end of year goals

With the end of the year is fast approaching, {where did the year go?}, I decided to sit down and set some end of year goals. After reading the book from Shannah and feeling motivated to simplify my life more, I thought about what I would like to achieve before the new year starts. I thought about how far have I come this year already and looked at if I achieved any of the goals I set at the start of the year. So far this year for me has been a real rollercoaster. Many high's and many lows. It was not how I thought it was going to be at all and I have really learned a lot on the journey.

So after some pondering, here are the five goals I have set for the end of the year:

1. Improve my health: I have been so busy lately that I have not been taking care of my health as much as I would like. I need to slow down a little, change my schedule so I can fit exercise in more and take the time to plan the type of food I am eating. I also want to work on a new running goal and plan. 

2. Declutter and Simplify: I generally keep a clutter free home. I love it because it allows me more free time and with so many people in my home it reduces mess. In setting a goal to declutter stuff from my life, I want it to be more like commitments that I am not enjoying, saying yes to things I really want to say no to and being more protective of my time so that I can spend more time being creative and nurturing myself. I need to simplify my life so I can do more of what I really want to do.

3. Save for happiness: I believe that the best things in life are often free but sometimes the best things you want to do require money. Sometimes dreams and happiness goals require that you plan and save to make them happen. I want to spend the last part of this year planning and saving towards some happiness goals I have. This one is a hard one for me because I get distracted with wanting immediate happiness instead of happiness I can see in the long term future. I need to commit myself to looking ahead and focusing on that goal. 

4. Read more: This is kind of crazy coming from me as I read so much already, but I really do want to read more the last part of this year. I find it helps me with my writing, it motivates me to be better, keeps my mind active and inspires me to change my heart. There are so many good books available to us today and so many wonderful writers sharing insightful ideas that I want to just read as many of them as I can. I love to learn and reading is one of the fastest ways I can do so as I am busy taking care of my family. 

5. Sparkle: This goal is an important one for me and I decided to give it a fun name to motivate me. In the next couple of months I want to sparkle more. I want to look and feel happier. I want to spend more time playing with my children, I want to connect with my family more, I want to feel lighter, to be stress free and to generally feel like I am radiating good feelings. I know not every day is going to be this way but I want to work on my attitude more to be positive and sunny :)

So that is what I plan on focusing on to keep me busy in the next couple of months as we count down to the end of the year. As a family we are working on being healthier together and are still refining what our specific goals will be. They are however, always connected with our family mission statement and our family saying, 'Zealous to be an Ellis!'.