2022 Goal Group Year End Wrap Up

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I know there are three days left in the year to work toward goals but I thought it was time to post the Year End Wrap up. I will bump the initial thread (again) so you can review the goals you posted in January and post your final progress.

 

I know we all struggled with goal setting and finding a rhythm in our individual process. For those of you who gave it a go, thank you. I appreciate everyone who popped in and out and those who stayed the course for the full year. Whether you posted online or just followed along silently, I hope you are encouraged by your progress.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Official shared goals:
1000 Hours Outside

500 Miles Biking

1000 km Walking/Hiking

Lose 10 pounds

 

How my goal year concluded:

1000 Hours Outside - 958.06; if I add in the 125+ hours spent on indoor tennis, I met the goal.

500 Miles Biking- 560.68✔️

1000km Walking/hiking- 1000(I might get in a little bit more)✔️

Lose 10 pounds - Hah; lost some and gained it back plus a few extra; this needs to become a priority❎

 

Other goals-

Pay off my car✔️ accomplished in Feb.

25 CEUs in various areas of tennis ✔️ 30 CEUs earned

2 gallons of blood/platelets donated✔️

Officiate 4 tennis tournaments/dual matches✔️ 15 individual matches and tournaments

Create a CTA✔️

Read 52 books✔️ 59 books read; completed my Book Bingo for the first time

Use my Happy Planner daily✔️

Maintain my Bullet Journal (which is more of a tracker for various things)✔️

Unplugged days - (goal added in April) - 50 days ✔️ 56 days

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Some other information (just because):

Outdoor hours:  9 kayaking trips

I was finally able to kayak an area with lotus blossoms. I waited 4 years to be able to find and kayak this marsh. It is one of my favorite memories of the year. My DSIL and DGD took a long float trip together and made wonderful memories for just the three of us (Pelicans (which I never knew nested in Iowa; golden and bald eagles; we were caught in a rainstorm and DSIL was at the end of a rainbow).

Walking/hiking: too many trips to count

The year started wonky with such inclement weather and sub zero temps. Indoor tennis used up most of my activity time. Once I got going, though, it was wonderful. My dog and I set a goal of 5k a day. We didn't reach it but we had some wonderfully long streaks and enjoyed our time together.

I hiked and walked a lot and found 17 new trails. Setting the goals for outside hours and walking/hiking was wonderful for me. I spent some time each week looking for dog friendly trails and planning trips. That research paid off and I found a group in the city an hour away that had a hiking challenge (just my thing 😁). I joined that challenge and found hidden gems all within 90 mins. It has been glorious and I have added to my list of places to hike. I can't wait to hike each trail in all 4 seasons.

This challenge was a boost to my self-confidence. I was able to plan a hike, load the car, grab my dog, and go. I started calling my hikes BlackDogAdventures and made certain to take pics of my dog on each trail.

17 new trails were hiked. Most of those in the past 5 months (once tennis was over for me).

Biking Miles:

DH and I finally made it to a trail we had been wanting to bike for about 10 years. It was wonderful. We biked just over 70 miles that day but had a glorious time enjoying the tunnels and trestles. We stopped a lot for pics of the flora and fauna including our first encounter with a copperhead in the middle of the trail and a slight delay as we let it cross ( I was not going to attempt biking past it as it was stretched across the trail sunning itself).

My DSIL and I took a nice 25 mile bike ride together.

The rest of the miles were either local (I found a 10 miles route I enjoy) or on my stationary bike.

 

Camping:

I didn't camp nearly as much as I thought I would. Just a couple of overnight with DGD and a week long trip with DH.

We did buy a camper and my plan for 2023 is to camp more.

 

--

What did I think of goal setting:

I think I did too much. Between the activity, personal, and business goals, it seemed I was always working toward a goal. Yes, the goals helped with focus and setting the weekly steps was key to making things work. I feel like this year was successful in those areas and I am pleased with my progress. My self-confidence has increased and that is something I desperately needed. I did enjoy tracking and tallying each week and month and watching my numbers grow. I liked how I was able to change my monthly journal set up until I found a method that worked for me.

I do think that some of my goals didn't work well together. Like the activity goals and reading. I wanted to be moving and that meant not sitting down with a book. I began to feel guilty when a couple of weeks would go by without finishing a book. Then I would binge read and that meant fewer outdoor hours and more guilt. I listened to audiobooks while traveling to and from trails and that helped a bit.

I don't regret any of it. I began a non-profit, found a place I enjoy volunteering (and now there are three volunteers there), had my family join me in adventures, and saw and did things I had on my bucket list.

 

--

This all seemed so much more eloquent in my head. I haven't had chai or breakfast yet and I only had about 5 hours of sleep so I'm blaming low blood sugar and brain fog on my inability to write coherently.

[TexasProud]

LOL.  I achieved absolutely none of my goals....and that is ok.  God had other goals that I did accomplish: taking mom on a last trip, taking care of mom well, etc. 

Sometimes life is like that. 🙂

 

[Eos]

@Granny_WeatherwaxIf there was a wow! button I would hit that for your goal-achieving!  You have been a great leader here, and I appreciate your eloquent, straightforward posts.  I have also gained confidence from setting then achieving goals, and I feel happy that I was able to post them in my personal narrative style.  I've never felt intimidated or imposterly posting to this group and for that and your leadership, thank you.

I feel happy with achieving many of my goals, though I never finished my plaques.  I will finish them in 2023!  My teensy goals of habit-training have paid off for me, I'm heading into 2023 with a few new habit goals that I am pretty sure I can accomplish because of my success last year.  I also learned that small chunks work well for me rather than the grand plans I used to lay out then blow off.

For the last three days of 2022 I am writing down my new goals in my brain notebook and may transfer them here to a new goal thread.

Blessings to all and thank you for being here with support, it was truly helpful,

Eos

Edited December 29, 2022 by Eos

[Granny_Weatherwax]

@Eos - Thank you for those kind words. They mean a lot to me.

 

--

How could I forget this..

I took my bike to CO and rode with my sister-in-law and DGD (in the Burley) and then took a long ride with my DD and DGD (again in the Burley) on DD's birthday. I finished a bike trail the next day. 

DD, DGD, and I were within yards of two huge bull elk (a fence was between us). We had a wonderful time watching the prairie dogs and seeing the sights around the city.

[Guest]

Ok. So, I don’t really like the way I set my goals last year and I want a different structure for 2023. Also, I did not do great with my goals but OTOH, there were several things I did not mention in January but did anyway. For example, I am something like 680 days into a Duolingo French streak now. I have maintained this all year without really giving myself “credit” (publicly, here) for my commitment. Also, my friend was diagnosed with a very serious, high-stage cancer and I immediately made hiking with her a top priority. I never could have foreseen that but it probably ranks as my most precious time-well-spent of this year, since her diagnosis. 
 

So. My goals were:

1) Complete at least 52 watercolor paintings with at least 12 totally original paintings. I more than met this goal. By the end of the year, I have stopped my kit subscription and am now focusing on doing my own original work the majority of the time. I made my own Christmas cards and had them printed, which was rather thrilling. I want to print more items with my original work in 2023. 
 

2) Draft a complete novel. I abandoned this goal. I realized I don’t actually want to write for the public. Some of my intentions with this had to do with wanting to make more money but, because of the unicorn job change I never, ever anticipated in January, that no longer factors in.  I spend some time on a Harry Potter fandom Reddit, and it made me realize how much unfair pressure is put upon published writers. It made me re-evaluate my own one-star-reviewing nonsense on GRs; I am not doing that anymore. Because of following HP, I see how salty people are when a writer does not meet their expectations. It’s pretty garbagey behavior, actually.

 

3) Watch 24 documentaries with dh. We did not do this but we started watching other movies and a lot of Harry Potter. I actually think documentaries make more sense because dh really just watches HP to humor me. He still does not understand the whole story arc or the logic of the magic system. I think he has a difference that literally prevents him from understanding stories of that complexity. Not sure exactly what 2023 should look like for this category, but the point was to spend focused time with him. 
 

4) Complete six largeish goals for my house. I did not complete these. I will have to re-organize them for 2023. I completed ds’ room, but then he took the bed for his apartment. I got about 3/4 done with dd’s room. She has a big closet and it is full of memorabilia, prom dresses, “sentimental” clothing, artwork, American girl doll stuff, etc., etc….. It would be fair for me to tell her to plan a weekend to go through it all herself but I cannot be “like that” with my kids; it just seems unkind and it reminds me of things I didn’t like about my own upbringing. So it will come back to me finishing addressing her room. I did get her wedding gown cleaned and contracted with a consigner, so hopefully that is sold to some thrifty new bride before 2023 is over. 
 

So it doesn’t seem like I did that well with my written goals, but I also think discovering that you don’t want something you thought you wanted is valid as well. And I’m proud of how I have flexed when new opportunities presented themselves. 🙂 

[Eos]

37 minutes ago, Quill said:

Complete at least 52 watercolor paintings with at least 12 totally original paintings. I more than met this goal. By the end of the year, I have stopped my kit subscription and am now focusing on doing my own original work the majority of the time. I made my own Christmas cards and had them printed, which was rather thrilling.

So cool!  If you ever feel like posting pictures, I always love to see your artwork.

[Guest]

57 minutes ago, Eos said:

So cool!  If you ever feel like posting pictures, I always love to see your artwork.

Thanks! This is my favorite painting I did this year: 

[Eos]

22 minutes ago, Quill said:

Thanks! This is my favorite painting I did this year: 

I know it's not Maine but it sure looks like it - lovely!  Thank you.

[ScoutTN]

@Quill I love your painting. 
 

@Granny_Weatherwax Echoing Eos, thank you for sharing your thoughts and challenges and for keeping up the thread. My goals list and word of the year were important and helpful to me this year, a hard year. I didn’t post much because many of my goals are relational and not sharable on a public forum, but I was following along.

I am definitely in for 2023. 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

@quill - I would gladly buy a feather print and am patiently waiting for your instructions on how to proceed. 

 

--

I also wanted to share that my goals were intended to help me break the cycle of depression and self-imposed isolation. My default is to stay home, reading or binging tv shows, but I want to be an outdoor person again (cognitive dissonance, anyone?) hence my outdoor goals. I also tend to struggle with self-efficacy and self-esteem. By using the weekly/monthly/yearly goal method, I broke down the goals into less overwhelming chunks which helped me succeed. Was I perfect? Hardly. Am I happy with my results? A resounding yes. I did things I wouldn't have done without the goals. I never would have asked my sister-in-law to ride with me. I wouldn't have looked up the location of the marsh with the lotus flowers. I wouldn't have taken my son-in-law and DGD kayaking. I would have talked about those activities but with the goals, I did them. The memories are wonderful. I had a fulfilling year and for the first time in a long time, I can look back and see that I did things. I broke the cycle of researching and planning trips and never taking them. I used my bike, kayak, and hiking boots. I didn't let my equipment sit there and rust or remain in storage (which has happened more often than not). I am gaining a better picture of who I am and who I want to be and I'm having fun. I still need to figure out the nutrition/activity balance so I can actually lose weight but that's what 2023 is for!!

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I ended 2022 by getting covid on Thanksgiving and spending a couple of weeks recovering. Any thought of my goals was abandoned as I was behind on Christmas prep by the time my energy levels had returned to normal. 
 

I jumped into the goal threads late (February I think), and have to say that I didn’t achieve any of the goals I set. It’s a bit disappointing but I’m still considering it a positive. I spent the year thinking about goal setting and learning what is and is not realistic for me. It also gently pushed me to acknowledge the things in my life that make working on goals difficult. I set goals in areas like exercise, outdoor time, decluttering, and reading, when really there are some deeper, very personal things that need to be healed before I even have the bandwidth for more visible goals. So while I wasn’t terribly successful in achieving the goals I set, I do consider the year successful as I learned some important things about myself. 
 

I do plan to continue with goal setting for 2023. I haven’t yet figured out what my goals will be. I’d like to set some very similar goals as last year but I think I will need to reframe them in my own mind. Possibly as part of healing and personal growth rather than proof of it, if that makes sense. There are also other things that will need to be prioritized. I need to make time for things that help me feel rested, rejuvenated, and peaceful. I’m still thinking through this for 2023 but I’m looking forward to taking what I’ve learned and building off of it. 
 

Thanks so much, Granny_Weatherwax, for the past year of learning about goal setting! 🙂 
 

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

4 minutes ago, 2ndGenHomeschooler said:

I ended 2022 by getting covid on Thanksgiving and spending a couple of weeks recovering. Any thought of my goals was abandoned as I was behind on Christmas prep by the time my energy levels had returned to normal. 
 

I jumped into the goal threads late (February I think), and have to say that I didn’t achieve any of the goals I set. It’s a bit disappointing but I’m still considering it a positive. I spent the year thinking about goal setting and learning what is and is not realistic for me. It also gently pushed me to acknowledge the things in my life that make working on goals difficult. I set goals in areas like exercise, outdoor time, decluttering, and reading, when really there are some deeper, very personal things that need to be healed before I even have the bandwidth for more visible goals. So while I wasn’t terribly successful in achieving the goals I set, I do consider the year successful as I learned some important things about myself. 
 

I do plan to continue with goal setting for 2023. I haven’t yet figured out what my goals will be. I’d like to set some very similar goals as last year but I think I will need to reframe them in my own mind. Possibly as part of healing and personal growth rather than proof of it, if that makes sense. There are also other things that will need to be prioritized. I need to make time for things that help me feel rested, rejuvenated, and peaceful. I’m still thinking through this for 2023 but I’m looking forward to taking what I’ve learned and building off of it. 
 

Thanks so much, Granny_Weatherwax, for the past year of learning about goal setting! 🙂 
 

 

Thank you. The bolded is what is important. Yes, achieving a goal is fun but the process is the most important part. Kudos to you for keeping a positive attitude and for moving forward. Gentle hugs.

[Eos]

5 hours ago, 2ndGenHomeschooler said:

I’m still considering it a positive. I spent the year thinking about goal setting and learning what is and is not realistic for me. I

All this.  I'm actually excited about getting going with goals for the new year, because I also learned what is realistic for me from this thread.  Of course, it was everything Granny said it would be - small chunks, manageable time-horizon, seeing the big picture but focusing up close.

[Guest]

21 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

quill - I would gladly buy a feather print and am patiently waiting for your instructions on how to proceed

Technically, you could do it now on Redbubble. I uploaded it on there when I was trying to figure out the Christmas cards. I have to remember what my “shop” name is; I only put the basic shop on so I could print my Christmas cards. I think it is some version of Purple Quill. 
 

I don’t like the way my initials are on there; I meant to photoshop it out before I printed it. 
 

ETA: it’s actually under dfcumberland. The feathers look pretty good as a tote bag and as coasters. 

Edited December 30, 2022 by Quill

[Granny_Weatherwax]

6 hours ago, Quill said:

Technically, you could do it now on Redbubble. I uploaded it on there when I was trying to figure out the Christmas cards. I have to remember what my “shop” name is; I only put the basic shop on so I could print my Christmas cards. I think it is some version of Purple Quill. 
 

I don’t like the way my initials are on there; I meant to photoshop it out before I printed it. 
 

ETA: it’s actually under dfcumberland. The feathers look pretty good as a tote bag and as coasters. 

I will order soon. 
 

I hope you add more paintings, like the one posted here. That would make lovely notecards