I never make new year’s resolutions.

They don’t work for the majority of people, and I don’t need the guilt of failure.

But that doesn’t mean goals aren’t important.

I had a list of goals I wanted to achieve before I turned 40.

Thus I decided. What I want to do by the time I turn forty is to be comfortable with myself as I am. I want to be able to look in a mirror and be happy with what I see, and be comfortable in my own skin.

And I think I did okay! I learned how to put on makeup (even if I still never wear it), I learned how to deal with my hair, and I worked very hard to become comfortable with my body. The latter is still (of course) a work in progress, but I’m so much better at accepting myself as I am than I was in my 20s.

I achieved a lot over the past decade as well, aside from my goals. I went to Alaska (twice!), I left jobs that made me miserable and found a job I absolutely love, we hiked all the state parks and forests in WV, and I’ve learned a ton of new skills as I’ve taken on renovation and building projects I never would have considered myself capable of.

So I’m thinking about what goals I want to achieve by the time I’m fifty–which is this year.

So as part of my continuing goal of working to accept myself as I am, what might be some fun goals in the coming months, towards self-acceptance and becoming a better human.

Caveat: my mental health comes first, so it can’t be anxiety-inducing, or dangerous such as attempting tasks that are beyond me (sword-fighting with edged weapons (too clumsy), walking on a high wire (no sense of balance), memorizing pi (I can’t hold numbers in my brain), or becoming a portrait painter (I lack hand-eye coordination); you’ll note that a lot of things things are due to my lack of coordination–something I AM comfortable with.)

I’ve thought about a photo shoot. A friend of mine did one for her 50th and it was so lovely and marvelous and just accepting of her as she is. I’ve considered changing my fitness goals. I need more weight-wearing exercise, but I find it SO. BORING.

So any thoughts for goals I might set and or how I might achieve and change what I have been doing?