Just like last year, I’d like to take a look at some goals for this year. One of the things I’m going to do with these is print them out somehow and post them in my office, by my bed, and maybe even stick a small version in my wallet.
Less Watching, More Doing
I love me some TV. And with the huge variety of content available through Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc., it’s hard not to spend our nights glued to the TV. I’d like to make that less of the default move in our home. I want to do more development. More reading. More writing. More crafts and projects.
Settle my soul
The past 5 years has been a whirlwind, going from Knoxville to Seattle to Orlando, and back to Knoxville. I’ve never really moved in somewhere expecting it to be my home for more than a year. As we scout our next home around Downtown Knoxville, I want to find somewhere we expect to stay for at least a few years. I’ve used not owning my home as a reason for not investing in a place, but I’m going to get out of that mindset. I want to own a home at some point, but I’m going to try hard to really settle myself wherever we end up next and make it home as much as I can.
Take care of my body
I didn’t do well at this last year, but I’m hopeful about this year. I’m planning to start a morning routine that involves hitting the YMCA to play some basketball. I want to actually run at least one 5K this year. Lauren and I are both wanting to look more into how we can eat better this year. Less Jet’s Pizza and more veggies.
Mindfulness
I know this sounds super wishy washy and vague, but hear me out. I don’t often worry about future Chris as I do stuff around the house. For example, I’m pulling something out of the spice cabinet. I ravage that thing looking for the right spice, and then toss it in, leaving myself open to the need for future ravagings (I’m serious about my spices). I recently organized it a bit and what I’d like to do is keep it easy to find what I’m looking for. When I’m done with my spices, I need to take the extra 10 seconds to put them in their place so future Chris has things easier.
I want to practice a sort of mise en place for all sorts of things in my everyday life. Doing so will help keep the house in order and make me a better worker and just a better me.
Grow my own food
My mom has a great garden which she pulls basil, peppers, and tomatoes from. She does it all on her deck. It’s time to stop letting being a renter prevent me from investing in a garden. Lauren and I both want to do this so I want to make this the year we start it. Beyond food, I want more plants around the house. We don’t keep many, mostly because we tend to kill them. I want to fix that.
Seek God
Read my bible. Go to church. Pursue Christ-filled relationships with people. I’ve gotten way too passive with my faith and my relationship with Christ in the past few years. 2016 should be a year of action.
Release Outshape
I know right? When is this guy just going to give up? Never. I used to have this goal of releasing it and having it be super successful and letting me keep working on my own things. I’ve really detached myself from how successful Outshape is. I want to create this thing that I’m proud of and release it. If I can do that, I will feel good about the work I put into it.
Start a podcast
I’m keeping this one because I really want to do this. It’s sort of silly, but I just love podcasts and would love to sit around and talk with some friends about something and share it with others. Not every goal has to be huge.
Deepen relationships
Building a bit on my goal to call people from 2015. More than just calling people, I want to talk to them more. I want to spend more time discussing real stuff and putting myself out there. I want to text less. Conversation is vulnerability. Texting is often just information passing.
Take up less space
This covers several things. Continuing to produce less waste. Compost more and buy more things that are recyclable. Continuing to reduce the amount of clutter in my house. If I don’t keep a gift you give me it’s not because I don’t appreciate it. I absolutely do. But if I don’t use it frequently or find it pleasant to look at, I just can’t keep it. And that’s okay. The use of a gift isn’t what matters. It’s the love and relationship the giving of the gift represents.
So there it is. Those are the ten things I really want to focus on in 2016. Looking back at the list, it seems clear that I want to spend more time doing and I want to be a better steward of my time and my resources. Here’s to hoping I can meet my goals in 2016 better than in 2015.