Congrats on the Polly
@littlekiwi !
And I’ll second the cheer for
@tanteva ’s post!
I have a love/hate with goals - probably because I’ve set so many and had them backfire, or worked so hard at them and had them fail anyway.
However, a few things for 2023 were successful, and required a bit of focus to maintain (so yeah, that makes them goals, I guess). We had a rough five years from the end of 2017 to late 2022 - while we had *thought* 2022 was going to be “the year of rest and relief.” It was not.
But 2023 *was* that year. DH and I focused on staying home, being together, and doing some things we enjoyed for ourselves. We opted out of things we *could* have done and just stopped the hamster wheel (that had been turning FAR to fast because of others for whom we are responsible.) It was nice. I felt rested. The nightmares didn’t quite stop, but they were fewer and farther between.
Some unexpected, unplanned, things came up. I started a business - an idea I’d rejected in February but that seemed to take on a life if it’s own. That’s been going well (and a large part of why I’ve not been here as much). I’m finding my way and trying to grow the business with collaborations and connections rather than just pushing myself to “make things happen.” It’s been lovely, actually.
Unsuccessful things are always a sticky point, and I will always struggle to not fall back into rutted lines of thought about myself and my value to others. Christmas is tough - so I’m usually facing the end of the year having stumbled pretty hard with this. It will always be a work in progress, but at least I recognize this and can keep working at it. I always say “next year” I’ll do better - but that’s not always the best way to tackle this. So we will see.
