Wishes, Resolutions, and Goals for the New Year

I’m not much of a “New Years Resolutions” girl, but I have had so much on my mind lately. Thinking of what I truly want to do in life, and while trying to get focused, I’ve been thinking in terms of what I want to do more of and things I’d love to do less of.

I’ve read that if you don’t write your goals down… then they’re only dreams. And until these past few months, the amazing-ness that has happened with my Etsy shop has all been a dream, a big accidental dream that I stumbled upon. The small successes that my little shop has had were never a goal of mine. Because I never anticipated it. Never realized the potential that my shop held. Each and everyday, I’m discovering that this little shop of mine has grown so much that it may hold my future. A future I never knew that I even wanted.

But this post is less about my shop and what I want to do by is more about me. Who do I want to be? And what steps can I take to get there.

These past few months, since the beginning of last summer really, I’ve felt like a designing machine. Churning out design after design. Of course, I absolutely love designing and creating for my friends, family, and clients. So this is not a complaint, however machines do tend to run down and need maintenance. And I’ve discovered that my maintenance doesn’t come in the form of a veg-out relaxation day (well maybe it does, but I don’t recall what a day like that feels like). What really charges me up, is doing design projects that inspire me to create. Exponential creating. Where starting one project excites me so much that I can’t help but to create more. and more.

Tangent after tangent leads me to what I actually wanted to write about today… Wishes, resolutions, and goals for the new year. My wish is just my overall hope for the year. My resolutions are the small every day events that will lead me down the path to my goals. And my goals, are real tangible items that can be checked off my list at the end of the year.

 

Wishes.

– Be content in all things.

– Do more of what makes me come alive.

 

Resolutions. Everyday activities that will feed my goals.

– Create inspiring new projects and use new techniques.

– Learning more about these new techniques (i.e. brush and watercolor lettering)

– Get my office organized to accommodate all these new projects, tools and equipment.

– Create a “done list,” a documentation of the day to day projects completed

– Connect with more dreamers and doers for future collaborations.

– Spend more time with our family and friends, building the relationships that truly matter in this world and that will long outlast any work or project I may have before me.

 

Goals. Tangible activities and events.

– Get headshots and photos taken by my wonderful friend Jess from J. Rose Photography.

– Create a website to showcase graphic design, photography, and lettering that will be a step toward creating a shop and site outside of Etsy.

– Do enough “holiday” work in November and early December to be able to take a true vacation at the end of December so I can really enjoy the Christmas season.

 

What’s wonderful about putting this up online is having people out there who will keep me accountable to these goals. But what terrifies me is that if I fail, this list will be there for all to see and be a constant reminder of what didn’t happen this year. But then I am reminded of the many sayings about failure. Which really deems a whole other post. So I’ll just share my favorite right now, “what if I fail? But darling, what if you fly?”

Lettering in the above images were created for this blog post by me, Sam Allen Creates.