What. A. Year.
2021 was both the shortest and longest year of my life thus far. It was a difficult year for almost everyone and I feel we all grew in our own way because of it. But I'm grateful for a lot of it too. The good and the bad. So, I wanted to recap my year and review my 2021 goals to see what I achieved whilst also planning for the new year ahead.
To begin, some stats (because I love a good stat!)
In 2021, I:
Completed 168 activities (17 running, 151 walking) on RunKeeper for a total of 645.6km!
Read 33 books.
Got 3 new tattoos.
Moved house 3 times.
Listened to 522 hours of music (88 of which from TSwift!), from 616 artists across 108 different albums.
Completed 28 assignments for uni.
Watched 121 hours of Lost (ie. the entire thing), 60 hours of Battlestar Galactica (also the entire thing), and all 20 hours of the Harry Potter movies (more than once).
Wrote the first 18,000 words of my novel.
It's safe to say, it's been a busy year.
Now to review my goals and how close I got to attaining them:
Goal 1:
Stay in the same job from January through to December.
Achieved? Yes!
I was pretty stoked about this one. Since I started working full time in 2019 I haven't managed a full 12 month stint from Jan to Dec in the same job, so I set myself the goal of remaining in the same job throughout 2021. Consider this one done and dusted!
Goal 2:
Lose weight.
Achieved? Yes!
I've always been a bit back and forth with weight loss and exercise. Consistency is an issue for me and one that I'm constantly trying to rectify. I started 2021 with the goal of losing 20kg, but as the year progressed I decided I would remove the specific number goal and just try and lose as much as possible. I'm currently down 10kg and pretty chuffed with the effort so far. I'm excited to see how much more I can push that down in 2022.
Goal 3:
Read 50 books.
Achieved? Nope.
Throughout 2021 I read a grand total of 33 books. I was aiming for a little under a book a week but as the year progressed my personal life took a hit and my working life ramped up and I simply didn't have enough hours in the day to read. But 17 shy of my goal is still a pretty decent effort in my eyes. Keep your eyes out for my 2021 reading wrap up where I pick my top 5 for the year!
Goal 4:
Be more outgoing.
Achieved? Sort of?
As a pretty introverted person, my happy place is in bed with a book or on my couch watching a film with coco. When I started 2021 I made it my mission to try and branch out a little more. To stop skipping work drinks, or declining lunch invites or avoiding any major social interactions. It's not that I don't always want to go, but I tend to psyche myself out and convince myself I won't have a good time.
The first half of the year was a bit limited in this regard but I started to find my footing in the latter half. Moving into my own apartment helped and I've hosted a few social things here and there as well as making myself available for as many social gatherings as I can. The events I have attended have been incredibly fun! Here's to doing even more next year!
Goal 5:
Write 20 blog posts
Achieved? Smashed it!
This post makes number 22 for 2021 and I couldn't be prouder. Despite it being a massive year I was determined to spend more time writing. Since I started this blog in November 2018, I've written 61 posts. 5 at the end of 2018, 26 in 2019 and only 7 in 2020. So, you can imagine I was pretty happy to boost that number back up for 2021. I'm hoping 2022 brings just as much happiness!
So, that was 2021. The first year of being in my 20s done and dusted. As I look to the new year I'm setting goals that I think will be challenging but also a chance to hold myself to a new and improved standard. Setting goals can sometimes be daunting, there is always the possibility you'll fall short of the mark and that can be depressing. The key is to set goals that don't define who you are but are instead a reflection of the small improvements you hope to make as each day goes on. So, even if you don't quite meet your goal - you get part of the way there.
2022
Goal 1: Travel overseas
With COVID seemingly coming to its conclusion (ie. holding us within the borders) I'm looking forward to getting out of the country. I'm quietly confident about achieving this one, keep an eye on the blog to see my various adventures (more details in time ;) )
Goal 2: Finish my first draft
This one is a challenge. I've got the bones sorted, it's the actual words that are proving difficult to capture on the page. But the goal is set. I want a draft complete, even a shitty one. Once all the words are on the page I think I'll be less scared of what comes next.
Goal 3: Continue to lose weight
Again, I decided to leave a number off of this goal. So long as I continue to see the number drop while I eat well and exercise frequently I'll be happy. The specific amount isn't so important.
Goal 4: Strive to be more confident
Confidence is the key to life and I often find myself feeling like I missed that ingredient when I was being mashed into a ball of cells. But I am capable of it and so I challenge myself to try and bit harder. I'm turning 21 next year, it's a big one. I want to prove it to myself that I can beat my anxiety with life, even if its one phone call at a time.
Goal 5: Run 10km
This is a big one! I've spent the last four months getting my groove back with my running. When I was younger I used running as a sort of therapy. I loved it. As time went on and the gaps between my runs grew it became harder and harder to get back into it. But I feel like I'm finally back to feeling comfortable running again. With a 5km under my belt I'm going to spend the next year working to double the distance and run 10km for the first time in my life.
That's it! My 2021 wrap-up and 2022 goals.
I hope everyone has a safe and happy new years and that 2022 brings you everything you could hope for,
Till next time,
Rhi xx