5 Goals I’ve Accomplished Since my Last Birthday

It’s crazy to think that I started this blog a little over four years ago.  However, it was not always easy, and I wasn’t always consistent.  Ever since the Covid-lockdown year, I have gotten better with my consistency.  Thus, I have come up with topics to make sure that I post about each year on my blog.  One of those topics is having a fun post for my birthday each year (check out 2020 Birthday Post and 2021 Birthday Post). 

It was my complete accident that I started to do a birthday post each year.  In fact, it was my 30^th birthday celebration post that got me to do a birthday post each year.  I think it’s fun and allows me to reflect on each year before the craziness of the holiday season.  Thus, I’ve created another birthday post this year that is different than my previous years.  Instead of accomplishments and lessons, I wanted to focus on the goals that I had completed since my last birthday.  Anyway, enough of the rambling from me and check out my goals that I have accomplished since my last birthday below. 

Blog

I have significantly grown my blog and Instagram over the past few years.  However, even though it’s grown in numbers, I still felt as if something was missing.  So, for this next year, I wanted to focus more on short-form video content such as Instagram Reels and Tik Tok.  I know that I don’t always have the time to film content and I love to do photo content.  However, with the growth of Instagram Reels and Tik Tok, I felt like I needed to try to focus a bit more on these platforms.

Over this year of 2022, I have tried to post at least one reel/TikTok per week and I have been quite successful.  However, I got burnt out by the end of the summer so took an unexpected 6-week break between August- September 2022.  The break felt good, and I could have gone longer however, I knew that I needed to post video content not just to grow on those platforms, but I enjoy it as well.  So, the break taught me to make short-form video content that I enjoy, and I hope to bring that energy by next year.

Career

Most people who follow me forget that I have a full-time job as Clinical Researcher.  I really enjoy my job and the work that I do.  I feel as if I am making a change in the world for the next generations of people to come.  However, I didn’t feel much growth to my career as it was stagnant.  I told myself that I would grow in my career over the next year.  So, that is exactly what had happened – I had grown significantly in my career in this past year.  Not only did I grow in job titles and in my income range however, I also grew in the type of work that I do. 

For the past decade, I have been working in the Oncology Research field for pharmaceutical research studies in Oncology.  This past year, I not only switched jobs but also my field.  I started to work for a company that focuses on Neurology studies for device research studies.  Both neurology and devices are new to me, so it has been a lot of learning and growing.   However, I am enjoying it and glad I made the switch since I feel more challenged with the change of therapeutic area and type of studies.

Happiness

Last year, I focused a lot on my self-growth and self-care.  This year, I wanted to focus on what keeps me happy.  It’s funny to think that I unintentionally come up with my “word of the year” when I’m trying to focus on making myself a better person.  Although, in my religion, we don’t believe in a “word of the year”, but we do focus on being the best versions of ourselves.

So, with that being said, I wanted to focus on things that kept me happy.  Things such as taking my furry baby on a walk so that is what I did.  I try to take my furry baby on a walk in the neighborhood every day.  But on weekends, I take him on a walk in the park.  Not only do these walks keep my dog happy but they also keep me happy.  I’ve changed many of my small daily routines as such to focus on my happiness and well-being.

Healthy Lifestyle

Having a healthy lifestyle is key to being consistent with your diet and exercise routine.  As much as I would have liked to lose weight this year (and I did lose about 10-15 lbs. from December 2021), I wanted to focus on having a healthy daily routine.  Diet and exercise can happen to help you lose weight but happens when we go back to our old ways?  Most of the time, we all gain the weight back.  So, I wanted my focus to be on making small changes in my daily routine that will help me be healthy in the long run.

Thus, I don’t even feel like it’s a diet or anything but rather a lifestyle.  I’ve always been a huge advocate of having a healthy lifestyle rather than going on a diet or exercise regimen for a short time.  However, I have not been able to consistently keep a healthy lifestyle.  Thus, in this past year, I have been able to focus on not only having a healthy lifestyle but keeping it as well.

Reading

One of my top goals to accomplish by my birthday this year was to start to get back into reading.  I’ve had many friends recommend good books to me however, I always said I didn’t have the time to read.  Yet I had the time to aimlessly scroll on Tik Tok or Instagram.  So, I made a conscious effort to ease my way back into reading this year.  I made a small reading goal of completing six books by the end of the year (that’s 1 book per every 2 months).  It’s not a hard goal but for someone who hasn’t been in the habit of reading for years, I had to start easy and small.

Once I was able to get into my grove of reading again, I had friends ask me for tips to help them.  So, I created a blog post on how to get back into reading not only for my friends but also to hold me accountable to my word.  I wanted to make sure I had a way to help me continue to keep a read habit and not fall off the radar again.

And there you have it, those are my five goals that I have accomplished since my last birthday!  I hope my goals, as small or big as they were, are helpful and inspiration to you. 

What is one goal that you have accomplished since your last birthday?  Let me know in the comments below!

Much Love,