My goals for 2019

It is the time of year to review my goals from the previous year and come up with some new ones for 2019. In 2018, I had 6 personal goals you can read about here but I will also summarize the accomplishments of these goals next. 

1. My most important goal was to spend time with my loved ones and focus more on my relationship with God, to SAVOR more of what we receive.  Despite more work, I was actually able to spend more quality time with my family and we truly enjoyed being together. I enjoyed more often the simple things in life and learned to be thankful for anything that comes our way. 
2. Friendships are very important to me and being there for friends and getting together to spend time with each other is something I truly care about. Last year, I was able to actually spent more time with my friends, even though it didn't seem that we met as often as we wish we could have but the times we did see each other, were full of laughter and good talks and that counts more than anything. Also,  being there for each other at a second's notice is what real friends are made of and not only in the good times but especially in times of tragedy and despair. 
3. This past year, we had quite a few house guests and while all of them were family members, I would have liked for more friends to come and stop by. On the other hand, we also realized that we need to get our guest bedroom in better shape. 
4. I surpassed my goal of reading 30 books. I read in total 42 books, of which 8 were audio books. For what I read, see my 2018 book review. 
5. I definitely found my way back to running, albeit some minor illnesses. I was able to complete a 5 mile and a 5K race this summer and ran a total of 212+ miles during the year. 
6. I truly enjoy my job and have progressed significantly and because of that, I will take on a new role within the company in the next few weeks. 

And now (drum roll, please), my 2019 goals. Somehow, every year, there are less personal goals but the ones I do chose to focus on, are near and dear to my heart: 

1. This year, we did something different and chose a word as a family: GRATEFUL. We want to teach our children to be more grateful for all they receive and live more intentionally. It is easy to forget that we live a truly great life and some perspective will be good for all of us. So at dinner time, we are talking about for what we are grateful that day, who did we help and how it is making an impact on others. 
2. Further develop in my job while ensuring that I still have enough time for my family. This is a tough one to balance, especially since the children have more activities scheduled, need more help with homework, Elliot starting Kindergarten in August all while I will take on another role within the company with the prospect of working full-time by the fall. 
3. Travel more as a family instead of just business related travels. We have already planned a couple of fun family vacations and I'm looking forward to exploring new places with my loved ones. But this also means less travel to Europe, where I will miss seeing my family and friends. 
4. Working on how I respond to my children when something is not right as this sets the tone of how they will react. It all makes sense in theory but then when everyone is frustrated or we are late for school, it is a tough one to remember. So I want to focus on this more to make it a habit.  
5. Read 40 books. While I exceeded this goal already last year, I want to be realistic that I have a goal I can actually achieve without losing the joy of reading just because I need to finish another book. Thus, 40 sounds like a realistic number for me and no one prevents me from reading more than that. 
6. Run 400 miles in 2019. Lots of miles to cover but I'm working on increasing my mileage so hopefully this goal is attainable. Of course, not being injured or sick for over two months during the year, will be very important to achieving this goal.  

Amelia, together with us, also made some goals, which she signed. That way, she feels more responsible and hopefully can achieve the goals we set.