In January of this year, I set a lofty goal to read 50 books by the end of December. I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off, but I chose this number based on a blog post of a fellow friend that stated she read 100 books in 2017. Though I am an avid reader, I had never kept track of how many books I’ve read. I didn’t have a baseline, but 100 books seemed like it was out of reach. 50 books meant that I could read or listen to 4.16 books per month. It still seemed like a lot—one book every week—but I wanted to aim high.

I started cruising through books in the first part of the year and from January to April, I was still on track to hit my goal. However, sometime after April, I hit a lull, and a combination of things happened. First, I began preparing for a writer’s conference and spent more time writing and revising, then reading. Second, I started writing for Kingdom’s Edge Magazine and creating content for my own website—both were taking up time. Third, I was making may way through a difficult book and it was taking a lot longer to read than I had hoped. While I liked it, I really had to slow down and process and concentrate on the content. Aside from those three things, I began to struggle with a bit of anxiety, which in part was do to so much content filtering through my brain each day.

During the Summer, I backed off my goal to read 50 books by years end and started to focus on other, more prominent goals. Because of my switch in focus, other dreams started coming true. Dreams to win a writing contest, sign with an agent, launch a website and sign a publishing contract! When I did get a chance to read, it was for fun and less for personal growth. Reading became less of a have-to and more of a want-to. By Fall, I had a new passion for reading. I was getting into a groove again and cruising through more books.

And now, here we are at the end of 2018. While I’m a little sad to say I didn’t reach my original goal, I know that I read far more books in 2018 than I would have if I didn’t set a goal—or if I didn’t set it as high as I did. And that’s the thing with shooting high. If we set high goals, goals that are big and feel out of reach and might just be a little far-fetched, we get an opportunity to push ourselves farther than we think is possible and we go further than we think is possible.

So, what was my number of books read in 2018?

27!

Twenty seven books that pushed, stretched and encouraged. Twenty seven books that inspired, challenged, and produced growth. Twenty seven books that sparked little fires within my soul, warmth within my heart and creativity within my brain. 27 whole books in 2018.

So, in case you are wanting a challenge for 2019, I encourage you to get out there and read. Maybe your goal is 100 books, maybe your goal is 1 book. Whatever it is, make it yours and aim high! Adjust your goal as needed, enjoy the journey and I promise that at the end of next year, you will be proud of everything you have accomplished.

In 2019, I am setting the goal at 30 books. I will also be posting reviews of each book on Goodreads. Click the link to follow my journey there and to hold me accountable to get it done! What’s on your list for 2019? What do you plan to read and have you set a number goal? Let me know!