I wrote New Year’s Resolutions this year, and even though normally this is like writing a list of things I want and then tossing said list into a deep dark pit, this year I have been determined to make serious change.

This Year So Far:

1. Finish my novel – I trashed the novel that I started writing my novel in November and have since started a new novel. I am still determined to finish it by the end of the year. I have about a page of notes so far…
2. Reach my goal weight – Just no. I am at a steady 150 and my goal is 135. I have five more months, which is plenty of time to get there. I’ll be honest, I haven’t really been trying that hard. Though I’ve been told that losing weight gets even harder after 40, and I am three years away from testing that theory.
3. Go to Therapy – Sadly, I haven’t done this, but it is still very much on my radar. We are moving back to Connecticut this month, and I will absolutely start therapy once we get there. This one is non-negotiable.
4. Travel at least once a month with the family – Not even close. We traveled to Florida and to North Carolina this year, and that’s about it. We’ve gone back and forth between New Jersey and Long Island about 100 times, but we haven’t been able to swing other family trips. This will be more attainable next year, when we are settled, and I am more accustomed to my work from home schedule.
5. See at least one movie in theaters each month – Yes! I’ve been doing this! Well, technically I missed January and March, but I made up for them by seeing two movies in subsequent months. So far I’ve seen:
   1. February – Black Panther
   2. April – Super Troopers 2, Avengers Infinity War
   3. May – Book Club
   4. June – Ocean’s Eight, Incredibles 2
   5. July – Ant-Man and the Wasp
   6. August – Teen Titans
6. Get out of Debt – Yuuuuuuup! I did it! Unfortunately I don’t have any words of wisdom for getting out of debt, I was lucky enough to land a job that offered me stocks, and I had a large chunk that vested this year. I cashed it and in the same week paid off every dollar of debt that I had. And then I cried like a baby.
7. Create my 5 year plan – This just came together for me this month. I’ve always wanted to start my own business and work for myself, and this year I’ve decided that I’m not waiting around any more to get that dream moving! I’m officially registered for my MBA, and I start next week! My five year plan includes, working at my current job for the next two to three years, while I finish my MBA. Then I’m going to start my own business!
8. Give my marriage the love and time it needs – I’m embarrassed to say that I really have not done enough with this. Eric and I have talked about marriage counseling, but we haven’t made the time to do it. Once we move, this will be hand and hand with going back to therapy.
9. Find ways to give back – So far, this has manifested itself in monetary, and other, donations. We haven’t volunteered time yet, but we will, I’m certain.
10. Live life according to my life tenets for Joy and Happiness – This takes constant reminding. I am so easily caught up in the nonsense that makes me crazy and unhappy. I’ve been taking strides to be happier this year, and it really has been working, but I have a lot more work to do. I just started reading about meditation, and I think my lack of spirituality has started really taking it’s toll. I’ve been doing visualizations, and journaling, and seriously y’all I’m about to start a serious vision board!

    Also, I need to revisit my tenets. I wrote them so long ago, and I don’t know if they are still in line with how I’d like to be living my day to day, or what will bring me joy. I redid my “About” page after reading Kari’s post: Creating a Blog Bio is Stupid, and now I have to redo some of my other pages as well.

All in all, I am feeling really good about the changes and progress so far this year. It’s hard to explain, but for the first time in my life, I really feel like I’ve got my shit together. It’s an amazing feeling! I’ve still got some work to do (who doesn’t?) but I know that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. You know, I feel like people have been trying to tell me this my whole life. Weird how it took me 37 years to finally listen!

Do you set goals each year? Do you ever do a mid-year review? Honestly this was my first one in a long time!

The post Mid-Year Review – Getting Goals Accomplished! appeared first on Ani Kay.