Starting Over in 2025

Painted Desert, Arizona October 2024

When I wrote out my 2025 goals and posted them, I had even admitted that I didn't think I could follow through. It is only nine days later and I know that to be true.  I must have been in a stressed mindset when I set my "2025 Mantra", luckily I have few followers on my blogger page and no one has read it yet.  I thought of deleting it, but I want to stay true to my missteps.  These were not goals to aspire too, but a map for my mental state at the time.  Maybe my words took shape from the highlights of the struggles I was feeling coming out of the holidays and what I perceived as others expectations of me  caused the rushing of setting my 2025 goals.  I tried to take the easy way out with a post from Facebook.  Does that ever work? So I awoke this morning and am going to make a fresh start with my goals of 2025.  

May be the reason that it is so difficult for me this year to come up with new goals is that I am happy with where my life is at.  While I realize that there is nothing wrong with that, I have always strived towards growth.  I am just not sure in what areas I should grow.  Is it stagnant to repeat goals year after year?  Typically I look back on the years' previous goals and set a yard stick.  I can read more books.  I can travel more.  Increase my exercise, yep, that's on there.  

Putting my thoughts to type, my word of the year has clearly come to me, MAINTAIN.  No it is not striving or inspiring word. It does not seemingly encourage growth.  It actually seems mundane and boring.  I have worked hard over the past 15 years to better myself, learn and accept who I am.  I have had struggles and have crawled back to a place of normalcy.  I think I want to sit here for a while and celebrate and accept who I have become.  To maintain is defined as: to continue to have; to keep in existence, or not allow to become less.  To maintain a car still takes active work.  It needs to be fill up with gas and fluids. The tires need to be checked and if they are low they need to be filled up. How about your house?  It doesn't need to be maintained, but if it is not it will cost you later with broken parts and pieces that can do additional damage in the long run.  Oh and the clutter of an unmaintained house.  Well that sends my anxiety skyrocketing!  But that is a me thing.

Yes. There is a certain feeling I get when I find my word of the year, my guiding star moving forward. That feeling? I have it.  

Reflection: I acknowledge and apologize for my trying to rush the process of finding my word of the year and setting my 2025 goals.  Guess what, Stacy?  There are no rules to this process and no one has any expectations for your goal setting.  You are not living life for an audience, just yourself.  Who are you trying to impress and who do you think is waiting with bated breathe to tune into your life?  If you want to change things up or keep them the same, the choice is yours.