my new years resolutions

A lot of people are against new years resolutions, and for good reason. They get so excited about changing their life and then after about a month or so the excitement fizzles out and they forget their lofty goals that they set up at the beginning of the year. I'm no different, and I've definitely had my share of unresolved resolutions. But I am a firm believer in improvement, and I think every person can improve and learn and become better in some way, so no matter how many years I fail, I'll probably always make new years resolutions.

But this year I've been reading a lot about setting goals and have learned a few tricks that will help me actually stay on track with the things I want to do. I highly suggest you read this article (with a link to another article that you should also read) about setting goals and sticking with them. I certainly will be utilizing some of the suggestions to make this year fantastic.

Here are my tentative resolutions for 2013 (I may or may not get rid of some in a couple months after seeing if I can handle so many goals):

1. Write one page a week in my novel.
2. Produce two photos a month.
3. Do one blog diy a month.
4. Do 8 outfit posts a month.
5. Take one college street style photo a week.
6. Read 12 books a year.
7. Draw one sketch a week.
8. Set aside $5 a week for savings.

And some dreams that I have for 2013 (as opposed to resolutions because there are other factors that could play into these things actually occurring):

1. Get my work "out there." (whatever that means, haha)
2. Get a photo on a book cover.
3. Gain more clients.
4. Go to a photo gathering.
5. Gain 100 more readers on Introvert's Introduction.
6. Gain 300 more likes on facebook.
7. Gain 25,000 more views on flickr.

(I want to pause here to say that numbers 5-7 aren't dreams because of gaining views on their own, but because I want to be able to share my photos and blog posts with as many people as possible. I love every single one of my readers a lot and would never turn them into a number or take them for granted. You make my day so much brighter just by me knowing that the things I post have the ability to make an impact on your life.)

I do realize this is a lot of stuff to take on, but I think it can be done as long as I purposely set aside time to do each thing. I can't become lazy and I need constant reminders, which is partly why I'm writing about them here, so you guys can keep me accountable. You'll actually be able to see if I'm keeping up with them based on what things I post. I love blogging, but I know if I don't set a goal for myself, there won't be any structure and I'll feel a bit lost. I'm also writing them here so you will hopefully stick with your own resolutions. I had never even thought about some of the steps to take to stick with my goals, and it will be exciting to see what becomes of them. Already I've been working hard on fulfilling some of these resolutions. In particular, the "getting my work out there resolution" has been going good so far. I've submitted my work to several places and am beginning the process to sell my images through a company that businesses and authors go to (hello book cover!). It's really nerve wracking because I'm not one who really likes to self advertise all that much because I don't want people to think that I think I'm the coolest thing since sliced bread (which I'm not), but I just wanted to give you guys a bit of encouragement that I've found to be helpful. You never ever know what will become of something if you don't try. The worst thing anyone can do is say no, and if you're too scared of the "no," then you'll never know what will happen if they say "yes." That's helped me press the 'send' button on multiple emails and I hope it will help you too!

So what are your resolutions? Let me know so that we can keep each other accountable!