First up, I am running a little late with setting my goals for this year. Usually, I spend time in the last few weeks of the year, reflecting on said year and setting new priorities and intentions for the new year. Most of the time, by New Year I have my intentions and priorities written out and set myself 3-5 goals/ challenges as well.
2023 was a difficult year for me. A year of losses on many levels. From financial to personal, you name it. November and December were the culmination of it all. I could not even consider planning anything. I felt like what I needed was solitude and stillness. So December was spent mourning and accepting all the losses. The first week of January brought a couple of more disappointments and betrayals, I found that while I still was mourning the passing of close friends, I was also angry about the loss of friendships. So I took a bunch of long walks. Watched sunrises and quietly reflected on my year of losses.
I felt like I was a ship in the middle of the fog, while I was sure my general direction was correct the lighthouse was switched off. I felt somewhat lost and alone.
So I re-evaluated my general direction in life. Reflected my actions and events of 2023. What I realized is that it was a purification. A laying out the core of my intention and also relationships. A simple culling of unimportant stuff from my life. But also a reminder of what and who is truly important to me. Some priorities have shifted, but most have stayed the same. Most significantly these difficulties amplified the importance of my chore values and priorities in life.
A new long-term project somehow emerged from this process. I am not nearly ready to even share the idea of it, it’s still very new and not quite explainable/thought-through. But I know that it is something that I need to work towards starting quite immediately.
Right now I am busy writing out my priorities and intentions for 2024.
At the beginning of the year, I decided to set myself two goals regardless of anything that was happening in my life.
- Reading Goal: 204books read in 2024 (the usual thing)
- 52/2024: this time I thought it would be clever to do 52reels instead of 52 photos.
I will post on the 52/2024 in a bit. I have done 3 reels so far and I don’t think this was my smartest idea…
Last week I had the idea to do Project 24. I haven’t quite worked out all the details. But essentially it’s a photography project that I will be working on for the year.
Today I decided to join the 100Days of Art Challenge -which starts on Feb. 18th. I am going to sketch every day for 100 days.
Also, I am starting my Damn Early Days routine again. Started today. The goal is to keep it going for the whole year.
So my 5 goals/challenges for 2024 are now set.
Did you set any goals for 2024?