Goals

I sat down a few days ago and thought about what I wanted 2017 to look like.  I've heard of others picking a single word to focus on during the year.  The first word that came out in my 'brainstorm' was "survive".  But I hope to do more than just survive, so I eventually landed on the word healthy.

I'm talking about total health, including physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social health.  My hope is that each month, I can evaluate how I'm doing in each category and make short-term goals accordingly.

Physically, I'd like to lose a few (or 20) lbs to get closer to pre-pregnancy weight.  (How many years can pass after a pregnancy before you can no longer call it pre-pregnancy weight??)  This includes exercise, but I also need to eat better!!  That will be a focus starting in January.

Mentally, I need to find things to stimulate my brain.  The easy goal is to read... and I generally target 12 books a year.  I also want to find a hobby that helps me relax but also forces me to use my brain in some way or another.  I'm open to suggestions!  Articles I've read also suggest researching interesting topics and doing mind puzzles.

Emotionally, I'm not really sure.  And yet, I feel like this will be the biggest wild card while Hyrum is gone.  I have no doubt that I'll survive this upcoming deployment just fine, but getting through it while simultaneously choosing to feel joy will be the challenge.

Spiritually, I want to take more time this year to disconnect and be still.  I want to spend more time thinking and pondering.  More concretely, I'm setting a goal to finish the Old Testament, which I started (and then dropped half-way through) a few years ago.  I also am committing to reading all of the lessons from the new President Hinckley manual.

And lastly, socially.... again, I'm not really sure.  I'd like to figure out ways to socialize with adults, and develop more meaningful relationships.  But this category could use some work.  (I did find some activities for the kids to get involved in, like gymnastics, so maybe their socializing will rub off on me!)

That's my overall plan, and hope that by targeting my overall health I can be a better mother, wife and friend to others.