Happy new year and new decade to you! This year I have decided to choose a word for the year. Why a “word of the year”? Well in reflecting on this past year and my goals, I don’t really have any new resolutions to implement.
In reflecting on 2019, my personal goal was to enjoy life’s journey (which can be hard for someone who tends to be so goal-oriented) and the hubs and my financial goals were to pay off my second to last private student loan, all of his private student loans, and pay down a certain amount on my last private loan (a six figure loan :(). Well, we were able to do just that! We took a weeklong vacation to Mexico, I kind of just let life happen, and we are almost $1000 ahead of our student loan goal.
To check in on our financial goals, last month we sat down and calculated our savings rate to be 50%+! This includes the money we contribute to our retirement accounts. Any savings that is not being put into our retirement accounts is currently being put towards paying off our student loans so, while we aren’t actually throwing 50% of our paychecks into investment accounts, that is 50% of our income we are living without. Once student loans are paid in full, we will then be able to fully fund our retirement accounts. Since we are still 2-2.5 years away from having all of our student loans paid in full (as we have six figures in federal loans as well), for the next couple of years our financial goals will remain the same.
As far as my personal goals, in reflecting on 2019 and my personal journey, the word that kept popping into my head that summarized last year for me was the word “growth”. I went into 2019 with an open-mind and learned so much about myself from the inner-work I did. I also learned so much about others by really listening to them. I plan to continue to work on myself and try and be fully present with others going forward; however, after that experience I decided to choose one word that I want to embody this new year and the start of a new decade for me – one word that I can use to lift me up when my spirits are down or remind me which path I should pursue. That word is “fearless”.
The reason I chose this word is because despite all the growth I’ve gone through over the past year I tend to still keep to myself and play small. I want 2020 to be the year I push myself outside of my comfort zone – the year I take inspired action towards my goals (whatever they might be). I want to be vulnerable and share my message with others without wondering if others might judge me. I plan to bust my limiting beliefs wide open so I can overcome the hurdles that I have self-imposed. This is the year I will flourish and show up as my highest self.
While our financial goals are still the same and I have not set any personal or business goals for the new year as of yet, I know that when I remind myself that I need to fearless I am pushing myself outside of my boundaries to expand my horizons in all areas of my life.
Here is my New Year’s message to you:
1. Everyday is a new day. You don’t need to pick new goals or resolutions just because it’s a new year, especially goals that are uninspiring, feel forced, or are overwhelming. Make sure you choose goals and intentions that feel right for you when the time is right.
2. Don’t limit yourself to only one-year goals. Sometimes the one-year time frame actually limits our goals, ambitions, and actions. When we only have one year, we may choose not to set a goal or take action on something because we aren’t sure if we can accomplish it within one year. Push yourself to think 5-10 years out.
3. It’s no secret that we should think big in terms of goal. Even if we don’t hit those goals we are more likely to have gone farther than if we had only set small goals; yet, big goals can give us analysis paralysis. Instead, set big goals and reverse engineer smaller, more manageable goals with action plans. If you continue to implement your action plan, you will obtain the smaller goals that will eventually get your to your larger goal.
4. Lastly, you can choose a word of the year like I did instead of a New Year’s resolution.
Do you have New Year’s resolutions or a “word of the year”or mantra? I’d love to know what they are if you have them!
P.S. I have more DIY projects planned for this year than last and I can’t wait to share them with you!
