Goals for the new year

Welcome to 2019. Santiago is pretty “shut down” today for the national holiday, so we’ve been able to spend some R&R time at the hotel pool and thought we’d doing a little introspection into our personal goals into 2019. We are very excited for what the next 6 months (and beyond) will bring and hopefully that putting these goals in writing (electronically) will help hold us more accountable.

Sarah’s goals for 2019

Do more good with design. Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to help others by creating designs, and it’s something I’ve found to be very rewarding. That’s why I’m looking forward to being able to spend ample time with the Chol-Chol Foundation being able to do just that, and be able to really dig in with how I can help. Susana mentioned that 80% of the needs they have are tied to marketing and design, so I’m excited to get started there. And I hope it doesn’t stop after July! With both Chol-Chol and new opportunities to help others through design.

Get outdoors more. I’d like to think Nick and I are capable of being more outdoorsy. The only problem is, we only do it once or twice a year. I enjoy hiking and really enjoy camping, so why don’t we do it more? Our summers and falls tend to fill up quickly, so I think that makes it a bit harder to plan weekend getaways to camp. Ever since we went to Yellowstone in February, I’ve become enamored with National Parks. When we went to Alaska, we were able to see Denali. And for our anniversary trip in Maine, we visited Acadia. This only fed the hunger for more. In 2019, I want to make it a priority to camp, hike, and make more trips focused on outdoor destinations.

More focus. Coming out of two years of planning for life events (our wedding and the fellowship), sometimes it felt like I was on a never-ending hamster wheel. There were a few times when I’d talk to my mom and say “I feel like I’m a chicken with my head cut off,” but then I found it to be more and more common. I was always trying to check things off my list and get to the next item without thinking of the bigger picture. I’m hoping that the next six months will teach me to slow down a bit and do more things with purpose and focus. I may need to learn to say “no” to things, which will be hard for me. And I’m hoping that this time away may be a good way to wipe the slate clean and start fresh.

Prioritizing health. This somewhat goes along with the two above, but making my health a priority. After a year of preparation for the wedding the year before, this past year I gave myself a “break”. What I was doing to prepare for our wedding was not sustainable long term, so I thought I deserved some time to enjoy things again. In Chicago, I worked out 3+ times a week at Shred415, but I’d tend to just undo all the work I did during the week by imbibing on weekends. I’d like to find some eating and exercise habits that are able to become a lifestyle, not just a few months of only eating certain things. I know this is always a perpetual goal on everyone’s list, but I’m hoping I can make some changes this year.

Creating more things. As some of you may know, I have an Etsy shop for miscellaneous hand lettering projects. I started to expand them more and even started making some tshirts. In the fall, I took a ceramics class and absolutely loved it. Then, in the winter, I really started getting into knitting and crocheting. I’m hoping I can continue to do this into 2019, because I found it’s something that I really enjoy doing! And maybe even gain a new skill. 🙂

Nick’s goals for 2019

Help the Chol-Chol Foundation. I’m going to write some goals after the first couple weeks when I have a better understanding of projects, environment, pace, etc. So, we’ll just leave this one a bit-open ended at this point.

Lose 20-25 Pounds in 6 months. Yup. There it is. I said it. I think changing up the work routine will be very helpful for my overall health. I always found excuses to not work out in 2018, especially after the wedding in 2017 (“Hey, I’m married – love me for me, Sarah!”). With focused exercise and some altered eating habits, I’m ready make some improvements in my overall health. If I do indeed become successful in this goal, the next step will be to maintain that weight coming back to the States. As they say, one step at a time.

Explore. Six months is a lot of time, but also will go by very fast. While we’re living in Chile, we want to explore neighboring towns and really get to see and understand the culture. I know we’ll be tempted to hit all the “hot spots” and big cities (and there is a good chance that we will), but we also want to ensure that we’re seeing many of the hidden gems that Chile has to offer. Once we’re back in the States, I want to ensure we have a similar approach. We often focus on big trips, but I want to take more weekend trips to local areas (e.g., Starved Rock State Park).

De-clutter (Electronically / Social Networks). Like many of us, I spend a lot of time looking at my phone / laptop, too much time on social media sites, etc. I need to de-clutter my emails (way too much promotions, spam, etc. that I take time to delete (for some reason) and I just spend a lot of time looking at social media of random accounts. Looking to slim this down in the coming months and try to disconnect from my phone a little more.

Get a corgi. It’s time.