My goals for January 2020

Hey guys, happy new year! The start of a new year never gets old. While I’m over having New Years eve plans (past my bedtime tbh), the start of a year always feels filled with endless possibilities. This year I’m going to skip resolutions which feel temporary and overwhelming and I would rather aim for things I can control and that I’m already on track to do.

 Health and Fitness

Over the years, I’ve had so many “fitness goals” that boiled down to one thing- lose weight. For the first time in my life, I’m going to do something that feels insane to me- not diet- at all- not once this whole year. I’ve gone on 100s of diets since I was a teenager and it’s just not something I’m interested in doing anymore. So my goals for health and fitness are really about health and fitness for a change and not an euphemism for weight loss.

 Run a 10k and a half marathon- for many years before I moved back to Nigerian I ran all the time. Actually for the first two years after I moved back, I maintained that momentum and eventually stopped entirely- blame the weather, or the fly that entered my mouth, I don’t know what. It’s something I want to start again for the sheer joy of running (you either hate it or love it). The longest distance I’ve ever run is 12 miles which is a little over 19km and close enough to half marathon distance for me to set as a goal. Obviously, I don’t think it would be at the same pace or effortlessness but I think it would be a fun goal to achieve. I plan to run the Access bank 10k and then do a half marathon later in the year.

Walking – I miss walking as a way to just get lost in thought and listen to new music so I’m going to start walking again (on a treadmill)

Learn how to do a push up- honestly, I can’t believe I don’t know how to do this, so I’m going to try and move beyond my modified push ups and learn how to do an actual push up.

Get a full health work up- There are a million reasons why I don’t trust hospitals in Nigeria but it’s no excuse to not get maintenance check ups, including Pap smears and vaccinations.

Eat more protein- protein has never been my jam. I’m a carb girl all the way but I tried tracking my protein intake and it was less than half what is recommended, so I really need to prioritise more protein in my diet.

Career

It boils down to writing. I finished writing my first book last year and I’m currently writing a second one. The goal for the year would be to sign with an agent and/or publisher. I also just generally want to write more anywhere and everywhere - obviously starting with this blog :). Finally, I would love a job in communications with the right salary.

Love

Work on giving with no expectations- this is hard but I honestly want to love my partner, friends and family selflessly

Grow stronger friendship and family bonds- this an extension of my point above

Give gifts- gifts are not my love language tbh (acts of service are my primary love language) and that has made me complacent about giving gifts and I would like to change that because gifts make people feel loved

Say yes to attending things

since I left 9-5, I’ve been holed up at home, sometimes for days at a time and I’m definitely less social, I need to get out more and learn to speak to people again.

Get rid of as much clutter as I can

I want to Marie Kondo my whole life, but slowly. I have to figure out exactly how I want to do that.

What are some of your goals for 2020?