I love New Year’s because I love the idea of a fresh start, a whole year full of possibility. And I’m a very goal oriented person, so I start getting excited about and thinking about what my goals will be like a month in advance. I love reflecting on the previous year, what worked and what didn’t, and making plans and lists of what I want to accomplish. It makes me feel so hopeful.

My regular reflection this year was a little hard. I had to admit how very little personal growth I experienced in 2016. Looking back, it feels like I was stuck pretty much the whole year. Bleh, I feel gross even just thinking about it. But I’m determined to make 2017 be much better!

I’ve chosen a word that I want to encompass all my goals, and be the guiding theme for my entire year. That word is DELIGHT.

1. I want to delight in my body. By taking good care of it and finding exercise that I enjoy doing.
2. I want to delight in my world and my community.
3. I want to delight in my role as a stay-at-home-mom.
4. I want to delight in the relationships in my life, both friends and family.
5. I want to delight in my God.

I’m taking the year in phases, with each phase having more specific goals in each area. Phase 1 looks like this for each of the above:

1. Body: Part of delighting in my body is bringing it back to a healthy weight, so I’m tracking my calories using an app, and following a 4 week fitness plan I found online.
2. World/community: To delight in the world around me I’m reading the news everyday.
3. SAHM: For this one I’m focusing on moving. I’m not even kidding. We’re moving next month (fingers crossed) and so much of my “home” effort is going there. In addition, I’d like to make a bored jar for my kids. Just a few activities we can on evening and weekends while John is away for work to keep things fun.
4. John works out of town every other week, so during the weeks he is gone I’m trying to have friends and other people over for dinner twice a week, and invite other families over once a week during the weeks when he’s home.
5. I’m reading my scriptures every day and tracking it in my scripture journal. I think having a dedicated journal for this and having it handy while reading is one of the best ways to get more out of scripture study.

As we move through the year I can move onto Phase 2 of my goals, which will include things like more specific health and fitness goals, volunteering, doing more fun things with my kids, opening up our home to friends and family as often as possible once we move (maybe even hosting a monthly potluck or games night), reading specific books, etc.

This is a different approach to resolutions than I’ve taken in the past, so I’m excited about it. I also feel really good about the goals that I’ve chosen, and I love the idea that my whole year is focused on finding delight.

Do you set goals and make New Year’s resolutions?