2025 was an epic failure

I have never been a fan of New Year's Resolutions. Like so many people, I do well at the start of the year, and then those resolutions fade to black before they are ever fully achieved. I gave up resolutions long ago and leaned into goal setting instead. For some, that may be a matter of semantics, but for me, it feels more purposeful.

I love a good check list and a list of goals to strive towards. It is one way to keep me focused and motivated. In 2025, after leaving a toxic relationship and moving back into my own home, I partnered up with a couple friends and we set out to share our goals and work toward them with regular check ins.

This is my original list. It was a working draft. I had intentions of developing these, categorizing them, keeping a journal to track them.

None of that happened.

I partially achieved three of the goals. I completed three courses in the doctorate program at Liberty University. I continued to declutter and organize my home, though it really doesn't look like I even made a dent (scary). And I restarted the blog, but I dropped off in September and never got back to it. I also took several free courses in AI, but did not get the credential I wanted (this was a block from work since the program I wanted to attend was not approved by management). I did consider a podcast, but never got any further than that.

So, what happened? Early in the summer, when I was involuntarily withdrawn from school due to lack of attendance, my son told me that I do a lot and needed to cut myself some slack. At that point, I allowed myself some grace to fail. I abandoned all pursuit of goals. Ultimately, it gave me time and mental space to do something I accomplish something I didn't realize I needed.

It gave me time to heal emotionally from the betrayals and emotional abuse from the relationships of the past 7 years.

After four years of dealing with the wasband's cheating and ultimately ending our 25 year marriage, I jumped right into dating. Six months later, I started a two year relationship that also ended in betrayal. Four months after that, I entered a relationship that would take me down the rabbit hole of subtle emotional abuse that would consume a year and a half of my life. When I finally walked away, I realized I had never healed from the ending of my marriage nor from what happened after that.

It wasn't until September or October that I realized I was healing properly. I allowed the healing to continue without pursuing any other agenda. Today, I feel so much better about myself and my life than I have since 2016. That's 10 years!! 10 effing years!

When December rolled around, I started thinking about 2026. Even though 2025 was an epic failure, I felt I was in the right place to pursue goals for 2026. So I started writing them down in a journal. Then, each goals gets a couple pages for notes, ideas, actions ,etc. I knew I would pursue some of the 2025 goals, but I had no idea how long and ambitious this list of goals would become.

As you can see, more than half of those goals are centered on writing. This was partially in tribute to the failed 2025 goals, but also because my must seems to have returned. I had a pretty successful November Novel Writing Month. I didn't achieve my ultimate goal, but I hit many milestones and remembered my love for producing stories.

To further support this ambitious but achievable list, as mentioned, each goals gets a couple pages for notes. For example, for the Liberty Courses, I listed all the courses I have left to take to complete my doctorate. For my weight loss goal, I've been researching helpful foods that I like, so I don't necessarily have to give up everything I love and so I can create good lifestyle changes that will stick. I've listed blog topics and memory stories on their respective pages. For the Joy Experiment (more about this in my next blog story), not only did I start listing topics, but I dedicated a separate journal to writing topics because sometimes, booting up the computer is a blocker for me. That journal also helps support my 100 words a day writing goal.

I started 2026 with a plan, much like I have in past years. From lessons learned in past years, I am trying new ways to manage and track the goals that are part of that plan. Checklists, journaling, actions...and hoping to get my Power Hour friends back into a routine where we meet and discuss our goals at a regular cadence.

If you are a goal setter, I wish you all the luck and perseverance in the world to achieve whatever it is you have set out to in 2026!