Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you have imagined.

~Henry David Thoreau

Like millions of others, I’ve been in a reflective mood. Rosetta Thurman, blog mistress of The Happy Black Woman, put out an excellent blog post entitled “Preview 2013: Ten Journaling Questions to Help You Envision Your Ideal Life Next Year.” 

In the post Rosetta asks a series of questions designed to cause her readers to reflect on and examine their lives and goals. Responding to the questions gives readers clarity regarding what they want in their lives, which in turn should help them move their lives in desired directions.

These were the first five questions in Rosetta’s post (accompanied by my answers):

What I Want to Bring Into My Life in 2013

• What do you deserve more of next year? What do you deserve less of next year?

I believe I deserve more of the ability to “go with the flow,” and less of “trying to figure everything out.” I have a tendency to operate under the belief that “If I don’t understand it, how is it helping?” I already know that holding that belief can be somewhat limiting – sometimes you just have to figure things out as you go along. Not only that, I have to accept the fact that there are some things I’ll never understand – and that it’s okay if I don’t. The important thing is to keep my life moving.

• What personal milestone(s) do you most want to reach in your relationships, health, family, finances, education and/or lifestyle?

I’m on track with making healthier food choices and working out, so I have few difficulties in that area. My Mom and Dad enjoyed a much healthier year in 2012 than in 2011, and I pray that trend will continue. The personal milestone I want to reach for my finances is to work 100% from home. I’ve been able to do that for the most part. In 2012 I engaged in a good bit of pro bono social media consulting and editing work, yet I don’t plan to hand out any more free lunches in 2013. (Don’t judge me – business is business). If everything continues to go according to my academic plan (and, so far, so good) I will reach the personal milestone of earning a PhD in higher education administration. Chapters 1-3 are written and done. I’m in the interviewing stage now and preparing to synthesize my data.

Personal milestone I want to reach in relationships? Whelp, that’s another post for another day. Stay tuned.

• What professional accomplishments (at work or in your business) do you want to see for yourself next year?

(See responses to Bullet 2).

• What do you want to learn in 2013?

I’d like to learn more about the business aspect of freelance writing. I’d also like to become proficient in Adobe Photoshop.

• What do you want to cross off your bucket list in 2013?

A trip to South Africa. South Africa is on my “International Travel” bucket list, and I’m planning to travel there in November.

Tomorrow, I’ll present Part II: What I Want My Life to Look Like in 2013. 

Join in the Fray: What do you want to bring into your life in 2013?

 

Copyright ©2015 Michelle Matthews Calloway, ASwirlGirl™, The Swirl World™, Swirl Nation™. All rights reserved. Photo property of The Swirl World™.

I’m blogging every day in January to meet the NaBloPoMo Challenge. Thanks for reading and feel free to comment!