20 Goals for 2020

Heather in Florence - Goals for 2020

January is the time for looking back and seeing what you can change for the upcoming year — then making goals for you to strive to achieve. I have never been big on making resolutions, but I do like to make plans so, here is my attempt for both my list of 20 Goals for 2020!

Heather in Florence - Goals for 2020
  1. Stop and appreciate the life that I am leading at the moment – My life has done a complete 360 this past year. With one year into my digital nomad life, I have learned a lot and figured out how to make the most of this traveling lifestyle I lead. But, with all the craziness that this choice has brought and my extensive travels from 2019, it will be helpful to slow down a bit and enjoy the freedom I have to make my own choices, help people when I can, and share more of my stories than I have ever done.
  2. Meet the 30-day challenge – The challenge is to publish one post a day for 30 days starting on January 1st. Who knows maybe I can figure out how to budget my time to keep this up as much as possible for the rest of the months as well.
  3. Take a road trip – There is nothing like driving down the open road with the window down and wind blowing through my hair while singing to my favorite tunes. Some of my most carefree times in the past are spent on road trips in Michigan and other U.S. states. And with being based in the central midwest, I have many directions I could choose to go. I have always wanted to go on a road trip along Route 66.
  4. Visit one new National Park or Monument – I enjoy visiting the US National Parks and have gone to quite a few of them over the years. My US National Park passport book needs some more stamps. My goal is to visit one or more new National Parks this year, hopefully.
  5. Explore more of my heritage – As more of my family is getting their DNA done, my DNA results have been changing and becoming more refined. I would love to explore the Suffolk area of England, the Normandy region of France, and my Viking ancestry in Scandinavia.
  6. Leave a destination better than I found it – This year, I want to do a volunteer project. Either through workaway or some other option. Giving back is essential when you have been given so much in life, and others have so little.
  7. Hike a trail that challenges me – Not sure about this one, but there are several places I would love to hike. The top of my list is to hike to Havasu Falls in Arizona and the Wales Coast Path.
  8. Go somewhere with my mom or sisters – I have only traveled once with my mom a couple of years ago on a fall New England trip that I still have to write about. But I haven’t traveled with my sisters. It would be fun to go on a girls weekend trip somewhere.
  9. Visit five new countries – I added 16 new countries in 2019, which was exciting, but it was too much for me. I prefer slower travel and exploring a new country by staying longer and becoming part of the culture. So, this year’s goal is only a meager five new countries.
  10. Become a published freelance writer – With all that I have learned recently, 2020 is the year for me to be published in print. This is one of my steps to become profitable and sustainable for the long term. Wish me luck!
  11. Work on Writing my Book – Yep, I am going to be writing a book on the crazy that happened this past summer. Everyone kept asking what happened after that, what happened next, etc. Well, with copious notes, I am planning on writing it all down. I’m hoping that me telling my story of dating a real-life narcissist sociopath it will help other women to recognize the signs and get out of that toxic relationship.
  12. Wake up to watch a sunrise someplace new – This is one of my favorite goals of the new year. I love catching the dawn, which is funny because I am not a morning person. But, when I’m traveling, I look forward to waking up and seeing a new place before the crowds start waking up.
  13. Cross off two items from my bucket list – I keep adding to my bucket list, but, hopefully, I will be able to cross off a couple of things this year, although I’ll probably add twenty more to the list as well.
  14. Attend two new travel conferences – Travel conferences are the places for me to connect with my friends that are travelers and also meet companies and brands to work with. I go to about four a year, but I’m planning on going to two new ones this year to try them out and see how they can benefit me. The first one is the NY Travel Show in January.
  15. Read a book a month – I have always loved reading and struggle with finding time to do it while traveling. This year I want to change that. I’m going to shoot for reading one book a month. If you are interested in following me on Goodreads, you can here.
  16. Have RaulersonGirlsTravel blog be self-sustainable and make a profit – This is probably on every travel blogger’s goals this year and every year. By adding more photos in stock agencies and SmugMug, I hope that those will start generating a regular income this year. Along with my affiliates on my site, every click or purchase helps me out and lets me keep on traveling and sharing my stories with you. I’m even going to be creating a resource travel page for you to be able to find all my links right from the top of my website.
  17. Travel with my niece and nephew to a new destination – Since I am staying in St. Louis in between my travels, I can spend more time with my niece and nephews. I can’t wait to explore the midwest and show them it is fun to travel even if it is close to home.
  18. Reconnect with lost friends and broken relationships – This is probably the hardest goal since friends that are lost don’t want to be found, and broken relationships sometimes don’t want to be mended, although I do want to try. It is hard to say that I have contributed to the broken ones this past year, but learning from your mistakes and trying to make amends is important.
  19. Let go of what is holding me back from living my life to the fullest – This is an absolute must goal that I will achieve this year and already working on. I have held onto my anger for what was done to me and said about me from him for far too long. It took a good friend from the past that I reconnected with while in Vietnam to help me get past all of this and help me to realize what is important. Me! He will never understand what he did or accept any responsibility for the damage that he caused so many women and continues to do. And there is no point in finding logic in why he did what he did to me because there is none. Now it is time to move forward and maybe help other women in the future.
  20. Inspire others to get out and travel and see the world – This is one of the things that I try to do every day. After working a 9-5 job sitting in a cube for over 24 years, I know how important it is to use that limited vacation time that you get to see someplace new. Traveling can enhance your life and increase your life expectancy, along with making you healthier and who doesn’t need those.  Traveling can also be beneficial for kids. Experiences are much more impactful than stuff! If you like any of my articles, go ahead and comment on the site. It helps me out when you do that. Plus, if you have any questions or need help with future travels, go ahead and email me. I’m always willing to help you out with whatever travel knowledge I can share with you.

Heather on the Menai Straight - Goals for 2020

12 Comments

  • Jan 4January2020 at 11:06 PM Reply

    I love goals. I am certainly going to do some of these in 2020! Thank you Heather!

    • Heather 5January2020 at 10:19 AM Reply

      You’re Welcome! Good Luck on achieving them as well!

  • Alison 4January2020 at 8:57 PM Reply

    Love reading this list, Heather. A road trip (love them), the 30-day writing challenge (ouf as the French would say) and tracing your heritage… such great goals. I love them all and wish you much success on the journey of 2020! And yes, stepping into that space and realizing YOU are marvellous is a critical one!

    • Heather 4January2020 at 9:01 PM Reply

      Alison, Thank you for the kind words! Yep, I still can’t believe I’m doing this challenge. Ouf indeed!

  • Sharon 4January2020 at 10:52 AM Reply

    Wow! I love your list. I encourage you to go all out for your #5 and trace your heritage. I’ve had the privilege of tracing my dad’s WWII footsteps in France and Germany, and the experience is life-changing!

    • Heather 4January2020 at 11:15 AM Reply

      Thank you, Sharon! I will definitely pursue it! My dad isn’t around to ask anymore so, any link I can find to him is wonderful!

  • Alma 4January2020 at 10:28 AM Reply

    Great goals and even if you only achieve a small portion of them, it would be great, but hope you achieve many. Good luck!

    • Heather 4January2020 at 10:35 AM Reply

      Thank you so much, Alma! I will certainly try!

  • Teja 3January2020 at 11:18 PM Reply

    Volunteering travel is a very different experience altogether! Just be aware that social and animal volunteering has many caveats attached. Conservation volunteering tends to be less controversial, but you usually have to pay in to help fun the projects.

    • Heather 3January2020 at 11:21 PM Reply

      Thank you for the advice and information! I will take this into account!

  • Rhonda Albom 3January2020 at 10:32 PM Reply

    Fabulous goals list, ambitious, but mostly doable. The one I would fail at is 30 posts in 30 days. I am impressed that Smugmug is that profitable. And, good on you for letting go of anger, that’s probably the goal that will make you the most happy.

    • Heather 3January2020 at 10:42 PM Reply

      I have to say that the 30-day blogging challenge is pushing my limits and it is only on day 3. But, I’m determined to do it. Thank you for the kind words, Rhonda!

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