Three weeks into 2023, so many things have happened left and right.
After jumping around from place to place since mid-December 2022, I have finally felt a sense of normalcy. Only now am I settling back into a daily routine for my work, house chores, writing, and other hobbies.
With life falling into a routine, I finally looked back at my goals for 2022 and looked forward to what 2023 has in store for me.
I am not excited to see how much I have failed in the last 12 months—I know I have not kept my word—but I look forward to how I can fall back into the rhythm of my plans.
So here are words I do not take back but goals I hope to get back into and continue to work on:
1. The Hair Goal
“I grew my hair since the start of this world pandemic with the following goals in mind:
New Year: New Goals by Buzy Zi
1. Reach a length more than 12 inches
2. Cut it off and donate my hair to a cancer institution
3. COLOR the hell out of whatever hair is left on my head.”
One and Two of the above I ticked off. But the third item is tucked away at the back of my mind, hidden from the light of day.
Reasons: (1) I had no money for extra luxuries after resigning; (2) a new job and a busy schedule—I lost the time to experiment with the wild wonder of temporary dye and the like.
Hoping to travel around has also tied my hands and my finance to matters more pressing than my hair.
I am convinced it will come.
Just because I have plans for the year does not mean I have to push this aside forever.
2. The Check-in Goal
For context, I had goals for these aspects of my life:
- Career Goals
- Passion Project Goals
- Spiritual and Personal Goals
- Financial Goals
Sadly, all four categories and their respective goals ran for 12 months without any intervention or evaluation.
My post about Goal Setting reminded me that we cannot move forward if we do not hit checkpoints in our journey—just like video games.
And I made no Checkpoints in my journey.
Today is the first day I looked back to these goals and saw where I am, how far I have fallen off, and things to adjust to hit the target.
Does that mean I lost focus and pretty much forgot these goals? Yes.
Failing myself is tough, but that does not mean I have to give up and forget about my plans. It just means I have to look back, look in and press on.
3. The Evaluation Goal
With this post, I can say I accomplished this today.
I did not expect to have checked off 4 tasks in my 2022 goals:
Cut and donate my hairResign from my JobRest for a month (minimum)Get a new JobCheck and Diversify my investments
Four out of tewnty-five. Small, but still a win. (Check out my post about sitting on the sideline of other’s big wins and the value of your small ones)
Forcing yourself to look at each planned goal can feel like torture. Who likes looking at failed exams and reports?
It is easier to scroll through Instagram or Youtube instead of seeing your mistakes and what you should do about them.
Making new commitments for yourself is not easy knowing there will be days when you fail. So why put yourself up for failure?
As I look back and check each goal I laid out for myself in my 2022 development map, I see all the loopholes and reasons I fell off track.
Working on this blog post has pushed me to keep going. Seeing how far I have gone last year but failing to make it to any finish line is encouraging me to try again.
You can always pick up where you left off.
Without looking back, I would not have felt the courage to try again.
Like I said in my 2022 Goals post, you can break down the goal into smaller parts. That way you can see how much you have achieved in the last year.
If we only think of the end goal, then, yes, we are all failures, but success takes years.
So dust yourself off, stand up and keep going.
I wish you all the best for this year!
Busyzi 