Growth Goals

Image from thebehappyproject's IG

I am a person who is OBSESSED WITH GOALS. When I say in my resume that I am goal-oriented, it's something that is sincerely coming from my heart and not just something I write to impress employers. And if there's something I love more than coming up with new goals, it is listing them down. I don't want to get into details, but I am a crazy list lady. My colleagues at work can attest to it.

In a blog post I wrote two years ago, I mentioned about this research on how people who list down their goals are 33% more likely to achieve them. I even tried to prove the power of lists by showing you my goals that year, which were mostly achieved before year-end without noticing it. And if that isn't convincing enough, my friends, it happened again in 2015. For the nth time, I did not even realize that most of my goals had already been achieved. Not until I cleaned my room a few days before New Year's and found the list I wrote (under a bunch of other lists I made, of course) at the beginning of 2015.

Career-wise, as planned, I was able to move up (not formally yet, though) on the corporate ladder, and managed to work on a few creative projects on the side. I have built my confidence and am now more assertive when making decisions about my career.

My personal goals were simple: enroll in Salsa dancing, attend more yoga classes at my gym, enroll in continuing ed classes, and apply for Canadian citizenship. Three out of four of those goals were accomplished. If I did not have the will, they could have easily been forgotten to be honest (so maybe being results-oriented also helps). 

I was able to do one local travel, two cross-border, and one international travel last year, which are pretty good numbers for my yearly travel goals. My finances took a hit, though, due to unexpected expenses; I wish I was better prepared. But anyway, I already sanctioned myself to limit my spending in 2016. I went hard on myself and decided not to go shopping till June! Let's see if I'll make it out alive of this challenge. Hehe. Fight! ;)

Gretchen Rubin wrote in her book The Happiness Project that growth makes people happy. I truly believe in it. So this year I want to make sure to not just have goals for the sake of achievement and recognition, but also for the sake of substantial [rather than rapid] growth. Although every goal of mine is always aimed to give me some kind of personal and professional growth, in the past there were times when I would end up frustrating and disappointing myself because I wanted things to happen quick, quick, quick!

Now that I'm a little bit older and more mature, I realized that sometimes speed does not always equate to quality. What I want to do now is to have goals with more long term effects to my overall happiness and satisfaction.

For 2016, I took the time to really reflect and think about goals that will have a lasting impact in my life -- especially now that I just entered my mid-twenties, or we can call it the "senior years" of my twenties. Here is a list of my growth goals:

1. Be smarter when it comes to finances
   I always make fun of my friend Elisha when she talks about money. I tease her all the time that she likes money and thinks about it a lot because of her South Asian background. Don't worry, she'd usually agree and just laugh about it! On a more serious note, though, I am learning from her the importance of being frugal and educated when it comes to investments.
   Honestly, I never really worried too much about money. Not that I have lots of it, but I always felt blessed that every time I feel the need for more, new opportunities to earn always come. But before 2015 ended, I sort of had a panic attack because all my savings accounts became scant. I have three savings accounts: one for short-term goals (for travel or buying random wants), one for long-term goals (education, house renovation, car), and one for retirement. I took money out from all three to cover travel expenses and other expenditure I have not prepared for.
   Travelling is essential to me. It gives me so many experiences and happy memories. Whenever I travel, I always say I like to do it luxuriously. It doesn't mean I like staying at swanky five-star hotels. What I mean by "luxuriously" is that, if I want to go try something or eat at this nice restaurant, I would like to be able to go and not hold back and say, "I don't have money for that sh*t". So what ended up happening most of the time this year was I overspent. I spent beyond my travel budgets. I am quite generous to people I love too, so every time I travel with loved ones, I always pay for most stuff so that it won't stop them from coming and enjoying.
   
   I still believe there's nothing wrong with enjoying your travels to the fullest and treating your loved ones once in a while, but I know now that I have to set a bigger budget for my next travels.
   Furthermore, to recover from unexpected expenses from last year (and make sure all my savings accounts will have enough on them again), I have to limit my spending on wants (no shopping till June!) and pay off my debts (mostly OSAP and my line of credit) as soon as possible -- even if this means that all the extra money I earn from freelancing, refunds I get from the Government, and my bonus at work will go straight to paying my credit.
   
   I am still a person who believes that making memories are more important than money and that having money does not mean being happy, but I'd like to be someone with a good net worth at least. I plan on investing more on real estate and I should be in good shape financially to be able to do that.
2. Be more confident, but make sure to still balance it with humility
   Last week, I had my year-end performance review with my manager. He rated me "exceptional" while I only gave myself a rating of "very strong". He asked me why I did that, why I gave myself a very strong if I knew I was performing exceptionally. I told him that I believe that there's always room for improvement even if I'm already exceeding expectations. He said it's very good to be a modest person, but I should not be shy to toot my own horn sometimes, especially if I put in all my hard work towards something.
   
   Don't get me wrong, I like recognition too. Who doesn't, right? I wanted to be a reporter (or an actress) when I was younger because I DO enjoy the spotlight. But I just have a strong belief that if you have to talk about your own accomplishments, then it's not real success. I'd rather have other people say something about it. That's how I know that my contributions had a real impact on others.
   I guess I want to be more confident in the sense that I will be able to speak and present my ideas confidently. I used to be very confident when presenting, but after moving to Canada and because English is not my native language (despite having full proficiency), I would find myself not being able to really express what I want to say. I also notice that a lot of people at my workplace are not good listeners and that if I want to explain something, I have to do it in the most concise, quickest way possible -- and that is making me struggle since I consider myself a long-form storyteller. I got used to conversing with creative and service-oriented people who are good, if not great, listeners. But there's nothing that cannot be perfected with practice! I need to keep practicing so whomever I am speaking to, I can say my piece with confidence.
3. Be serious about health
   I promised that I will start being serious about health when I turn 30. At 26, I already feel that I shouldn't be waiting till 30 to do so. I'm only in my twenties and already have chronic digestive problems, chronic back pain, etc. What more can happen when I get older?
   
   I've always been a person who doesn't talk too much about how stressed I am. The thing about not taking stress seriously is that sometimes you don't notice that you are already stressed, and it ends up having implications to your overall well-being.
   
   I realized I have to be mindful of everything I do and eat because I do not want to be 30, looking like 20, but feeling like 60.
   
   My mom's cholesterol and blood pressure are skyrocketing too. I always tell her to be more serious about her health. Being the person with the stronger will in the family, I know that I have to do it with her. So whether we like it or not, we are switching to a healthier diet! Fresh, organic food is more expensive, but since I'm training myself to spend less on material things now, I can use the few extra dollars I'll save every pay day towards healthy food.
4. Start using anti-aging serum and get braces
   People say I look younger than my actual age, so when I tell others that I'm gonna start using anti-aging beauty products soon, they tell me I'm crazy (they can tell me that again 10 years from now when I'm still wrinkle-free!). I read in an article that French women start using anti-aging creams in their teenage years! And that's why they look like they never age. The logic behind it, based on my research, is that they'd rather maintain a healthy skin rather than use a lot of makeup or go for plastic surgery. So if they start using anti-aging products when they turn 15, I'm already a decade behind!
   
   On getting braces, I always wanted to, but I just felt lazy to get one. It's also expensive, yah know. Luckily, my current work insurance can cover half of the fee, so I have no reason not do it.
   
   For me, more beautification work should be done internally than externally because when you're beautiful in the inside, it will show in the outside, but maintaining healthy hair, teeth, and skin are basic and I shouldn't have any excuses.
5. Publish at least one blog post per month
   I pay annually to keep my domain (www.twentysumthing.com). Last year (and shame on me), I only get to publish four posts! Why did I start a blog in the first place? I'd like to have an outlet where I can share my thoughts (journaling is good for mental health), I like sharing stories that inspire others, and I'd like to keep brushing up my writing skills. Not publishing regularly is not just wasting money, but it also defeats my purpose of starting a blog. I know I've been busy last year and this year's going to be as busy (or even busier), but one blog post per month is reasonable.
6. Enroll in continuing ed classes (this was a personal goal I did not achieve last year)

I won't give any details about my last four goals since I want my journey in reaching these goals to be more personal and private (esp. #10... hihi!) -- at least until I achieve them (then I can maybe write a book ;P):

1. Strengthen my faith in God
2. Be more patient with my parents
3. Make smart and bold career choices
4. Stop being insecure that no good man will ever love me (wenk wenk)

Now let's see how many of these will be crossed off by the end of 2016. Cheers to 2016 goals and making our dreams come true! :)