New Year’s Resolution

 

Photo credit: Flickr/David Kingham

With a new year, often comes new experiences. Although, I am a big proponent of being intentional every day, there is something refreshing about a new year starting. For me, January 1st was a time dedicated to reflect on experiences in 2018 and what I want to happen this 2019. Creating intentions last year really made my year so fun, full of love and happiness. I am hoping and excited that this year will be filled with more love, happiness, success, and a great health.

In this blog, I will be explaining how I made goals this year. It is with the intention of being happy and health with all aspects of my life. I hope that the template below helps you be more intentional with your life and helps you learn more about me.

• Spiritual Goals – These past few years have been such a transformational journey for my spiritual life, especially last year. Last year was the most I have changed in such a short time. I have been like clay this year, molded in so many ways. In this area, I included goals to increase my faith (example: pray, fast, read all of the New Testament, increase prayer time, help God’s kingdom at least once a week, etc.) In here, you can put whatever spiritual goals you may have.
• Emotional Goals – Being more emotionally intelligent is something I have been working these past few years. I have learned so much and I feel more and more emotionally intelligent throughout the years, all thanks to God, family, friends, great books and really great mentors. In this section, I included intentional phrases such as foster self love, peace, love for others, and understanding. The following phrases are some intentions I hope and plan to focus this year to help me be more emotionally intelligent: “let go of worries,” “trust God has the best intentions for me and that he showers me with his love continuously,” “stay grounded,” “set boundaries,” “trust my practice,” “be self aware and do what feels right with the Holy Spirit,” and “remember what matters most is God- there is no one bigger and more powerful than God our savior.”
  
• Career/Academic Goals – Throughout these years, I have learned and grown tremendously. My interests have expanded but it has also been narrowed down based on the life I want to live. Upon reflections throughout the years, I feel like I am heading towards the right direction. There are still some uncertainties but hopefully the academic goals I have listed here will help overall with my professional path. In this section, I’ve indicated goals such as complete the GRE, look into graduate school programs, look into professional programs, look into how I can expand in my role now, and write my book at least one hour a week.
• Mental / Intellectual Goals – Dealing with the death of loved ones, dealing with a death of a long-term relationship, dealing with self doubts, and seeing painful results of suicides have made these past few years be filled with such great growth and valuable lessons. I have learned how oh so important it is to take care of my mental health. In this section, I put goals such as foster healthy relationships/healthy boundaries, work on authenticity in relationships at work even though it gets busy, strengthen relationships with family and close friends, pray daily, explore Colorado more, take more adventures, do things that are good for my soul, experience hygge more in my every day life, do at least 5 things on my bucket list, read 1 book a month, travel at least 2x outside of Colorado, plan 2020 trip to the Philippines with my parents, buy myself flowers every once in awhile, trust that everything will work out for my own good, practice daily gratitude, and pray for future husband and family.
• Fitness Goals – I think this section of my goals would have to be one of the most challenging section that I am nervous about. I’ve been up and down when it comes to achieving my fitness goals these past few years. As the years have gone by, I have definitely seen improvements but I hope that this year will be a huge fitness transformational for me, in the most positive way. This year, my goals are to be more fit, add weight training to my exercise routine, exercise 5-7 times a week (with a focus on different body sections), do intermittent fasting, be more aware of the food I eat, and work on staying away from processed food.
• Financial Goals – When I spread my wings this 2018 and moved to Colorado, there were so many lessons I learned. One lesson is to always save more than you think you need to save. In this section, my goals are to continue to make a budget, save for the GRE, save for car registration, continue to have an emergency fund, save for a home, get another job or get a raise to put more into savings, look into mutual funds and look into a permanent flow of income.

Those are some of my goals this year.

Beautiful lessons to keep in mind this year as you tackle your goals are to know you are capable of so much more than you think and to have the flexibility, love and kindness for yourself if you are not meeting the goals at the specified deadlines. Remember, my beautiful friends, be oh so kind and loving to yourself. Take care of your thoughts when you are alone and take care of your words when you are with others- for thoughts and words can either uplift or destroy others and yourself.

Peace and love,

Gemma

Photo credit: Flickr/David Kingham

 

Changes

These past few years, I have been working on being more intentional in my life. My focus has been to live a purposeful life and this year, is the year I have started to fully implement it and be stronger with my relationship with self and others. I have been aligning my hours, days, weeks, and months with being healthy physically, spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. Here is my game plan for achieving this in 2018.

Fitness Goals

• Go to the gym at least 3 times a week.
  • Cardio dance 2X a week.
• Walk 7-10 miles every Saturday and Sunday.

Intellectual Goals

• Read or listen to one book a month.
• Research a topic every week to learn more about the world we live in.
  • This can be medical inventions or different cultural dances, etc.

Career and Academic Goals

• Shadow physicians and physician assistants.
• Complete and excel in Microbiology and Anatomy 2.
• Apply for Physician Assistant School.
• Apply for another clinical job with more leadership skills.

Philanthropy and Service Goals

• Do a school supplies and clothes drive for students at the Philippines.
• Start working on creating a clinic at the Philippines for underprivileged communities.
• Volunteer for an organization that means a lot to me.
• Be a part of the Wish Tree at the University of Nevada.
• Make 1,000 origamis for kids at the Children’s Miracle Network.

Actions of Self Love Goals

• Do an action of self love at least once a week (if not every day).
• Take dancing lessons (aside from cardio dancing).
• Watch something funny when I can and feel like it.
• Get updated with memes. (haha)
• Journal.
• Do meditation.
• Try something new every month.
• Complete at least one thing from my bucket list every month (or every 2 weeks).
• Dress modestly.

Travel and Experience Goals

• Travel to Colorado.
• Travel to California.
• Travel to Hawaii.
• Travel to the Philippines.

Spiritual Goals

• Strive for a stronger relationship with God.
• Pray daily.
• Attend bible studies and service.
• Do fellowship.
• Read the bible when I am by myself as well.
• Journal and reflect.
• Dress modestly.

Relationship Goals

• Spend time with friends (new and old) every week (or at least message them).
• Do something sweet for family and friends, especially when they are having a busy or difficult week.
• Have deep conversations with family and friends.
• Spend time wisely with loved ones.
• Get to know families and friends more because we are ever changing.

Financial Goals

• Save money for PA school applications and traveling expenses.
• Save money for another car.
• Start saving for retirement.

 

Health and Wellness Goals for 2016

Photo Credit: nautilusplus

• Drink at least 80 ounces of water every day. (Drink one 20 ounces in the morning right when I wake up to kick start the day)
• Intake 3 cups (1000-1200 mg) of milk per day to decrease chances of osteoporosis.
• Intake about 70 grams of protein per day.
• Intake about 18 mg of iron per day
• Create a fitness goal.
• Try Shakeology again and experiment with it to see if I am allergic to it or peanut butter.
• Eat more for breakfast and less for dinner.
• Write on my exercising journal what I did for the day.
• Sign up for a fitness class at Lombardi (it can be the drop in classes).
  • Pilates, zumba or crossfit
• Play tennis 3 times a week (if weather permits).
• Do weight bearing exercises for at least 10 minutes 5 times a week. (To decrease chances of osteoporosis)
  • Weight training, hiking, jogging, climbing stairs, tennis and dancing.
• Perform 50 pushups without stopping.
• Reduce my waist size by two inches. (Waist circumference and waist-to-hip- ratio are important health stats that are directly linked to the development of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes)
  • Reduce calories, eat more protein and fiber, eat one third of diet raw.
  • Avoid starch and sugar. (They increase levels of insulin production which are associated with larger waist size)
  • Avoid high sugar foods that contribute to belly bloat like beans, potatoes, and bananas.
  • Avoid fructose rich food. This can be seen in processed foods and drinks. (Less than 15 grams per day)
  • Avoid fizzy drinks. (Yes, even apple cider for Thanksgiving)
  • Hula hoop for 10 minutes, three times a week in the morning.
  • Reduce sugar and salt intake.
  • Eat 3-6 vegetables and 1-2 low glycemic fruits every day.
• Ask someone to teach me how to swim once every week when school starts.
• Reduce stress
  • Do assignments right when I get them (and have time).
  • Study for exams 2-3 weeks in advance.
  • Connect the lessons I learn with everything I’ve learned in the past and in real life.
  • Aim to consume a fruit of vegetable with at least 2 meals per day.
  • Aim to get 7-8 hours of sleep every night.
• Floss at least once every day.
• Save up for a water floss and an electric brush.
• Go to the dentist every sixth months.
• Schedule an appointment to get an active retainer.
• Master 10 yoga poses.
• Do one pull-up by the end of the semester.
• Decrease my percent body fat by 5%.
• Go to my school’s dietician 3 times this coming semester to monitor my progress. (First week of school, middle of school and after final exams)
• Drink green or peppermint tea in the morning once it gets colder.
• Eat with the sole purpose of nourishing my body.
• Find friends and family who can do exercises with me.
• Buy the 5-Minute journal.
• Meditate and do the 5-minute journal every night before I go to bed.
• Stick to a workout regimen! DO NOT STOP- Stay consistent!
• Schedule an appointment with a primary care physician and consult her or him about starting a workout plan.
• Meet with health care provider to get a baseline lab work.
• Do another blood work to check if red and white blood cells are normal now.
• Do lower and upper back exercises to strengthen it and help prevent back pain.
• Buy a new backpack that will decrease lower back pain before the school starts.
• Schedule an eye appointment for January when I get back from Spain or during spring break.
• Do one long workout (or several workouts) that takes more than 2 hours once a month. (Hiking, biking, swimming, snowshoeing, snowboarding, tennis + running + yoga)
• Take One Kind Organics Multivitamins daily.

Photo Credit: Fitranx