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Investing in 2014

Published on January 2, 2014 By Emily. Updated on January 2, 2014

Last year I choose a theme word instead of a specific goal as my New Year’s resolution.  This was, of course, in addition to working on the 101 tasks I’ll be completing before the end of this September.  As I wrapped up my year of being intentional, I began thinking about what word I should choose to shape 2014.  Let me share a bit about where my mind’s been the past few months.

For some reason, discussions about self-care have been popping up everywhere lately.  It came up at the Healthy Living Summit.  My grad school professor mentioned it several times this past semester.  It’s in people’s blog posts.  And it has been crossing my mind that I don’t always do what’s best for my body and soul; I like to overcommit and I pride myself on being busy.  Self-care is not something I’m intentional about.  I knew it had to be part of my 2014 goal.

I am also very conscious of the fact that I’ll be turning 30 this year.  I’m not unhappy about it or scared or upset or annoyed or anything, just sort of fascinated.  Me? 30?  Really?  I often feel closer to 17 than 30.  Maybe no one ever feels grown up, despite appearances?  At any rate, I’d like to meet my own definition of 30 a little more closely.  And with 30 being kind of a big deal, I’ve also been thinking about what I want to be at 40 and 50 and 60 and so on.  As the famous quote goes, “Tomorrow you’ll wish you started today”.  This year I want to develop worthwhile habits and skills with long reaching benefits on a number of fronts.

Last year’s goal was all about being intentional – doing things on purpose.  But I feel like so much of that goal was wrapped up in doing as much as possible, in as little time as I could manage.  I  wanted to make lists and check things off.   I was all about spending every moment of my time being productive.  But after a year of that, I’m realizing that it’s important to focus on achieving quality and not just quantity.

So this year, instead of getting things done for the sake of doing them, I’m going to invest.  Some of the things on the following list are very similar to the items I was intentional about last year, but now I want more depth than breadth.  I want to grow, develop and strengthen the things that really matter.

invest 2

I want to invest in:

  • my relationship with God, as a relationship, not as a daily task
  • my relationship with Brian, through meals together, dates and better communication
  • our house, by thoughtfully making improvements and purchasing furniture
  • friendships, through letters, emails, texts and in-person visits 
  • long-term skills, such as sewing, organizing, writing, and of course cooking
  • finances, by continuing to monitor all our spending, getting serious about paying off student loans, putting more into my retirement and making some decisions about future goals
  • myself , because sometimes the best thing you can do for you is put your feet up and rest, paint your nails or go for a walk
  • this blog, with more quality posts and original content
  • my body, by getting back on the long-neglected fitness train
  • causes that matter, such as local organizations and church, where I often talk about being involved but don’t do much in actuality
  • my students as people, because there are more important things than checking off all the Department of Education standards, but I sometimes forget that 
  • my nephews, Brian and I now have nephews on each side of our family so there’s a lot of spoiling to get started on
  • the present moment, whatever it is, because life is short and I don’t want to miss it while staring at my to do list

Related Posts

101 in 1001: The Final Tally
2016’s Word: Connect
A Look Back on My 2016 Word: Connect
Goals in Progress: April
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Filed Under: life Tagged With: goals, invest 2014

« Final Thoughts on My Word for 2013: Intentional
Kicking Off The Year: January 3-16 Menu Plan »

Comments

  1. Katie says

    January 2, 2014 at 11:45 pm

    I love the idea of Invest. It may be a word of mine in the future. Right now there is too much uncertainty in my life so my word is “peace”

Trackbacks

  1. » Investing in January and February says:
    March 5, 2014 at 8:15 pm

    […] the beginning of the year, I chose invest as my focus word for 2014.  As tends to be the case with goals and […]

  2. » Investing in March and April says:
    May 1, 2014 at 8:02 pm

    […] a post every 2 months to reporting about how it’s going.  Want to catch up? Here’s my introductory post and January and […]

  3. » Investing in Summer–Blog Updates, Home Improvement & Lots of Work says:
    August 28, 2014 at 9:23 pm

    […] that time that I made “invest” my word for 2014?  And then I wrote a nice summary of how that was going at the end of February and again in […]

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Emily
I am literally weeks behind in my work life and my I am literally weeks behind in my work life and my blog posts, but I just hit publish on my end of August/beginning of September meal plans! Some blogging progress is better than none! Click the link below or visit my profile to see how we used these 2 CSA pick ups from @mightyfoodfarm.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/august-slipped-away-csa-meal-plan-153/
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare  #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
It's always a beautiful day at the @coastalmainebo It's always a beautiful day at the @coastalmainebotanicalgardens.
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#Maine #CoastalMaineBotanticalGardens #Boothbay
We made our annual trip to @thebistrobox in Great We made our annual trip to @thebistrobox in Great Barrington today, bringing along our 6 year old for the first time. 
Pictured: onion rings, pressed Cubano, BOX burger, raspberry mint iced tea/ (huge) side of fries, grilled hot dog, strawberry lemonade. Everything was delicious and my daughter especially enjoyed trying out the lawn games.
Until next year!
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#igers413_food
#igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #GreatBarrington #TheBistroBox
New on the blog: a list of everything I made for d New on the blog: a list of everything I made for dinner this week. A double @mightyfoodfarm CSA pick up plus hosting my in-laws for dinner resulted in me actually planning quality meals.
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Get the recipe links at https://www.relishments.com/blog/twice-as-good-csa-meal-plan-152/ or click the link in my profile.
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#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare  #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
I had the opportunity to visit the Bridge of Flowe I had the opportunity to visit the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls this morning. It was as beautiful as I remembered and a great morning for hanging out with some friends.
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#igers413 #ShelbourneFalls #BridgeOfFlowers #WesternMass #WesternMA
Brian and I finally made it to @ the week before w Brian and I finally made it to @ the week before we went on vacation. I loved the atmosphere, decor, location and, of course, the beer. All eight beers we tasted were delicious and I'm looking forward to going back soon. 
More thoughts on the blog at the link in my profile or at https://www.relishments.com/blog/hot-plate-brewing-in-pittsfield/
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#PittsfieldMA #MassachusettsBrewery #igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #DrinkLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires
I made my first ever trip to @seconddropfarm in La I made my first ever trip to @seconddropfarm in Lanesborough this morning to pick blueberries with my daughter. We had a lovely time at the farm, and especially enjoyed the short walk to the lush blueberry bushes, and the beautiful flower and lavender fields. We didn't participate in pick-your-own flowers today, but it's definitely on my radar for the future.
We are looking forward to some muffin baking soon! 🫐
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#igers413_food
#igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #LanesboroughMA #SecondDropFarm #PickYourOwnBlueberries
It's good to be home, but we had a great time with It's good to be home, but we had a great time with Brian's side of the family in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina last week.
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#WrightsvilleBeach #NorthCarolina #WilmingtonNC
15 seconds of calm. Wrightsville Beach, NC . . . # 15 seconds of calm.
Wrightsville Beach, NC
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#WrightsvilleBeach #WilmingtonNC
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