Time for a Little ✨2024✨ Tomfoolery

Happy January! ‘Tis the season for setting unrealistic expectations for myself. Every year–for the last handful of years, at least–I’ve set a small list of goals. I prefer to see them as GOALS and not as RESOLUTIONS. Resolution implies I need to be fixed, and we all know I’m perfect.

Kidding, obviously, I’m far from it, but the notion stands. Resolutions sound like something to repair, while goals are something to work toward. All about your wording!

I post these goals on my Instagram stories every January 1st. I love it. It keeps me accountable, and to me, it’s simply fun. I love setting these things up for myself, and I love seeing other people’s–in the same way I really and truly do want to see your Spotify Wrapped.

Generally, these goals involve: a numbered reading goal, a more specific reading-related goal (i.e. trying a genre I don’t normally go for), a writing goal or two, and then a couple of life-related things (hiking, trips, cooking, etc). This works for me. Keeps me realistic, and it doesn’t set me up to fail. For example, you’re not going to see me setting a fitness related goal** because working out does not make me feel good, historically. Adding a gym membership on my goals list is not going to be beneficial to my personal growth or my happiness, and therefore, it is not a realistic thing to take into the new year with me.

Just as it’s all about your wording, it’s all about setting goals that you can actually feel good about! If I do it, amazing! If I don’t, well, that’s okay, I still made an attempt. I really believe this outlook on “resolutions” has improved my mental health and the way I treat myself over the last several years. I used to be so hard on myself about these things, and I am much more forgiving these days.

But see, I’m also a bit of what the girls call “delulu” (I’m going to regret saying that, methinks), so I also have an ongoing list of goals that I do not share publicly. Goals that are unattainable, that set me up for failure, that are just not reasonable. They’re things that I will either laugh off when they don’t come to fruition because duh, or I will actually feel a bit disappointed in myself for not reaching them. Again.

Or they’re just personal. I don’t need the world to know about them, they are just for me to work on privately. I think these kinds of goals are also very healthy to have! You don’t always have to be open about your wins and losses.

But guess what, I don’t know how to not overshare, so guess who’s getting a fun list (though not the list) of “goals” from me. YOU!

May I present to you:

Ash’s 2024 List of Clownery – A Somewhat Comprehensive List of Things that Will Probably Not Happen This Year

1. Submit more of my work to journals – This one is kind of always on this version of my list, but it fully depends on two things: what kind of writer I end up being that year and my workload. Sometimes I only come up with novel/long-form ideas, and my short fiction is either meh or too personal. Or I spend so much time at work that all I want to do when I get off is watch TV or work on whatever novel I am writing at that time. So once again, I actually would like to try this one.
2. Get an agent! – This requires more querying on my part. Or actually hearing back from agents I’ve queried already. Which I haven’t yet. [note: I got a rejection a few days after typing this! woohoo!]
3. Finesse a promotion that gets me my London move – I definitely brush this one off when people ask because it sounds, in theory, a lot easier than it is. If I was in freelance or was not in post-production, there would likely be more opportunities to make this happen, but since our team is the way it is, it’s not that easy. And my company is constantly in the toilet trades for being chaotic. So. 
4. Convince myself that I like onions – I’m not confident in this. It’s been years.
5. Fall in love (for real) – Do I have time for a boyfriend right now? No! Am I still a romantic? Absolutely! I can’t imagine this happening for me this year, but hey, this is my clowning list. I’m allowed.
6. Figure out storage for my records, CDs, and DVDs – In a perfect world, I’d be crafty and talented enough to DIY something. I can picture it so clearly in my head! But alas, these will probably stay in boxes for another year. I’m also very non-committal about furniture because of Clown List #3.
7. Drink the tea I’ve backlogged from the tea subscription I finally cancelled because I have TOO MUCH of it – Me: Oh yeah, I drink tea!! Also me: Never drinks tea.
8. Start therapy – Okay, I actually really want to do this one too, it’s just hard.
9. Take a film class of some kind – Not necessarily a screenwriting one or one where you analyze films like a literature class, even though those are totally up my alley. I want to learn more about editing, VFX processes, cameras, engineering! All the stuff for my job that I have a rough overview of but would love to actually know about.
10. Do the all-white-one-piece-missing puzzle Jen gave me for my birthday in 2021 – If you know, you know.

This is, in no way, everything I want to do this year. I said somewhat comprehensive, but really, there are so many other things I would LOVE to accomplish in 2024. Before I’m 35. In my lifetime! But they are, again, private. I have to keep some things for myself, after all.

Here’s to another year, hopefully a good one. 

**I do have a hiking-specific goal this year, but that is *not* about physical fitness! It is more about being outdoors and doing free things with my friends (or solo!). I love to hike, I just don’t do it as often as I’d like. I am just more likely to get out there and do it if it’s on my list.