My 13 for 2013

For 2013 I decided that I wanted to set goals for myself instead of resolutions. Every year I have made resolutions for myself and by February I never remember what they are. I want this year to be different. I want to set goals for myself and be able to carry through with them. 

Resolution -  formal expression of intent

Goal - the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

A resolution is saying that you plan to do something, whereas, a goal is something that you accomplish when an effort is made. I am going to keep my word to live by "focus." 

My goals for 2013: 

1. To blog on a weekly basisI enjoy writing and it has become a great stress relief for me. I want to work on getting into a better routine. Feel free to comment or email me to hold me accountable :) mandapandaabear@gmail.com 
2. Take 7 photos a week with Dab the AIDS Bear (About Dab post coming soon!)I don't want to set a goal of taking a photo a day with Dab because I know some days that would be impossible for me. By setting the goal 7 photos a week I will get the same outcome as if I took one a day. 
3. To eat healthier and include exercise in my lifestyleEating healthier and including exercise into my routine is better than saying I need to lose weight. By eating healthier this will also effect my husband and my roommate because I do all the cooking, so this will benefit all of us. The end result of eating healthier and including exercise into my routine will be losing weight (fingers crossed!). 
4. Complete one random act of kindness a weekThis goal can be as simple to leaving a candy bar on a co-workers desk to buying someone lunch that really needs it. 
5. Try to make a dent in our debt
6. Work towards ending the stigma of people living with HIV/AIDS
7. Make mistakes (hopefully not to bad of ones!) to learn from and make my life better
8. Avoid petty drama
9. Enjoy the relationships I have formed and work on making those connections even better
10. To visit my brother at least 2 times and get better at writing him on a schedule. I am keeping my prayers going that he will get the transfer he requested and he will only be 5 hours away instead of 8.
11. Get my house more organized 
12. Enjoy life to the fullest and never go to bed upset 
13. Be more social

I know that some of these goals seem easier than they should be, but I know that I have a lot of things already going on in my life and I want to be able to accomplish the goals I set forth for myself.