So I was going to post my goals for 2016 on Friday, Jan. 1, but this little thing called “the internet was down” happened here at our home. So I decided to wait until today. I don’t like to make a ton of goals, but the goals I make do push me and often help me do various other things throughout the year. I don’t do goals in a particular order, but rather for different parts of my life. So here goes:
Running – I will complete two half marathons this year. This isn’t really a stretch for me, but more something to keep me on track. Let’s put it this way, I’ll be disappointed if I don’t do two.
Running – I will run 1000 miles this year. I got this e-mail about a 1000 mile challenge. I thought it would be easy. Then I thought about how many miles that is each week. This will be a stretch goal for me, but I think it’s doable.
(Author’s update: I was a bit off on this. Upon further examination, the challenge that I am referring to is from Mapmyrun.com. And the challenge is to run 1000 km. I started it anyway. I’m still shooting for 1000 miles – it would be good for me.)
(Update #2 – There’s a second mileage challenge. I got it in a separate e-mail. It’s for ilovetorun.org and it has a challenge of running 1000 miles or running 100 days in 2016. I signed up for the 1000 miles.)
Travel – I want to do some trips with the family. We won’t be doing any international trips this year, as far as I can tell. But that shouldn’t stop us from seeing some of the great cities in the Mid-Atlantic – cities like Pittsburgh, DC, New York City, and Philadelphia.
We also want to see some of the smaller places of interest – places like Gravity Hill. This is one of those weird places on the planet where you go to the bottom of a hill, put your vehicle in neutral and then feel the car start to roll up the hill. Pretty crazy.
Career/Calling – Get approved. This is the third and final step in the candidacy process for a Lutheran seminarian like myself. It’s a big deal. There will be another nasty paper to write in preparation for this, complete internship, do another interview in front of the candidacy committee (about 30-40 people). Approval essentially says that yes, I’m ready to be called as a pastor somewhere (so long as I pass my remaining classes)
Writing – Write a book on the challenges the church faces/things I’ve learned from my time in Finland. I’ve been saying I want to do this, this is the year to make it happen.
Financial – Have only student loan debt and a mortgage. That would mean no credit card debt. I’m well on my way to completing this, but I’ll be thrilled when it happens a little later this year.
Blogging – Keep writing a travel post and a post on theology/politics/current events each weekday. I’ll not going to say that the goal will be a failure if I miss a few days. The point is to keep posting content consistently, which for me means each weekday. I’ll probably take holidays off.
Family – I want to teach my children how to play six new games this year. Why? If I’m teaching them a game, then I’m spending time with them and they are learning something new. I’m already on my way with this one – the girls now know how to play rummy.
