February already. This month flew by just like January! I think I did I pretty good with my goals for February, it was a short month but I think I made the most out of it. Here are my goals for February:

Use my Erin Condren Planner more Efficiently/// completed /// Every night right before I went to bed, I wrote a little synopsis of what happened during the day, the outfit I wore and anything else important that happened. I sometimes kept track of what I accomplished-task wise, during the day. I kept track of my exercise too. I think I did a pretty good job of using it this month. I hope to keep this up next month.

Exercise ½ the month /// completed/// I exercised 15 out of 29 days which for you math genius out there, that is 51% of the month! Morning yoga twice a week, Thursday training and Saturday morning classes helped me accomplish this goal. I always felt great after exercising and I felt like I always wanted to do better in the next session.

#GraceNotPerfection/// completed i think /// This was more of an abstract goal rather than concrete goal. I wanted to be not so consumed with the fact I was always try to everything so perfectly. Its my type A personality that always pushes me to do everything that is on my to do list (perfectly) and not leave anything unfinished. This was a tough one for me accomplish. I think I will continue this goal next month too.

Limit Candy and Sweets/// completed/// when I set this goal at the end of January, I had NO idea how I was going to complete it. I love candy and sweets and I could say I was obsessed- it was bad! So when Lent rolled around I decided to give up candy and cookies. (Read that post here) Giving up candy and cookies for Lent made this goal a breeze. I did have some candy (sweethearts!) for Valentines day but other than that, I kept up with this goal! I am actually proud of myself and it made me rethink why I was eating so much candy (hint: its mostly boredom!)

It was a great month for my goals, it was an across the board COMPLETION! I am very proud of myself and how I was creative in completing these goals. In a few days, I will be sharing my March goals!

Did you complete your goals for the month?

Be Still My Heart: February Goals

I thought about my February goals for a while and I think I came up with a list of things that are meaningful yet something I actually want to accomplish. Each of these goals were picked intentionally and for a specific reason.

Use my Erin Condren Planner more Efficiently// I bought this back in August and for the most part, I use it to keep track of my life. Last month, I don't think I used it at all. I want to incorporate my blog planning (for both Everyday Jersey Girl and for Snkr_Post) and also keep track what  I wear each day.

Exercise 1/2 the month// This is a continuing goal for me, I love that I have been seeing results from the past couple of months of training and yoga. I plan to work out at least 14 days this month.

#Gracenotperfection// I see this hashtag all over the internet and I decided to research it and I found that this is exactly what I need. I put so much pressure on myself to get things done and to be perfect. I need to remember that I can't always do everything I planned but I can try my hardest to gracefully complete as much as I can.

Limit candy and sweets// It's no secret that I am a huge candy addict. I have little  no will power when it comes to sweets. I would like to keep better control of this. Any one got any ideas how to do that?

Well, I am excited about my goals for this month and I cannot wait to see what the month holds for me!

What are your goals for the month?

Check, Check and Check: January Goal Review

Is it just me or did January fly by in a blink of an eye? I swear it was just New Years Day then my birthday and Bam! Its January 30! Since its the end of the month, lets review my goals I set for this month:

Be More Present// I did really good with this goal. I put my phone and enjoyed the moment a lot more. I made memories that weren't photographed and I had a lot of fun with this.

Exercise half the month//  I sorta completed this! I ended up working out only 10 days this month. An early morning weekly yoga class, weekly training and optional Saturday class, helped a lot.  I end up walking a whole lot during the day and I feel like its paying off- I am starting to feel stronger!

Organize living areas//  This one was sortanot completed. I organized my desk and my dresser but not my clothes. My clothes and closet are my biggest area that needs to be organized and it just didn't happen this month. This will be accomplished later in the year

send out FIVE handwritten cards/// This was an easy one to complete. Between my birthday and just hi notes I sent out more than five notes. I was excited to use my stash of thank you notes!

I am sad to see this month go but I am excited to see what the rest of the year holds.

Did you complete your goals this month?

Starting the year off strong

Happy January! Not only is January a great month to start setting goals but its also my BIRTHDAY month!Thanks to Canva I was able to illustrate my goals for the month and create this image to print out and frame. I put the frame on my desk because I know I will see it each day.

Did you set goals for this month?

** this is not a sponsored post, I really do love Canva and how easy they make it to create fun little images. **

December Goal Review

December was a wonderful, crazy month. I was able to pack a lot of Christmas joy and excitement into this month. My goals were always on my mind and I think I did a great job trying to complete them all.

Here are my December goals:

Workout 3x a week//completed
 I ended up workout 11 total days. The goal was 15 total days.

Take a photo a day//completed
This is one of my favorite goals each month. I love seeing the collage at the end of the month. It’s a nice way to remember each month. (Check back on January 1st to see the collage!)

Read two books// not completed
I have been struggling the past few months to find books I enjoy and I am excited to read. I rarely buy books; I use the public library to check out new books but since most of the books I want to read are usually the new ones, the wait for these books is long, which makes it hard for me to read something that looks good and current.  I hope for the new year I can set a year goal of the number of books I want to read.

Experience as many Christmas Activities and moments I can//completed
This was such a fun goal to complete. I was able to experience over 15 holiday experiences. They include the annual Santa Breakfast, Taking our Christmas card photos, Decorating the Christmas Tree with Eric, Baking lots of cookies, Drove around seeing Christmas lights and watching Christmas movies.  I have really embraced the Christmas spirit this year. Since I was so sick last year, it was really important for me to have a Christmas filled with special activities.

December was a lot of fun. Lots of family, fun and food. I am very excited to see what 2016 has in store for me. Stay tuned in the beginning of January I will be revealing my Year goals and also my goals for January.

Glad you made it DECEMBER, we waited all year for you!

November was a fun month, I had a lot of adventures and celebrated the start of the holidays. Lets check out how I did with my goals for November:

Read 2 books// half completed
I ended up reading 1 book this month that took me a full month to finish. The Rosie Project was not as good as the hype was. I was super disappointed.

List of Daily Gratitude//completed
Every night after dinner, my parents and write down something we are grateful for and put it in the ‘gratitude jar’. I love seeing it fill up during the month. 

Watch what I Eat//sorta completed
I have been doing this almost consistently. Lets face it sometimes, munchkins look better than peaches. I have definitely limited my snacking and sugar intake.

Workout 3x Week//completed 
I completed this again for the third month in a row. Yoga twice a week and my personal training has been a lot of fun. I definitely feel as if I am getting strong each week especially when I attempt crow or tripod. I will continue this throughout December.

A photo a day//completed
I completed this and I absolutely love seeing the end product. Take a look!

November was a great month and I am pretty excited about December. This month  I have decided to keep it simple with my goals; with the holidays just around the corner, I want to have more time to enjoy the beautiful holiday season and to have many festive adventures.

Keeping with the tradition,  I will end my post with my December Goals:

 

Workout 3x a week

Take a photo a day

Read 2 books

Experience as many holiday activities and moments I possibly can 

What are your goals for December? What are you most looking forward to?

Goodbye October, Hello November

Here is a review of my October goals:

Completed:

*Workout 3x a week

     Yoga twice a week &  personal training once a week made me a very happy girl this month

*Take one photo a day

This is such a fun project for me. I love trying to be creative with my photos

Work in Progress  :

*Read 4 books

I am half way through The Rosie Project; two more books await me on my nightstand
 
*Organize my closet 

I think I was having too much fun enjoying the beautiful weather to stay inside. This is still to be started
 
*Cut down on Sugar and Carbs 

This was sorta accomplish, but very hard to do in October, I will be continuing this into November

 

October was a transition month, I was feeling a lot better and I was out doing fun fall activities on the weekends. Even though I did not complete all my goals, I think I realized that sometimes you just have to go out and have fun, experience life. I think I accomplished more than  I realize.

Keeping with the tradition, My November goals are :

*read 2 books

*Write down daily Gratitude

*What what I eat-become more accountable

*Workout 3x a week

*Take one photo a day

  I am excited to see what happens in NOVEMBER!!

What are your goals for November??