OK, so… a caveat before we get into the main post: I found a lot of freedom and extra honesty in keeping some of my goals to myself last year, but I also found it much easier not to move forward on some of those goals without the accountability of sharing progress each month. So this year I’m trying to split the difference. I’ll share about some of my goals and check in at least once a quarter, but mostly I want to focus on my word of the year…

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My word of the year for 2024 is a word that I chose precisely because I still have mixed feelings about it and it makes me a little bit uncomfortable. It first caught my eye on a list suggested for my enneagram type, and when I saw it I thought “immediate NO” but the more I did my Powersheets prep work, the more it resonated and became clear that this was what I want as a focus this year. So without further ado, my word for the year is: Pleasure.

As a recovering perfectionist, I am still so uncomfortable with taking time for pleasure over productivity. Yet, when I manage to do so, I am able to combat burnout and I am a happier, more balanced person. I was so burned out last year that when it came time to set goals for this year I joked that all I was interested in was drinking more old fashioned and making good memories with close friends… and the response from a few of those close friends was “that honestly sounds like a great goal” and I laughed it off as a joke at first but the more I thought about it… the more I agreed. It is in those moments of pleasure we build the relationships that will see us through the painful times. Pleasure seems like it is the opposite of one of my themes of last year (joy) in that it is fleeting vs sustained… but precisely because it is fleeting it has a different kind of beauty and appeal. PLUS, as someone with a lifelong struggle around people pleasing, I love the idea of reclaiming this word for myself. What brings ME pleasure instead of how I can rearrange my life and personality to be sure I remain “a pleasure to have in class”

With that in mind, here are a few of the goals I am focusing on this year, themed around this word…

*Take pleasure in being present and creating memories with loved ones: As I said in my introduction to this word, I genuinely just have a goal of not getting so caught up in the endless to-do lists of parenthood and life in general that I forget to take time to laugh with my kids, to enjoy good food and drink with good friends and conversations that last way too late into the night, to go on adventures with my loves, etc. Part of this includes continuing to be the family memory keeper so we can look back on this year and remember those good times.

*Find pleasure in my home and opening it to others: One of my goals from last year that I didn’t share was to declutter and reorganize my home to get it ready for some long term projects we have planned. The way the year went, that did not happen. So I’m approaching this goal with a new mindset this year and hoping to get better results! I am looking forward to making my home more welcoming and less stressful.

*Indulge in simple pleasures- use the good stuff! I am the queen of waiting for the perfect moment to use something… only to have that thing go bad or to realize I’d built up that perfect moment so much it was either never going to come or almost inevitably be a disappointment. I was THAT KID that saved stickers until the glue no longer worked because I couldn’t find the perfect spot for them. I am trying to learn from my own kids who immediately want to use the whole pack. This year I am flipping the script. No time is promised to us! So I’m making it a goal to focus on lighting the candles, using the fancy soaps (cue my husband doing his best FRIENDS callback to say: “Fancy soaps,I thought we were saving those for the Pope”), and indulging in the good whiskey on a random “date night in” rather than waiting for an anniversary or birthday. This may sound like a ridiculous goal, but it is truly mentally challenging for me and one of the things I want to be held accountable with, so I am sharing it here and will be sure to update. Plus, I think this will lead to less strife with the kids since if I just USE the good stuff I won’t be stressed out about them somehow finding it and turning it into a science experiment or craft project.

*Seek pleasure in the side-quests to level up: This is the nerdiest way to put some of the more conventional goals I set annually. Instead of the arbitrary numbers based accomplishments being a source of stress, I want to find pleasure in each book I read. I want to attempt yoga poses I’ve lost or never had in the first place and remember than ANY progress counts and is worth the time. I want to get back to running more consistently and hopefully spending most of those miles on the trail. BUT I don’t want those miles to be the focus of my year. These are a few of the “side quests” that fuel me and give me the experiences I need to live more fully in the other areas of my life.

I have a few other goals, but they are not my focus quite yet and I’m not sure I’ll end up sharing about them. We’ll just see how the year progresses! I’m looking forward to being a bit more open about what I’m working on this year though, now that I’m back to writing more often.

Do you have a word for the year? Or specific goals you set? I’d love to hear about them! And if you haven’t set goals yet for the year, it’s not too late! You can get 10% off my favorite goal setting tool- Powersheets- by using THIS LINK and the affiliate discount will be automatically applied at checkout.