Hi friends! I hope you had a lovely January and that your year has been off to a good start. I started my year with a weeklong mindfulness retreat in Sedona, Arizona. It was the most magical experiences and I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my year!
I initially wanted to share my 2020 goals before I went on my retreat but then I decided to wait because I had a feeling I might have some new insights while on the retreat and get clear on what I’d really like to accomplish this year. I know we’re already a month into 2020 so it’s a little late to be posting this but it took me all of January to really hone in on how I want my 2020 to look. Last year, I only achieved 4 out of the 10 goals I set for myself so, this year, I wanted to feel more confident about the goals I commit to. I have written out a list of 13 intentions and 8 goals for myself. Intentions are broader themes for the year whereas goals are specific and measurable. I have a few other goals in mind but they’re a bit more personal so I’m not going to share them on my blog, at least not yet.
Intentions
- I intend to show gratitude daily.
- I intend to trust the universe and the timing of my life.
- I intend to not be so hard on myself.
- I intend to continue living a compassionate vegan lifestyle.
- I intend to go on more adventures and travel.
- I intend to live more authentically.
- I intend to do the inner work this year.
- I intend to commit to my own growth and development.
- I intend to pursue my passions and what makes me happy.
- I intend to push myself outside of my comfort zone more and more.
- I intend to show myself love and compassion.
- I intend to support ethical, sustainable brands.
- I intend to be more conscious with my free time.
Goals
1. Travel to 3 new places.
It’s no secret I love to travel and explore new places so there’s no need to explain this one. I’ve already traveled to one new place this year, Sedona, so I just need to make it to two other new places, preferably more.
2. Read 25 books.
Last year, I met my reading goal and read 20 books. I’m really proud of myself for achieving this goal and carving out time in my schedule to read. I have always loved reading novels but I haven’t always made time for it in the past. Not only do I love diving into a good story but I also find that, after a long day at work staring at a computer screen, it’s nice to come home and read ink on paper for an hour or two.
Since I enjoyed having a reading goal so much last year, I decided to have one again for 2020. I feel like I could’ve read more books in 2019 had I not procrastinated the first few months of the year so I’m bumping up this year’s goal to 25 books. A sub-goal is to read 2 or more non-fiction books. I always gravitate toward fiction because I like a good story with themes, symbolism, foreshadowing, etc., but there are several non-fiction books I have been putting off reading so I’d like to read a few of them this year.
3. Start investing.
This is something I started thinking a lot about toward the end of 2019. As of now, I have a savings account and my savings are just sitting there doing nothing for me. I also don’t have any type of retirement plan through my job so I need to come up with my own. At some point this year, I’d like to start investing and get a head start on saving for my future as well as grow my money through compound interest.
A top priority for me when it comes to this goal is that I choose an investment option that aligns with my values. I do not want my money going to companies that are harming the environment or animals (i.e., no fossil fuel or animal agriculture businesses). As I move forward with this goal, I will be pursuing socially responsible investment options.
4. Go on an adventure once a month.
I got this idea from an article I read recently that encouraged people to go on more adventures. It doesn’t matter if they are big or small, local or abroad, just as long as you get outdoors, try something new, or meet new people. I decided to make it a goal of mine to go on at least one adventure a month. My adventure for January was a big one: going to Sedona for a retreat. But other adventures will probably be local, like hiking at the Everglades or paddleboarding at the beach. I love going on adventures so this goal is mainly to encourage myself to do more of what makes me happy.
5. Watch 1 documentary a month.
This was a goal of mine last year and it really helped me watch more documentaries and docuseries so I’m doing it again. As much as I love documentaries and learning new things, I always gravitate toward fictional works whenever I’m looking for something to watch on Netflix. This is why I feel like I need to keep this as a goal for myself so that I continue watching documentaries.
6. Meditate 3 times a week.
I have been trying to make meditation a habit for years and I just haven’t been able to stick with it. I always love the way I feel after I meditate and the clarity it brings me so I’m not sure why I’ve struggled so much to stick to a regular meditation practice. Hopefully, this is the year I will make it work. Starting the year on a retreat in which we meditated every morning really helped me get the momentum going to achieve this goal. While I would like to meditate every day as I did on my retreat, I think a minimum of 3 times a week is realistic for me right now.
7. Practice Spanish on Duolingo every day.
This was also one of my goals from last year but I failed miserably at it. I started out the year strong but then, when I went to Spain in March and had to delete the Duolingo app from my phone to free up space for pictures, I stopped practicing Spanish regularly. Every time I tried to get back into practicing on Duolingo, it never stuck.
I wanted to make this a goal again this year because it’s really important to me that I become fluent in Spanish. I am half Cuban so speaking Spanish is part of my heritage. When I was a kid, I didn’t really care to learn it and my Dad didn’t care to teach me or my brother. As long as I got an ‘A’ in my Spanish class at school, I didn’t care that I wasn’t fluent and couldn’t hold a conversation for more than a few sentences. Now that I’m older, I’m craving that connection to my heritage so I’m going to do my best to practice Spanish on Duolingo and practice in real life, too.
8. Start practicing yoga again.
I used to have a regular yoga practice about five years ago and I lost it when I canceled my gym membership to save money. I always intended to practice at home but rarely did. When I was on my retreat in January, we practiced yoga every day and we had the most wonderful teacher. Her classes reminded me how much I love yoga and how much I miss practicing it. A larger goal of mine is to become a certified yoga teacher but, in order to build up to that goal, I need to first start practicing regularly again so I can build up my flexibility and strength. I have already taken the first step toward this goal and signed up with ClassPass so I can take yoga classes near me. I’m aiming to go to two classes a week.
Those are all my goals for the year, at least the ones that I’m sharing publicly for now. I would love to hear some of your goals or intentions for 2020 if you have any. Please leave a comment below if you want to share.
Wishing you so much love and happiness in 2020,
Victoria