2013 Resolutions: Did They Happen And What's On The Cards For 2014?

I've mentioned many times how much I dislike going out on New Year's Eve, but I must admit that I like making New Year's resolutions. Not things that involve denying myself something of course, but a nice short achievable list of  things I'd like to do instead.

Saying that, it turns out that using the word 'achievable' is very different from actually achieving said thing. I just took a look back at all my old blog posts labelled New Year to see what some of my previous resolutions had been... not a good idea.

These were my 2012 resolutions and their outcomes:

1) To earn more than I've ever earned. KINDA DID. I earned more in 2013 as a freelancer than I did in 2012 but not as much as I did in f/t work. I earned even more than that this year however and it increases every year since I went freelance four years ago.

2) To visit my friend in Cornwall. FAILED TO DO. We have discussed me visiting her next year already though.

3) To lose a stone or more. FAILED TO DO. I'm on the 5:2 now so heading in the right direction I guess.

4) To not compromise or doubt myself when my thoughts and beliefs are questioned. DONE. I recovered my sense of self-belief just by leaving my boyfriend.

5) To simplify work and have more time for other fun things I like to do. KINDA DID. This one comes up every single year but I think I've simplified things as much as I can. I need to make a living, I run 2 businesses with different threads, but I still get to do other things I enjoy.


These were my 2013 resolutions and their outcomes:

1) Get some help with my sugar addiction. KINDA DONE. I pretty much sorted this one. I still love sugar but it's much more under control and I don't eat chocolate bars at all any more.

2) Go on a helicopter ride. FAILED TO DO

3) Go on the Brighton Wheel (costs just £8 and is located in the city where I live). FAILED TO DO

4) Make a quilt. (been on my resolutions list for two years and I've got the books, a sewing machine and lots of fabric already washed and ironed) FAILED TO DO

5) Continue learning Italian with the website Memrise. (been on resolutions list for ever) HALF DID. I sometimes go on and do the lessons (I moved to Duolingo recently which is much better) but overall this is a fail. The only way I'm going to learn Italian is to have lessons with a native I think.

So looking at these lists of semi failure I don't even need to have any new resolutions for 2014 as I still have a load of outstanding ones to be getting on with - and I would say that they were all achievable things wouldn't you? It's not like I wrote "marry heartthrob Ryan Gosling" or "walk on the moon" (one day for both perhaps).

There's something I really like about making plans though. I like setting goals, improving myself and having new experiences - plus half the fun for me is the actual planning part anyway. 

So for next year's resolutions I'm going to recycle some of the old ones, add a few new ones, but mainly just keep on doing all the things I'm doing such as building my businesses, saving, crocheting and enjoying this time rather than wishing it away. I think it's really important to focus on the here and now rather than ruminating on the past or always reaching for the future.

In 2014 I aim to:

1) Make a quilt
2) Hire a car to practice driving 
3) Go abroad on holiday - maybe Iceland
4) Go and see the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London
5) Go and see the Mary Rose at Portsmouth
6) Go on the Brighton wheel
7) Visit my friend in Devon (she moved a tiny bit nearer!)

Do you have any New Year's resolutions?