January Reflections and Failed Goals

HOW IS JANUARY ALREADY OVER?!?

Wasn't it just yesterday it was the beginning of the new year, where everybody decided on their "word of the year," set their goals, and were committed to keeping them all year long??

Wellllll I didn't do any of that because I already knew any "year-long" goals I set I would fail spectacularly at, so instead I took a different approach: I took out my lil' Happy Planner and set some goals just for the month of January. And because I'm an accountant and love numbers, I figured I'd have a number-goal to attain for each of them:

So how did I do? Let's reflect!

Blog 10 times - HAHAHAHAhahahha... I didn't even blog ONCE. I will definitely be adjusting this goal for February... maybe my goal will be to blog ONCE, and since this counts as a February post... BOOM. Goal achieved! #thatwaseasy

Upload 10 pics - Okay, so maybe not on THIS website OR my Instagram (#instafail), but I DID upload some onto my Facebook, but where I REALLY excelled in this is with an online "photography game" called GuruShots. If you've visited my EpicQuests Facebook page you'll have noticed me sharing some "achievements," and I'll talk about it in a separate post, but I discovered it about halfway through the month, and I just want to say it has REALLY helped me step up my Photography game with different ideas, approaches, but more importantly, with building up my confidence. and I uploaded about 80 photos to it in January so.... yeah, I'll count this one as "achieved"

Craft 10 Things - This goal I really should've increased, because I probably crafted 100 things this month, no joke. I started the year off with two new paintings (one was a success, the other a flop), then followed it up with learning a new jewelry technique, brick-stitching! I made a BUNCH of new jewelry pendants and items, then I finished up the month learning how to do string art, which I then turned around and immediately taught a class of 40 girls how to ALSO make string art (and it was SO much fun!) I also had my awesome husband help me cut, sand and stain the boards they would be working on, so that was several evenings spent "crafting" even though it didn't result in MY craft, lol.

Sell 10 Things - Yeah, didn't hit this one either, but I also haven't really worked on this one right...currently I only have 10 items available on my Etsy store, and they are just 10 color variations of the same item. So I set myself for failure with this one in that I was basically saying "I will sell 100% of what I have in my store!"

Workout 10 Times - ......sure, I TOTALLY made this goal....... okay FINE, I was actually THAT bad a lazy potato in January that I didn't even truly "work out" 10 times (unless all that sanding and staining the boards counts!) I spent so much of my free time trying to craft and improve, I didn't properly set aside time for myself for health and wellness. HOWEVER, at the very end of January, I started a new strategy, and I CAN say with confidence I've hit the gym EVERY DAY this week, and have gotten over 10,000 steps every day. So my goal for February will be working to maintain that momentum. I saw a quote with a turtle today that said "Your speed doesn't matter, forward is forward." So this potato/turtle is going to just strive forward, even if it's not as fast as others.

So I ended January with 40% completion on my goals... even though that SOUNDS bad (okay yeah, it probably is a little bad) when I go through my Planner and look at all the ways I focused on my art, whether it was through a new tutorial, podcast, craft attempt, I am actually really happy about what I accomplished this month. I may not have hit all my goals for January, but I hit my big one that I wrote underneath it: "COMMIT TO MY ART."

So I didn't lose 10 pounds or make $1,000 dollars in January, BUT I constantly pushed forward, and I am craftier that I was at the beginning of January, so I am proud of both my accomplishments AND failures, and will continue forward into February!

Happy Groundhog Day y'all!