It’s my favorite time of year! That time of year when I take inventory of the past year and set goals for the coming year!
Over the next week, I’ll be sharing things I learned this past year, my goals for 2019, my word for 2019, my favorite books read in 2018, and books I’m planning to read in 2019.
So let’s start off by taking a look at my goals for 2018 and how I did on them.
Final 2018 Goals Update
Personal Goals
1. Read 100 non-self-help books that will build me up/encourage me/inspire me/recharge me. (Fiction/story driven/biographies /inspirational living books/devotionals.) See the list of 44 books I planned to read this past year.
Final verdict: I read 70 books this year. While I didn’t complete my goal of reading 100 books, I did read a lot of books from my list of 44 books I was planning to read in 2018 AND I read some great titles that I really enjoyed (I’ll be sharing my top 10 books read in a few days). Also, I stuck with my commitment to not read any self-help books and it was such a good exercise for me.
2. Read through the entire Bible.
Final verdict: I used the Robert Murray M'Cheyne plan and completed this goal — yay!
3. Write one handwritten note to someone every week.
Final verdict: Done — and this turned out to be such a great goal that inspired me to write a lot more handwritten notes.
4. Run 500 miles.
Final verdict: I ran 450 miles. And while I didn’t fully finish out this goal, I definitely know I got in more exercise as a result of this goal.
Marriage Goal
5. Go on an overnight trip with Jesse without the kids.
Final verdict: We more than outdid ourselves on this goal! Jesse and I went to NYC together in January. It was such a fun trip, aside from my getting sick at the end of the trip! We also both went on a 10-day trip to Rome and India. This was not planned at the beginning of the year and was such a fun memory that we will always cherish!
Family Goals
6. Read 10 books aloud with the kids.
Final verdict: We finished three books. I realized that reading aloud is something that the kids aren’t as excited about as they once were and this may be something that I need to just let go and not feel guilty over. I’m not sure. I’m still mulling on this one and have some ideas I’m going to try in 2019 to see if they work or not.
7. Take the kids to South Africa.
Final verdict: We took this trip in July. What a memorable experience!
8. Go on a family road trip.
Final verdict:While we didn't get to go on as long of a road trip as we wanted to, we made the most of our Fall Break Road Trip to LA, MS, and AL (and checked off a few more states from our States We Haven't Visited Yet list!)
Financial Goals
9. Save up to pay cash to finish off an office for me and workout room for Jesse and me in the basement in our new house.
Final verdict: This took WAY longer than we anticipated due to many, many issues we ran into with the contractor we hired, but I’m happy to report that both are finally done and we can now decorate and move our stuff into the office and start using it full-time. YAY!
10. Replenish our Emergency Fund
Final verdict: We ended the year $5,000 shy of replenishing our Emergency Fund. We’re hoping to maybe be able to finish this out in January or February. We’ll see!
Business Goals
11. Increase our gross income from the business by 8%.
Final verdict: We did not do this… in fact, we actually ended the year making quite a bit less than last year. And honestly, I’m really okay with that. Some unexpected business things happened halfway through the year that really affected our income and they were outside of my control. In addition, I just started feeling this sense of deep contentment where I am and where the business is and not feeling like I need to push hard to grow or build it to bigger than it is.
As I wrote on Instagram recently:
This year, I spent a lot more time making memories than I did focused on making money.
It wasn't something super intentional. I didn't go into the year saying, "I'm going to step back and make less money this year so I can focus on people and relationships."
In fact, I had actually set the goal at the beginning of 2018 to increase our business income by 8%. Guess what? I'm not going to hit that goal at all. And guess what? I truly don't care.
Because I look back on 2018 and the memories I hold in my heart, the friendships we've formed, the relationships we've nurtured, the people I got to love on, the lessons I learned, the laughter we shared, the heart-to-heart talks I had with my kids, the way my love for Jesse deepened, the experiences I went through, the courage muscles that got strengthened, the adventures we went on, the crazy stories I could tell you… these are all so much more valuable than any increase in income could ever be.
My bank account might not be as full as I expected it would be at the end of the year, but my heart is full.
12. Launch 5 new courses.
Final verdict: We launched 6 courses: 4 Weeks to a More Productive Life launched in January, Content Creation 101 launched in February, 4-Week Blog Coaching Program launched in March, Email List Setup 101 launched in March, Make Over Your Mornings LIVE launched in April, the Facebook Live Masterclass launched in May, and Build Your List 101 launched in June!
Two Highlights of 2018 That Weren’t on My Goals List
There were two big things that happened in 2018 that weren’t on my goals list:
1. We launched The Crystal Paine Show. I have wanted to launch a podcast for around 4 years, but the timing wasn’t right and I didn’t have the breathing room in place to make it happen. But this year, God brought the right people into my path to make it happen and I am just loving podcasting so very much!
2. I went to India two different times! Neither trip to India was planned and both trips impacted me deeply and I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to take these life-changing trips. (You can get a little peek into my thoughts on India here.)
And a Big OOPS!
Guess what?? I was looking at last year’s goals and discovered that I had publicly committed to 2 different habits — and I completely forgot that I had!
Say what?? You guys. I usually have a really good memory, so I cannot believe that I totally forgot about these!
Here were the two habits I had said I wanted to commit to:
2 Habits I'm Working on Developing in 2018
- Weekly day coffee dates with Jesse after we drop the kids off at school — We're planning to go out for 30-45 minutes every week day morning to just touch base and enjoy a little one-on-one time together before our day begins. Oh and yes, I don't drink coffee any more, but we still call them "coffee dates" even though I drink tea. 😉
- Stay completely offline from 4-8 p.m. to focus on my family/home — Last year, I made the commitment to have more offline time and this was such a good thing. I want to continue that this year since I've sort of fallen off the bandwagon in the last few months.
And clearly, since I forgot about these habits, I didn’t make them habits. Oops!
I hope that me sharing this will encourage you if you also committed to some things at the beginning of last year and then completely forgot about it! You’re not alone! 😉
