Sunday, January 27, 2013

Goals and achievements for 2013


Was it only a month ago that I was heading towards the airport for my grand Irish adventure?

I still cannot believe how fast time as been going by since I’ve left Canada, and yet, I feel like I’ve been in Ireland since forever!

Between catching up with friends, making new ones, job hunting and getting familiar with my new city, I’ve had time to do some self-reflection. I am so happy that I decided to come to Ireland as the New Year started. Starting a new year in a new country, a new apartment, a new job… I feel like it’s the perfect opportunity to become the person I want to be for the rest of my life. And for that, I need to set goals and expectations so that I can keep focus of what I want to achieve.

First, what are my passions? Well reading for one, fashion, dance (even though I’m not a dancer), traveling… I believe that in order to be truly happy, you have to do the things you love. Why waste your time doing stuff you don’t like? You’ll simply end up wasting your day. Time will go by and all you will be left with is resentment.

So what goals can I set for myself that are in direct contact with my passions? Well, I’ve started reading again! It makes me so happy, to be able to loose myself in a story, to develop connections with the characters and to feel a hint of sadness when a really good book is over. I’m glad, because since I’ve been teaching, I stopped taking time for myself to simply lay down with a good book. It feels good to do so again.

As for fashion, I want to find a job in that industry. I would love to work as a sales advisor in a fashion boutique! I believe that, to be able to sell a product, you have to love it and believe in it. I have actually recently found a job in a small but busy coffee house, but I knew right away that I wasn’t meant for it because, well aside from the fact that I don’t even drink coffee, I don’t love or believe in the product, so there was no way I could be passionate about my job. So I decided to pass on the job offer because, not only did they want me to sign a 6 months contract with them, but did I really want to spend half of my year in Ireland completely miserable at my job?

For my dance passion, well that might me a bit trickier. I want to take dancing lessons, most probably salsa or ballroom. I need to start looking at different places, comparing prices and everything else. I’m going to assume it probably won’t be happening anytime soon, but over the course of the year, it definitely will.

Finally, for my traveling passion, my plan for this year is to travel as much as I can. Whether it is inside or outside of Ireland doesn’t matter. I simply want to be able to see as much of the world as I possible can!

Other things I want to focus on during my time in Ireland: My health. I want to eat healthier, makes well prepared meals but most of all, I am going to focus on having a better control on my diabetes. I also want to take up jogging once more (I actually miss it!) and Yoga. Writing is also something else I want to spend time doing. I love writing and find myself not dedicating enough of my time to it. I also love photography and have recently purchased a nice camera with changeable lens and everything so my photography skills are definitely something I want to work on this year also!

            With all this being said, I think I have a pretty full year ahead of me. I was told that making resolutions and setting goals is all good, but writing them down and talking to other about them helps you keep them. So here it is, the publication of my goals for this year:

·      Reading at least 5 books a month.
·      Working in the fashion industry.
·      Taking up dancing lessons.
·      Traveling to places including, but not limited to:
o   The rest of Ireland
o   England
o   France
o   Germany
·      Having a healthier lifestyle:
o   Tighter control over diabetes
o   Healthy eating
o   Exercising: Jogging and Yoga
·      Dedicating more time to writing
·      Develop my photography skills

My lifelong goal\dream had always been to live in Europe and I was able to achieve it, finally. I now have to find other things to focus on, and I think this list is a pretty good start, don’t you?

In the meantime, enjoy to pictures I took while I was enjoying a day in Kinsale...











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