We made it through a very rough year, and 2017 is finally here.  The first week of January is often a time for setting resolutions, but everything I’ve seen in my life has suggested that resolutions are made to be broken.  This is especially true when they are lofty plans with no grounding in reality.  Goals, on the other hand, are something I can see myself steadily working towards, and they thus feel real and attainable.  Now I know this might sound like semantics, but for me there are a few key differences:

1. Goals can be made year round.  The idea of making all your plans and decisions on a (likely hungover) January morning for the entire year seems a bit shortsighted to me.  I try to revisit my goals quarterly to see what needs to be reassessed, and what can be added.  But try not to do it more than once a month – otherwise you might find yourself getting overwhelmed from the constant change.
2. Goals need objectives.  This is elementary, but setting short-term objectives that serve as stepping stones towards your overall goals helps you stay on track, and keeps the end goal from overwhelming you at the outset.
3. Goals are focused on what you can do, not changing who you are.  A lot of resolutions seem to call for a total transformation, physically or mentally.  It is easy to fall for the omnipresent marketing promising a perfect life if you just *change everything* about yourself, but don’t forget that they are just trying to sell you something.  Set goals that will help you achieve your potential and have the life you want.
4. Goals don’t all need to be serious.  Sometimes small changes can make a big impact, but you can also set goals purely for the purpose of making your life more enjoyable.

So with those points in mind, I want to share a few of my current goals for 2017, both big and small:

• Post on CurvilyFashion.com more regularly!
• Keep my steps up, even if there is gross NYC winter weather
• Learn more about makeup (without becoming dependent on it)
• Speak on more panels for both my career and blog
• Spend more time IRL with my friends
• Turn my half of our spare bedroom into a cute and modern dressing room area
• Roll out #CurvilyEats on the blog, sharing my favorite restaurants in NYC and from our travels
• Increase our culinary knowledge through continued cooking (yay Blue Apron!)
• Launch my Curvily email list to keep in touch and share more with you lovely readers

Tell me about your goals below, and let me know if you are looking for help planning objectives to help reach them!  Let’s make 2017 awesome.