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I've always looked forward to birthdays. When I was a kid, birthdays meant presents and parties. As I grew older, the presents grew smaller but the parties grew bigger.

But birthdays weren't just an excuse to celebrate with family and friends. Each new year also opened new doors and brought new opportunities. I loved anticipating what the coming year would bring, because I always believed it would be something great. Like a driver's license, or a job, or legal entry to the bar.

When I was young, I couldn't wait for the next birthday to come.

But things are different now. Now, time passes by fast enough. Now, I'd give anything for it to slow down.

And while I still look forward to my birthday, it's for far different reasons. Sure, I still like to celebrate the occasion with a glass of wine (or several), and spend time with family and friends. But the older I get, the more my birthday becomes a time of self reflection.

A time to look back on the past year, and to set goals for the year ahead. There are no more standard milestones or rights of passage. Now, the things that I achieve are through my own effort, and my own choosing.

So I've been thinking a lot about what I'd like to do in this coming year. Some of my goals are fairly self-centred, like running a half marathon (I just registered and I'm already freaking out 😳).

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Others are more community-minded, like joining a local volunteer organization (far less scary).

But one of my biggest goals is a combination of both -- to become more involved in Steemit.

And because I believe goals should be measurable, I've set a target of reaching 2,000 followers and 20,000 Steem power this year. When I look at what others have achieved on this site, that seems like a reasonable goal. When I look at my current stats, it seems crazy out of reach.

So, because I have reached the level of adulting where I only ask for practical gifts, I asked my husband for a new pair of running shoes, and I'm asking you to help me expand my reach by resteeming one of my posts.

But don't do it as a freebie or a favour. I only want you to resteem if you truly like what you read and think your followers will too.

And if not, that's cool. I've still got a year to hit my target. And a glass of birthday wine to drink. 😜

And some new running shoes to put on. Starting tomorrow, of course.

If you enjoyed this post, please resteem, upvote and, of course, follow @redhens. Here are a few other posts you might enjoy:

Writing Grit series:

• The 5 Cs of Good Communication

RedHens Writing Advice video series:

• Life Lessons and Books
• Making Time and Space to Write

General interest:

• If Steemit had a Relationship Advice Column, What Would You Ask?
• The Risk to Offend