Elle's 2015 Goals

Last year was an amazing year full of intentional goal-planning as well some unplanned surprises (both great and not-so-great). It was a roller-coaster year with winding (and sometimes looping) slopes: Some days I felt at the peak of the slope (admiring the view from the top), while other times I felt like I was upside down and about to come zipping down full-speed (with nausea, no less). But through it all, I can look back and call it a blessed year. As I have been thinking and planning for this year, I looked back at goals from last year that I wanted to continue, as well as dreaming up new goals that I wanted to push towards. I may likely add onto this list throughout the year, but for now, these are the goals that I will focus on the next twelve months. I will continue to share monthly goals that should be realistic (so I don't give up), quantifiable and specific (so I know when I have reached the goal). This way, these resolutions will become a reality. 

So, without further ado, here are my 2015 goals:


|| SPIRITUAL ||

• Listen to more podcasts (I am currently going through A Beautiful Design by Matt Chandler. Any recommendations are welcome!)
• Use the 5P model (purpose, perspective, patience, process, prayer) of Bible study presented in Women of the Word (by Jen Wilkin) to go deeper in the Bible this year, even if that means taking a break from structured Bible studies and taking a longer time to camp out in certain books of the Bible). 
• Memorize and meditate on one verse a month (I don't want to just memorize it. I want to study it and dwell on it throughout the month so it gets rooted in my mind and heart)
• Pray before reading the Bible, inviting the Holy Spirit to mold my heart and thoughts towards Scripture for teaching, correction, reproof, training (2 Timothy 3:16)
• Focusing on Selah : pausing, reflecting, resting, praising, and praying. I tend to rush through prayer and Bible study, so I want to slow down and experience selah.

|| PHYSICAL ||

• Return to a more consistent workout schedule/routine mixed with aerobic (running, elliptical, biking) and anaerobic exercise (weight-lifting).
• Run a 5K and 10K
• Sleep: Turn off electronics by 10:30pm on work-nights and get in bed by 10:45pm
• Nutrition
• Try Food Elimination Diet again to evaluate if I have any more food sensitivities (I did it last June and found out my body does not like potatoes and beans)
• Try two new healthy recipes per month
• Decrease eating out and increase overall healthy eating

|| EMOTIONAL ||

• Continue to regularly open up to trusted friends and community, being honest and open to encouragement, correction, and teaching.
• Take one month off all social media sometime this year
• Decrease Facebook and Instagram
• Restart Emotion Diary, where I journal my mood and things that worked and did not work each day, so I can see trends and triggers for anxiety, worrying, feeling overwhelmed
• Study what it practically means to "take your thoughts captive" (2 Corinthians 10:5) and then start practicing it.
• Practice being more mindful of my current season, whether that means my season in dating (an amazing, handsome man, I might add!), my current job, etc. I tend to look forward to future seasons and want to rush through current ones, but I want to be content and joyful in each season I walk through this year. 

|| SOCIAL ||

• Meet atleast once every other month with the teenage girl that I mentor through our church's Big/Little Sister mentorship ministry.
• Meet with several trusted women who are in various stages of married life and ask them specific questions and then find a way to thank them for making time to meet with me. 
• Stay in contact with close friends through coffee dates, FaceTime, email, snail-mail, etc. 
• Write monthly letters to my Compassion child

|| INTELLECTUAL ||

• Read atleast 15 books this year with a mixture of theology, biographies/memoirs, historical fiction, and classics (check out my GoodReads 2015 bookshelf)
• Grow in knowledge about overall health, pathophysiology, and pharmacology related to pediatric and adolescent healthcare to better serve my patients.
• Attend conferences on related topics
• Study and research on my own on topics I want to gain knowledge.

|| FINANCIAL/STEWARDSHIP ||

• Continue to use Mint monthly to budget, tract spending trends, and to make a habit of being more cognizant of what I am doing with my finances.
• Read Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and implement atleast 2 things.
• Continue paying off my large grad school loan, one month at a time
• Prayerfully decide how to give more (financially as well as with my time spent serving others)

|| ORGANIZATION ||

• Clean out my closet of shoes and clothing I do not wear anymore, then donate and/or sell. 
• Organize and clean my desk area in my apartment 
• Clean up my files on my computer so it will hopefully help with the overall speed.
• Clean up photos, text, music on my iPhone so that it will work better and increase overall memory.

|| BLOGGING ||

• Continue existing series that I have taken a break from, including Praising Through Pain, Cooking With Elle, and  All Of Nature Declares. 
• Collaborate with other bloggers on guest posts, link-ups, or other creative ways to get more involved in the blogging community.
• New blog design

|| FUN NEW EXPERIENCES & CHALLENGES ||

• Plan a balcony garden and keep it alive for atleast 2 months
• Try 5 new restaurants in and around the city I live in.
• Hike 3 new places (last year was Angel's Rest in the Columbia Gorge)
• Do atleast 2 things that scare me (and live to blog about it)
• Do random acts of kindness for friends and strangers
• Take a painting class