I discovered something about myself in 2017. I am terrified of failure. That might seem like a silly thing to say, but it’s true. I’m so scared of failing I will avoid setting goals or committing to things simply to avoid potential failure. How sad is that? (I’m also a commitment phobe in general, but more on that some other time.)

Recent history has been one of failures. Good failures though. Failures that have led to me having a better understanding of myself, my values and my dreams. If there’s one thing I’ve always admitted, is that I make mistakes. One thing I’m confident about is that I don’t repeat them. So while I failed often, I won’t repeat those failures. This year I’ll set new goals and probably fail, but I’m trying things differently. No more resolutions. For 2018 I have a theme: Resolve.

Resolve: (noun) firm determination to do something. Or in my case, many somethings. More than resolve to achieve specific goals though, I’m going to have resolve in everything. I plan to attack each day, week, month with resolve. Every challenge will be addressed with resolve. Less procrastinating and making excuses. More getting things done. I wouldn’t normally be so determined except for the fact that I lost all resolve in 2017 and can see the physical, mental and work-related effects of my lack of determination.

I’m not letting that happen this year. I’ve grown tired of that version of me. I gave up a lot in 2017. I surrendered to things I could’ve pushed harder on, procrastinated and let laziness take control. This year will be different. I have some hard and fast goals that will require a lot of work, time and patience. And while I’d love to share those bigger goals with you, I’m keeping them to myself for now. There’s no sense in jinxing things! I will share my other goals though.

In 2018, I resolve to:

• Travel more locally. There were so many trips I’d wanted to make this fall that had to get pushed, I’m going to ensure I still take them!
  • More trips exploring Middle Tennessee, like the ones I’ve taken to Clarksville (here and here) and Memphis
  • More weekend road trips outside the state, like the trip to Louisville
• Visit Europe again and hopefully work with tourism boards or travel companies there.
  • Travel to Ireland
  • Travel to Southern Spain
• Spend more time taking care of myself. I let myself go a bit this fall and used every excuse under the sun. I stopped reading, exercising and taking time to rest.
  • More of a regular sleep schedule
  • More yoga (hopefully once a week)
  • More exercise, focusing on movement rather than weight loss
  • More reading books that will inspire me and allow for personal development
• Be more open. I pride myself on being transparent, especially when it comes to photos I post and what I say here. For some reason, I have a hard time being so honest with friends. I tend to not ask for help when I need it and pretend I’m fine when I’m not.
  • Avoid saying ‘I’m fine’ as a response
• Write more. I have ideas and concepts all the time and don’t take the time to write them down or expand on them.
  • Set time daily to reflect

I’ll admit, most of that list seems really simple, so much so I tried to think of other things I could fill it with. Isn’t that ridiculous! 2018 will be challenge but I am ready for it!