The last week of 2021 is here! Let me repeat that one more time, so that it can settle in for us all. The last week of 2021 is here.

This year, if anything, has been one of the most trying, yet happiest year of my life. I learned so much about myself and I truly believe 2022 is where I  will finally “find” myself and step into my purpose.

Today, December 27, 2021, is National Goal Writing Day, so I came to my blog … the place where I typically write out my goals, so that I could see what I had accomplished. I’m scrolling through my blog entries and I am just shocked that I did not write an adieu to 2020 and set out goals for myself!! How annoying! Actually, I really shouldn’t be surprised I kind of just went with the flow this year quite honestly.

The last entry regarding my goals was when I was saying goodbye to 2019 and welcoming in 2020. Thankfully, I tried to make a slight come back and did a life update on Season II of Coffee with Sims, don’t worry that is also making a comeback. LOL

Today, I took some time to really think about this past year and what I want for myself in 2022.

I want a lot.

And I’m going to go hard.

Without further ado … here are my 2022 goals.

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2 0 2 2 G O A L S

• F A I T H.  God will always come first. Sounds cliche right, but I can’t do anything without God by my side. The things that I want to achieve and accomplish have been delayed, because my faith has been a little bit on and off. Don’t get me wrong … not one days goes by that I don’t think about my prayers being on time or how I should be attending Jummah prayers at the Mosque every Friday. My approach has been pretty lackadaisical. I just want my prayers to be perfect and I have to be okay that they aren’t going to be sometimes. I don’t cover my hair and I don’t dress modestly all the time, but it doesn’t make me any less of a Muslim. The way I love my religion, there are no words. I just know the person I want to be. I’ve to say I am making changes and I’m going to keep delaying my progress in life just in general if I continue this way. I know he’s waiting for me and trust me I’m running towards you, God.

• F A L L I N L O V E. Where do I start? In May of 2022, my husband and I will be married for five years. I don’t care what anyone says, but it’s truly a blessing. Our relationship can be very complicated at times and I know it is because we of our history. He has taught me so much about life and relationships in general. He has made me stronger. He has made me more goal-driven, not that I wasn’t before, but I honestly needed someone who was going to light the fire under my tush instead of be an enabler. He has taught me to that I can still be my own person even if I am married. Our relationship means the world to me. He means the world to me and I just continue to pray to God that he continues to guide us and let us be that couple that makes it to the very end. My husband and I are both Nigerian, but he was born and raised in Nigeria whereas I was born and raised in America. TWO DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS. TWO DIFFERENT UPBRINGINGS. TWO DIFFERENT PARENTS. TWO DIFFERENT SURROUNDINGS. Yet we still found our way and I truly just want to bask in our love this year. I want to grow even more madly in love with him. I’ve always talked about us dating more and we finally have found that time just recently at the end of 2021, better late than never huh? We are in such a good place at the moment that I’m just excited and ready for year 5! I love you baby … just in case you read this.
  

• M O T H E R H O O D. The love of my life turned 3 this year! Can you all believe Ashraf is 3!? I wrote an update, but never published it … don’t worry I’ll post that on a throwback Thursday for y’all. He’s growing right before my eyes and in my mind I still see him as a baby, the tiny human I used to rock + sing to sleep every single night. I’m starting to realize that he’s not a baby, in less than a year he will be a kid in preschool. I’m putting him in a school where he has to wear uniform, enrolling him into sports, teaching him about life, etc. I don’t want to miss a beat. I’m still struggling to strike a balance between everything that I do while being his mom. I’m still working on ways to be present. Again, pretty sure I’m judging myself a bit harshly, but I just know I am capable of more.
  
• W O R K L I F E B A L A N C E. I truly love my job. I could not have asked for a better company to work for, but let me tell y’all something … I was working 7 days a week. No one asked me to, but I wanted to make sure I was on top of everything, organized. I wanted to make sure that every single of my people were taken care of. I’d been on vacation and still having meetings to make sure my people were good. Just about two weeks ago, I told myself that there would be no more of that. It was literally driving me insane and becoming part of my weekend. I would worry about people and their problems which took away from other things that I needed to focus on and people who needed my attention at home. So, from here on out and into the New Year. I will leave work for working hours. Of course, I will have to stay late sometimes, but once I shut out of everything … I AM NOT opening it back up, especially on my weekends + vacations.

• N A S M C E R T I F I E D. I don’t think that I have ever expressed this to you all, but I want to get my personal trainer license. I honestly should have gotten certified a long time ago. I’ll have to do a back story on that one day. I do personal train people from time to time and I really do love it. I would actually love to get certified and become an instructor at a studio and teach there once or twice a week. So, let’s hope this is something that I can cross off my list and fast!

• P A Y O F F D E B T. First of all, hats off to the Biden-Harris Administration for pushing back student loans until May. The way they were sending me emails about payments, I wasn’t ready!!!! Aside from student loans, I am paying everything off this year!!!! LOL … I started making it a point back in July and things are looking good. For the most part the last half of the year, I have slowly been getting my life together and in line. I’m just trying to keep up the momentum!!!

  
  

• R E A D. I am about to reveal something very sad and embarrassing.I started off this year saying I would read at least one book a month. I decided to reread Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming. Y’all, I enjoyed the book but I did not finish that book until September or so!!! I mentioned this to someone and they were like well that is probably telling on the book because it typically doesn’t take you that long to read a book. And baby that is a F A C T.  I’m currently reading Brene Brown’s Dare to Lead book and I typically only read that book on a self care night when I’m in the tub or wearing a face mask for 30 minutes or so. I have at least 5 books that I’ve bought and there are a few more on my list that I want. Your girl is going to go for reading a minimum of 1 book a month. I just have to make sure I read a chapter a day. That is all.

• T I M E M A N A G E M E N T. Optimism. One of my best friends told me that I am very optimistic with my time. Ever since she told me that it has stuck with me. This year I want to have a better sense of the time I have and use it wisely. I want to be more prepared for things and on time. I want to keep my word. If I say I’m going to be there then I’m going to be there and on time. Lord, take the wheel on this one. And I’m Nigerian too. God help me. It’s a start!

• S T E P I N T O M Y P U R P O S E. I’ve seen so much growth from myself this year just all around both professionally and personally. I’m tired of downplaying my strengths, my successes … who I am. I just really want to freaking thrive this year. I want the biggest smile on my face this time next year when I see all I have done and accomplished. I’m not allowing anything get in my way this year. I am not going to ghost people because I am in my feelings or things aren’t going my way. I am going to show tf up! My life is going to change this year. Mark my words. 

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I’m really happy that I made it a point to really sit down and think about what I want for myself this New Year. I mean, I actually wrote it down. I really didn’t have anything written down for 2021 and I also didn’t have a vision board soiree with my girls. This just made me remember how important it is to actually write your goals down and make a plan. I’m hoping to have the vision board with my girls … I feel like that kind of holds you accountable you know!

If you haven’t already, write down your goals for 2022. I’m challenging you to find time out of your day before January 2022 and write down some goals you want to see yourself accomplish.

Thank you so much for spending some time with me going over my goals. Feel free to share your goals in the comments, I’d love to read them. We could keep each other accountable.

 

CIAO Beauty’s, XOXO.