My Goals for 2016

New year, new outlook and new resolutions. It is time to look at my goals from last year and see what worked and what not. I have made a few New Year's resolutions over the past years, keeping some while others are more challenging. Last year, I decided to focus on 4 key areas and looking back at it, I did pretty good. 

1. I wanted to be more present and focus more on the here and now and less on social media, birthday parties, etc. It worked for most parts as I spent lots of time playing with the kids and less time socializing. But I still check my social media accounts much too often during the day. 
2. Say "YES" more often to the kids. Not as easy as it sounds, but I made progress and allowed them to make messes (play-dough, painting, etc) more often than before. 
3. Get back to running. Unfortunately, it seems like 2015 was not my year to run much. I did ran some but not as often or consistent as I wanted to, mostly because my body wasn't strong enough. 
4. My word for 2015 was CHANGE, and that we had plenty of. It was mostly good change and we all welcomed the move and did well adjusting to the new environment.

So based on my past goals and what I want to accomplish this year, here are my goals for 2016:

1. I decided that my word for 2016 is CONSISTENCY, which will work hand in hand with my other goals.
2. I want to work on being more consistent in my parenting approach, meaning to follow thru in disciplining the kids and not just bluffing, be more level-headed and not get aggravated easily and to yell less. Mommy guilt is real and I think when I get annoyed and retort to screaming at my kids because they didn't listen to me the first 3 times, I feel worse than them and it makes me questioning my ability to be a good mother.
3. I want to focus on speaking more German with the kids as I have slacked a bit this past year. Because my husband doesn't speak German, it is easier to converse in English at home and since we all were together a lot in 2015, I neglected teaching them my native tongue. But this is about to change as I will make it a goal to speak only German with them when we are at home while daddy is at work. 
4. Go running 2-3 times a week and if I can't run then walk. Running is my way of letting off steam and relax, so I need to get back to it not only for my physical well-being but also for my mental health. 
5. I want to read at least 20 books this year. Last year, I read a total of 12 and I could have read more if I would have been more consistent and had not watched so much TV at night. I also learned that I actually enjoy reading a couple of books at a time, which allows me to read what I'm in the mood for at any given time. 
6. Devote every day a few minutes to reading some devotions or a bible passage and write down my blessings and prayers. I noticed that when I do take the time for these things, I feel much better and truly appreciate what I have.

These are my main goals for this year and if I focus more on what is important (aka my family and myself) to me and less on what is not (aka social media sites, TV), I should be able to accomplish most of my goals. What are your goals for 2016?