I don’t know why I wasn’t ready to firm up or share these weeks ago. I guess because I’m still sorting through them and trying to determine exactly what they are or will be.

Which is HUGE for me! The idea that my resolutions need to have some bend in them. The idea that I can let them be a little soft and a little tentative. The idea that I can set some resolutions for the future, that won’t start for a while, that don’t need to happen today.

This year I got the Lara Casey Cultivate Power Sheets, which is basically a goal-setting workbook that helps you work through your shiz to figure out what is good for you, what you want, what would make a difference. It’s been very enlightening and helpful. (They sell out every year, but she will restock with a 6 month version this summer and you can sign up to be notified here. This isn’t sponsored – I bought my own and have enjoyed so I just wanted to pass it along. 🙂 )

Her whole method is about choosing good goals that you actually want, and to pursue them slowly. It totally flies in the face of many traditional New Year Resolutions like “quit sugar” or “lose 20 pounds.” Not that those aren’t great! Just that they aren’t necessarily what you ~want and seem big and grand without teeny steps. She’s all about slow progress and giving yourself grace – it just feels so much more healthy and sustainable to this Type A Upholder.

Anyway, I did all the prep work. I did my “Cultivated Life Evaluation” on 8 major areas: health, spouse, friends, family, finances, work, spiritual + personal growth, and recreation. Originally I thought this year would be all about personal growth and finances. But after my assessment I realized how much more I needed to focus on my health, my home, and my family. The goals were a little trickier to set, but I came up with some good ones.

She gives you pages for 10 goals and you bet your bottom I used all 10. I used big, overarching goals with mini sub goals. I broke them down into months and times of the year that will work best, rather than trying to do them all at once. Some are really generic. Some specific. But they are so much better, more personal, and more desirable than any previous New Years Resolutions I’ve set. So let’s hear ’em! I won’t share them all because it literally takes up pages in my workbook. But here’s the highlights.

• Read 3 books a month – I have loved this for the last two years. It’s perfect for me, so I’m sticking with it.
• 1 Kidless, planned date a month
• Millennial Mormon Book Club – read and discuss a spiritual book each month
• Weekly Book of Mormon Study Group – read the assignment, ponder, learn more, journal, and participate in the study group
• Attend the temple each month during the week before I teach Relief Society
• Medicate & Treat myself – pay attention to my aches, pains, sicknesses, anxiety, etc. and respond to them quickly.
• Love my Body! Positive self talk, thanking my body, lovingly stretching once a week
• Complete the Yoga by Adriene 30 day Challenge “TRUE”. I’m not sure exactly when, and it won’t be 30 days straight, in a row. But I’m going to do it!
• FHE planned every week – not necessarily a hymn and lesson, but spending dedicated time with my family each Monday
• Do 2 No Spend Months and at least 1 No Eating Out Month
• Open retirement accounts for me and Ryan
• Always have a financial goal we’re working toward
• Work my way through a new cookbook – I haven’t decided yet but I’m leaning toward Smitten Kitchen
• Get Outside – play & learn tennis, ride my bike, and just GO OUTSIDE
• Try a spin class!
• Throw a couple Favorite Things parties
• Help Reese fall in love with reading!
• *possibly* Do NANOWRIMO. Soft possible.
• Skin Care – I adopted a new regimen from The Ordinary and I’m trying to stick to it!
• Read You Do You: A How To and discover better self care for myself
• Weekly Self Care – whatever I need that week, but includes unplugged time, stretching, aromatherapy, journaling, getting outside, asking for a massage, or scheduling a babysitter.
• Fun Summer – I’m not really sure what I mean by this, but I keep feeling like I want to make this summer count and to make it particularly fun.
• Disneyland!! This is a multifaceted resolution – save money for Disneyland trips, go often, make meaningful memories with my family, be in the type of mental & physical shape to enjoy it, be secure and prepared in home and work to go often.
• Continue fighting my anxiety battle! For now that looks like therapy and practicing awareness and self care. Really this resolution is just about taking it seriously, monitoring it, and refusing to ignore it.
• Enjoy Loney. Just enjoy her. She’s so enjoyable!!! And growing up so much faster than Reese did.

Notably absent are goals about my weight, social goals, or blog goals. I can genuinely say I ~want to achieve each of those goals listed, and that’s where my focus is. They are spread across the year so it’s not like I’m looking at this laundry list each day when I wake up.

This year is about secure. It’s about doing the things that build my foundation and make me feel safe. It’s about braving and being the wilderness, not affected or pushed by others. It’s about me and my little family. It’s about asking myself “what if I don’t?” and “does this matter?” a lot.

Each of these goals is designed to make me more solid. And I’m looking forward to the tiny progress, because it’s achievable. It’s fun. It’s gonna make for a great 2018.