I admit that I was not sad to see 2015 come to an end. Last year was not my favorite year. I faced a lot of personal and health challenges, cried too many tears, slacked too much on my health and fitness, and lost focus of many goals. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the worst year either as I made fun, happy memories throughout the year (Kentucky Derby!). However, I was ready for a clean slate with a new year.

So 2016 will be better. Because I’m going to make it better. I’m not sitting back quietly watching the days slip by. No more living in limbo.

FOCUS is my word for 2016. I chose it because I want to focus on some personal and professional goals – but not too many to feel frazzled. I want to focus on writing, focus on friendships, focus on family, focus on love, focus on me.

I recently went to two vision board parties so I should be really focused. Haha. I only made one board because I want to stay focused on my main goals and not spread myself too thin this year (side note: these parties  brought together some amazing women. It was awesome to sit around discussing goals, sharing encouragement, laughs and support. I definitely have more girl time as a goal this year!). I love making a vision board – it’s a great opportunity to think about your goals and put these onto a board so you can be visually reminded of them throughout the year. I usually place my board in my home office so I can easily see it, helping me stay ‘focused’ on my plans.

If you haven’t goals this year, there’s still time. If you don’t like the word ‘goal,’ think them as personal highlights that you want to accomplish. I’m the type of personality that likes a plan and a checklist (how awesome does it feel to cross tasks off your to-do list??). I also like to set goals so I have things to look forward to throughout the year. Your goals don’t have to be huge and should be realistic and achievable. When you set a goal, think if you will realistic make an effort to accomplish it – maybe you want to win the Lotto or build your own home. Great goals, but are these dreams or goals?

Here are some of my goals to help get you started planning:

Get outdoors: I plan to enjoy more hiking and biking, whether with myself or anyone interested in joining me! I hope to camp more often, even plan a weekend kid-friendly camping getaway with family and friends. One goal is visit all 13 parks in the Huron-Clinton Metroparks system. I’ve been to a few of these but want to start fresh and explore all of these cool parks so close to me.

Slow down and focus on me: I always feel so selfish saying I want to focus on me and take more me time, and after talking to several girlfriends, it seems like many women feel this way. However, I’ve learned that if I don’t take care of myself – physically and mentally – I’m not much help to others. So this year, I’d like to expand my meditation and yoga practices, take a few mental health days to do something fun with myself (reading, biking, massage, etc), work toward achieving some of my goals and learn to laugh much more at myself and life.

Focus on friends: I’m hoping to meet some new girlfriends with shared interests this year and spend more time with current girlfriends who value our friendship as much as I do and reciprocate effort in keeping the friendship. I’ve experienced drifting from some girlfriends the past few years and I’ve accepted that some people are meant to enter, and exit, your life, leaving you with good memories. I cherish many of the women still in my life and plan to be a better friend to them as I open myself up to new friendships and adventures.

Travel: I used to take numerous weekend getaways throughout the year, camp with friends, escape on spontaneous road trips. Nothing too far from home, but just simply getting away! I stopped taking these getaways a few years ago for reasons that escape me so I intend to plan a few of these this year, whether on my own, with my family and/or friends.I sometimes need to get away to recharge my soul and energy.

Become more spiritual: In addition to attending church more often, I’d like to simply quiet my mind more often to get in better touch with my spiritual side. I find such internal peace after attending church and praying that I know this is something I need to do more of this year.

In addition to these goals, I plan to continue to work being a better daughter, sister and friend. Spending more time with my nieces and nephew is another goal (if they’ll have me!) – whether or not we are someday blessed with our own child, these five amazing people will always be ‘my kids’ too. I’d also like to try to cook new recipes more often as I enjoy being in the kitchen more and more (this sentence makes my mom proud!) – I’ll share some of my favorite recipes here!

What is your word of the year and some goals for 2016? Feel free to share! Whatever your goals and dreams, I hope this year is filled with good health and happiness for you!