Hey guys! As you may have read 2014 was quite a year. And honestly I’ve never been happier.
From 17 to 23 my goals were the same: write for a living, speak multiple languages fluently, travel the world and get in shape. And crazy enough I was able to accomplish all of them!
But my goals are different now. Now that I’m settled I’m finally able to do so many things I had been craving: create a comfortable, beautiful space, date, brew beer, have a wardrobe of more than black tank tops (ha) and most importantly, build a network of good friends.
But contrary to what I had imagined, my settled, 9-5 life isn’t all work and no play. I’m having the time of my life. Here are all the things I hope to accomplish this year:
Table of Contents
1. Advance my career.
I’m really enjoying my new job. In November I set the company record for the most accounts signed in the first month – hopefully I can keep up that momentum! A promotion wouldn’t hurt either…
2. Grow Ashley Abroad.
I always knew I loved to blog, but it wasn’t until recently I knew how much. It takes true dedication to open your laptop after staring at a screen all day, but I love writing, photography and connecting with awesome people on the internet too much to let it go.
My blogging goals for 2014 are to blog twice a week and receive 100K page views a month. I think it’s doable but I can kiss my Sundays goodbye.
3. Ski. A lot.
I won’t lie- my skiing skills are rusty. And plus, I grew up skiing in Michigan- Colorado is a whole ‘nother ball game. So this year I want to become a more proficient all-mountain skier and master moguls and deep powder.
4. More music into my life.
This is shameful, but I’ve been to like four concerts in my entire life. (Hey, I was counting my pennies for travel as a teenager- shows were not my priority.)
In 2015 I want music to have a much, much bigger focus in my life. I plan on attending concerts in Denver regularly and hitting up Red Rocks this summer.
I also, and this is slightly embarrassing to admit this to the internets, have been harmonizing a lot recently with musician friends. In 2014 I want to become a better singer. Yep, I just wrote that.
5. Languages
Want to know something funny? I speak French better now than I did in Paris. Thanks to a Senegalese friend at work I speak a good hour of French every day, something that was hard to come by when I lived in France.
So in 2015 I want to keep up my Spanish and improve my French. I’ve also been toying with the idea with learning Italian or German because I’m debatably insane.
6. Save 15K by the end of 2015.
I already have 6K in the bank so a 9K savings goal actually is pretty reasonable. That being said I have a lot of pay for, namely furniture and new ski boots ($600).
I’m also thinking about putting my savings in a Roth IRA but need to go to Fidelity and have everything explained to me because I know nothing.
7. Get new mystery website up and running.
I can’t wait to announce this but I have plans to launch a website very soon. It’s going to a super helpful resource, database and forum- to be announced soon!
How I did in 2014:
Career.
In 2014 I want to make big strides in my career. Right now I’m weighing my options: diplomacy, marketing and hotel management are all on the table.
Check! In 2014 I dropped the digital nomad lifestyle and got a job at sovrn where my blogging background is super useful and I love my coworkers. Plus, I get to live in Colorado and ski a lot. Wins all around.
Health.
In 2014 I want to keep doing yoga and try out some new workouts like Crossfit, Art of Strength and running a 5K Color run!
Check! In 2014 I got in the shape of my life by doing a Yoga Teacher Training in India and trekking the Himalayas. I also managed to try Crossfit (not my thing) and run a 5K (not really my thing either). And I’d love to do a Color Run in 2015!
Spirituality.
In 2014 I want to make time for one big spiritual trip: the Camino de Santiago, studying yoga at an ashram and Burning Man all come to mind.
Check! Studying yoga for a month in India was extremely spiritual- I learned a ton about myself as well as yoga, meditation and Hinduism. The experience was grueling but turned me into a much more positive person- I couldn’t be happier I did it.
Friends and Family.
I’m so lucky to have such wonderful, supportive friends and family so in 2014 I want to make an effort to spend more time with them.
Check! I spent so much time with friends and family in 2014 and it was the best. I visited friends all over Europe, traveled with one of my best friends through India for six weeks and traveled with two friends in Southeast Asia. Once I returned to the states I spent four months with family and friends in Michigan and caught up with lots of my Chicago friends. I’ve made lots of friends in Colorado and my college best friend moved out west to live with me- I’m so fortunate to have such great people in my life.
Let’s talk! So what are your goals for the new year? Comment below, I’d love some inspiration!
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Woohoo! I love these goals! Languages are always top for me, which is why living abroad is still really important. Not that I couldn’t practice languages back in the states, but I love the immersion of it here in Colombia (and soon, Spain!). Would love to pick up another one, French pronunciation ties my tongue in knots but maybe German would be fun… Good luck in 2015!
Great goals for 2015, Ashley! Languages are also very important for me. In school I learned English, French, Italian and Spanish and although I should focus to improve my Spanish I am more tempted to take Mandarin classes (in China!) instead. Happy and successful 2015!
Languages is one of my goals as well – it seems to be a popular one. I work in hockey so i’ve ALWAYS wanted to learn French and Swedish.
I also want to get back to Yoga. I LOVED it but it’s been a while…..
anyway great goals! Cant wait to read about Denver life
Well done Ashley! Those are some big goals and big achievements. It must feel good to really have direction in your life.
I just noticed that you’ve been published in NatGeo. Do you have a link to the article? I’d love to read it!
V
http://www.lifeplus1.me
Love the goals you have set. I would love to learn how to ski. That’s a goal of mine for this year. I hope I don’t just fall over and over again! :)
These all sounds like awesome, achievable goals! I’ also trying to improve my Spanish, build my career, and save a bit. Speaking of, I just learned all about Roth IRA’s this past year right before I moved to Spain. They aren’t as intimidating as you’d think! I wish you the best of luck and have no doubts that you will accomplish all your goals for 2015.
Also, I haven’t been to too many concerts in my life either, so don’t feel bad! Basically, just Summerfest in Milwaukee, which I’d highly recommend.
Congrats on hitting all your goals in 2014! Sounds like you’re in a good and happy place in life right now. One of my goals this year is to learn and improve my Spanish skills. Languages don’t come naturally to me. I’m more of a numbers and science girl, but I’ve been working hard on it as I love traveling in Latin America.
And I just wrote piece on my blog about retirement plans for millennials: http://www.diariesofawanderinglobster.com/retirement-plans-for-millennials/. Maybe it will helpful for you. Roth IRAs are super easy to set up and I highly recommend Vanguard. They are a nonprofit, therefore, their fees are one of the lowest around.
Yay, so glad to see you so happy! I’m also thinking of doing a yoga teacher training in India within the next year. It’s also inspiring to see you comfortable in a “normal” job… so many people go the digital nomad route and swear becoming an online entrepreneur is the only way to find happiness, but I just don’t see myself going that route so you give me hope! haha. Cheers to a wonderful 2015 and accomplishing your latest goals! :)
These are some awesome goals. A bit of a stretch to give you something to work towards but not unrealistic. I also really like how you have covered so many facets of life and have well-rounded goals. I totally didn’t stick to that principal with my goals this year! :-)
Really looking forward to your new website too. What a teaser!
That’s awesome. I love having goals for a new year, I’m like you in that I actually remember them and track the. I’m excited to see what new site you launch. Good luck!
You live in one of the best places in the world for skiing. One of the greatest things about having a sister who lives in Boulder is that I get to snowboard at one of the many amazing nearby mountains when I visit. The music scene in Denver and Boulder is really amazing too. I’m sad to say that I’ve never been to Red Rocks. But my sister goes all the time and it’s supposed to be such a great venue. Enjoy 2015…it sounds like you’re going to have a great year!
Congrats on meeting all 2014s goals! I like your goals for this year too. Well, without going into too much detail, we’re thinking of a country move and I’m also thinking of a career change. So getting that all sorted would be great! I also really want to go back to studying Spanish. I feel like I forgot most of it now but I loved it. Hopefully it will all come back. Learning Mandarin was really not for me!
Languages are my goal as well ~ I speak French pretty well and know some Spanish (growing up in Florida helped with that) but also want to learn Italian and German (people tell me I’m crazy for that!). I really like your other goals too!
Some admirable goals for sure, it sounds like 2015 is going to be a wonderful year for you!
Such great goals! It looks like 2015 will be an amazing year for you! This year I’d mostly like to improve my Spanish (I’ve somehow managed to hit a brick wall since moving to Spain… I know, right). I also have big plans for the blog, too, so I’m pretty excited about the year ahead!
You’ve accomplished so much already and your 2015 goals are definitely achieveable! I think I’m going to make improving my French one of my 2015 goals. Thanks for the inspiration!
Can’t wait to find out what this mystery new venture is all about! Looking forward to reading more posts from you again! I need some South East Asia Details!!
These are great goals! I’m learning to ski this season and absolutely loving it, I’m so glad you ski too! And I can’t wait to see what your new mystery website is!!
xx
Jessica
Wow awesome goals – and so cool how well you did on your 2014 aspirations! My goals for this year are to keep improving my French to solid intermediate or higher, to run 1000 km in the year, and to be able to touch my toes – I’m looking to yoga for that one :)
Those are all awesome goals- I would love to run 1000 km this year- I’ve never tracked my miles but that sounds like a great challenge!
Mystery website?! You’re such a tease, Ashley! My husband and I do an annual review much like this too, and I find it super useful! Good job on achieving many of your goals for 2014. Keep up the good work!
Wow! This is a great list…my number one goal for 2015 is career-focused. I moved abroad last year and haven’t been able to find a full time job yet, so that’s my focus. And travel :).
I love how you call them “goals”, not resolutions! I want to speak more French and read an average of one book a week. Also when are you going to let us know about this mystery website? I’m excited to find out.
Those are excellent goals! I definitely want to read as much as possible and branch out by reading more fiction, which I rarely do. And SOON! I just moved but I am totally going to tackle that project in February :)
These are really lovely goals Ashley and it’s nice to hear you sounding so positive and excited! My goals for 2015 is to finish my Masters dissertation and “sell” my blog services in my local region – Berlin/Europe.
Those are great goals! I’m definitely always keen to experiment with monetization- I’ve been thinking about offering blogging consultations recently but we’ll see how that goes!