Looking Forward

What a roller coaster ride 2008 was for me! It seems like people always have the ‘best year’ of their lives or the ‘worst year ever’. We never seem to have “just okay” years whenever we reflect on New Years Day. 2008 fell more toward the ‘best year’ category for me, and I’m very excited about this upcoming year.

With that being said, I am one of the legions of fools across the world who makes New Years Resolutions, or whatever you want to call them. That particular term always gets a bad rap, but I’m a firm believer in the whole Lifestyle Design thing and I frequently review the goals that I set for myself. It’s not just a once a year deal for me. Setting and achieving goals is an every day process.

They say that you should make your goals as public as possible so that everyone can humiliate you when you fall off the gym bandwagon mid-January. So here is the list of the top 5 goals that I will be pursuing in 2009…when I gain 50 pounds and start a government job, I invite you to throw stones and loudly whisper behind my back haha.

1. Switching from part-time to full-time entrepreneur. I’m going to get 2 websites up and running when I can pull all the funds together. Going to revamp SoulstringsMusic.com and start a blog for my consulting business. I love playing, but I recently found that I love it as a hobby. I may still do a “feature length” tour with a well known band and do a little indie tour with my personal group, but the life of a full-time musician isn’t something I want to pursue. I enjoy the business side of things too much. Consulting and coaching is really my calling…me thinks. I hope to build a business that will allow me to freely travel and see new places and new things.

2. Starting up an “extreme” fitness routine…I love the gym, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it can get a little monotonous for me.. I’ve heard great things about the p90x program, which is all about hardcore muscle confusion and wearing you out. I usually hate those home exercise programs because you don’t get to interact with people and I always feel like I’m not doing the workouts correctly, but I feel great about p90x so far. There wasn’t too much equipment I needed to buy to start up, and I would have bought most of the stuff eventually anyways.  I know that what you eat has a direct impact on your results, so I’m going to take the plunge into learning how to cook *gasp*. I would much rather prepare my own meals…the restaurant and fast food options around here leave MUCH to be desired.

3. Finding a long term partner. This actually will probably be the hardest goal for me to achieve. I like the excitement of dating, meeting new guys, and just having fun. Seeing someone exclusively for 3 months is no small feat for me at all. Last year I had a fantastic long(ish) term relationship and I want to repeat that this year. I’m so excited about getting married, growing spiritually and emotionally with one person and starting a family. Whenever marriage and family happen, it will happen, but in the meantime, I think it’s great to have that one steady partner in your life.

4. Expanding my support network. Since I have a [burning] desire to move out of the state by the end of the year, it’s important to build upon my social networking skills and cultivate a lasting community of friends no matter where I happen to end up geographically.

5. Continued music study. I literally bought a djembe and bongos an hour ago. I started playing the full drum kit late last year, and I would like to take some more drumming and percussion classes. I also want to learn more advanced music theory and take my sight reading on guitar and piano to the next level.

So remember, folks. If you see a 300 pound, single, friendless and rhythmless Tara walking around, it is your responsibility to gently nudge (or roll) me back in the right direction.

Have a BLESSED 2009, and always Give Thanks to our Creator each and every day.