For this last Thursday of the year I want to make an exception… no traditional Thursday travelpost… oh no… today I want to share with you a more personal post… a post about the goals I have set myself for the coming year!

Now these goals are nothing major… nothing new… nothing world-changing… just keeping myself alert and awake for when I wonder off during the year.

Setting goals makes you stay focused on what you want to achieve in your life and by writing them down for all you lovely people out there, makes it even more real!

Last year I wrote a blogpost on how to stick to your New Year’s resolutions  and I must say that I’m pretty good concerning the theory!

This year however, I intend to put my own advice into practice and during the year I will keep you posted on the progress of my goals. If I dare that is… because if I totally blow it, I’m pretty sure this will be the last you hear of it 😀

My goals for the new year

Exercise

I know… such a classic… sorry guys for not being more innovative, but let me tell you the full story…

In 2017 I had a lot of pain in my back and neck and I also had shoulder surgery which prevented me from exercising. This made made me more tired, I felt less energetic and I gained some kilos 😦

From September onwards, I went to the hospital twice a week to do special exercises for my back… It was pretty intense but I had a lot of tips from the physiotherapists and occupational therapists from the hospital which I now have to put into practice.

But what will I do… I could start running again I suppose, but as the shocks of running are quite bad for the back, I think I want my muscles to be a bit stronger before putting on my running shoes again!

Now at work there are different kinds of sports that are promoted (yoga, fitness, spinning,…) so that is really interesting of course. But what I really want to try is ballet. Now I know this may sound silly… a 46-year old starting ballet?! Don’t think of me in a tutu on pointes dancing Swan Lake though, but more of someone trying to get a better posture and stronger muscles by moving artistically 🙂

I will probably start ballet in a couple of weeks time but it for some reason, this this ballet thing doesn’t work out, I’ll probably join one of the classes organised by the sports department of my work. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on my sporty attempts!

Drink and eat wisely

Exercising is one way of looking after my body… drinking and eating wisely though is as important!

Mind, it’s not my main goal to lose kilos. To me it’s more important to become more energetic. The last couple of months I have been ignoring a healthy lifestyle and I really feel the difference! And if I lose a kilo here or there during the proces, that’s a bonus!

Now, how will I tackle this goal? Well, I will follow the ‘5-2’ rule which I have done before and which made me feel good : during the 5 weekdays I’ll be quite strict in what I eat and drink, but during the weekend I will reward myself with that glass of wine or that piece of cake or chocolate. That way it’s more easy to persevere.

And I know… these first two goals are so predictable, aren’t they?! Don’t we all want to exercise more? Don’t we all want to eat healthy?! But I know that exercising and eating healthy makes me much more energetic and I want to experience that again. I’ve only got one body, so I guess I should take care of it, shouldn’t I?!

Start saving for my Australia trip

I’ve got this thing for Australia… ever since I was 14 or so… or even longer! But I never had the opportunity to visit the country. I really intend to do something about that, so I promised myself that by the time I’m 50 I want to travel to Australia and finally see and experience this great southern land!

I still have some time left to save for this trip (I’m 46 now) as this will be an expensive trip. So I have bought a piggy bank 😀 But not one of those you can open and close easily… oh no, I would be cheating and take money out of the piggy bank whenever I fancied! No, I have bought a piggy bank which I will have to smash to get to my savings! The piggy bank even comes with a little hammer…

So whenevever I’ve got some change in my pockets or purse, I will put it in Miss Piggy as I have named my little money box. I hope to save a nice amount of money that way, to make my Australia trip one to remember!

 Read 12 books

I’m member of a bookclub for which I will have to read 7 books in 2018. As I want to read more books than the obliged bookclub reads, I want to add at least 5 more.

One of these 5 must be a Jane Austen. Up until now I have read three of her books (Sense & Sensibility, Emma and Pride & Prejudice). Recently I have bought Northanger Abbey so I guess that will be my next Jane Austen read!

Quality time with family and friends

Time flies… We are all getting older, my kids grow up so fast and I feel like time is slipping through my fingers! We do have a lot of family gatherings, but you can never have enough of those now can you?!

To prevent myself from feeling guilty of having the odd quiet weekend on the couch, I really want to spend more quality time with my loved ones!!

Spending time with friends and family will bring more joy, love and laughter. Building on memories that last a lifetime, will definitely bring me  a lot of fulfillment, contentment and will be ever so rewarding!

My good, fab and lovely blog…

I will definitely keep on blogging. I love my little space on the world wide web and I wouldn’t want to give it up! I intend to keep on sharing beauty reviews, traveltips, outfitposts and much more so I guess you’re in for another year of good, fab and lovely posts 🙂

Keep watch over my stress level

Last but not least I want to (have to!) keep watch over my stress level and here’s why…

I have had a burn-out a couple of years ago. It was weird actually… when I was heading towards my burn-out, there were people who warned me, but I couldn’t see the problem. Then when the burn-out was diagnosed, I still couldn’t see, couldn’t believe I had ‘it’. It was only at a certain stage during my burn-out that I realised what it was… and I guess that was actually the point the healing process could start!

I still feel that I should protect myself from doing and wanting too much. I always wanted to be the mediator to make sure that everything ran smoothly and no one got hurt. Well guess what… doing that has hurt me many times over the years. It has taken a lot of tears and heartache to realise that sometimes things cannot be solved… not even by me!!

Now I am who I am… so I still act as a mediator more than is good for me. But I have accepted the fact that some things I simply cannot solve and I’m trying to live in peace with that thought which is in itself a big step for me!!

The first year after my burn-out I had the feeling that I was only one step away from a relapse. It felt like a dark cloud was hanging over me, a cloud out of which a heavy load of rain could fall at the most unexpected time… and I didn’t always have an umbrella with me…

But the last couple of months I feel I have become stronger. The cloud is still there, but it’s a fluffy white one… and only once in a while there’s some drizzle coming out of it… and I still don’t always have an umbrella with me, but I can handle a bit of drizzle you know?! I feel I’m in control again, I can handle things like I used to. I have found my balance…

My goal is to maintain that balance. I realise now that this will be a neverending exercise as a relapse is just lying around the corner if I’m not careful!

 

 

So…

• I will listen to my body and mind.
• I will accept help and good advice.
• I will give myself the needed me-time.
• I will do my utmost best to make sure everything runs smoothly, but I will take a step back when I realise it’s doing me more harm than is healthy for me.
• When something has upset me, I will reflect on the why’s and how’s to prevent this from happening again.
• I will say ‘no’ more often… (this will be the most difficult one I guess!)

So my dearest followers… if all goes well, yours truly will be a little richer at the end of this year. I will be a bit more educated, healthier and leaner… a little less stressed and a little more loved. I must say I kinda like the thought of all this 🙂

Have you set any goals? Feel free to share them in the comments below! Writing them down makes them just that bit more real…

Love, Kathleen