Setting goals can be daunting. Probably because so often our mindset is to stop a bad habit. Many times we are trying to change ourselves and our lives. But what if your goal focused on something you are already passionate about? Isn’t it a lot easier to work toward something you really love?
Last year, on the first day of January, I set out to do just that. I challenged myself to not only read 52 books (one for each week) but to also keep a book journal.
I am an avid reader. I can’t ever remember not loving books. You’re probably thinking a “reading goal” is a bit of a cop-out. It’s like saying, “I love potato chips. In the new year, I’m going to work really hard to eat more.” I hear you.
But by intentionally setting a reading goal, I also examined my reading habits.
Realistic contemporary fiction? Check. A thriller? Check. Nonfiction? No way.
2018 would be the year I pushed myself. Not only would I read more books, but I would diversify. I would read a work of nonfiction. Just one. I didn’t want to set the bar too high. But guess what? I read FIVE works of nonfiction. FIVE. Thank goodness for book clubs, as three of those were selected by my book club. But two I picked up of my own volition. In fact, The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore, was one of the best books I read in 2018. And, I read a collection of short stories. Which, although it wasn’t part of my original goal, it was a step out of my comfort zone.
Reading as a goal didn’t diminish my joy. It actually energized me. After finishing a book, I grabbed my journal and pens and recorded the book. The first few entries were simply the title, author, and genre. But then I began adding plot details. Plus my personal reactions to the writing style, the characters, and the storyline. And then I picked up my next book and kept reading.
A page from my book journal
I love to read. Why would I need to set goals related to something I already enjoy?
For me, it didn’t feel like work. I became more focused on something I already love. Motherhood has swept some of my joys by the wayside. I know, even without a book journal to document it, that I have pushed myself as a reader this year. I have used my time more wisely to make time for reading.
If only I’d been paying more attention and taking cues from my own mother, I would have started this years ago. My mom knew what she was doing way back in the 1960s, in her first years of parenting. She still has her small leather three-ring binder with the titles of all the books she has read, listed by year. And, she rewarded herself for vacuuming, scrubbing a bathtub, or doing a load of laundry. Whenever she completed a household task, she took a reading break.
It doesn’t matter what you love. Reading is my thing. Maybe yours is music or painting or yoga. Carving time out for something that gives you joy is a gift to yourself.
Name your own passion. And make it your priority in 2019.
