Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Goals. Show all posts

Saturday, January 03, 2015

Summing Up 2014

Despite this post, I've actually, I've done pretty well in 2014!

I remodeled the kitchen--something I've wanted to do for at least the last 7 years.

I'm working on my relationship with food.  It's not been an easy project, but I'm moving in the right direction.

I've gotten more emotionally healthy.  I've been seeing a therapist and working on my stuff.  It's been really hard at times.  (Sometimes I get so tired of crying!)  But each session, with each assignment is another step toward great emotional health.  It's been totally worth it.

I've remodeled the main bathroom.  We've needed to do that for 12 years!

I'm PTSA Pres at Lakeridge Jr High.  I love schools!  I love education!  This realization is helping me formulate my future educational and work goals.  This also fulfills part of a goal I set at 30 that in the next 10 years, I'd be PTA Pres at every school my kids are in.  That's not going to happen, nor, probably should it.  But I'm very happy with being President at 2 of my kids' schools.

I solved the mystery of the hip last year.  After suffering with intense pain for more than I year, I got this one solved.  Seeing a physical therapist was so helpful!  Bit by bit I'm doing better with my exercise and pacing what my hip can do. I have strategies, stretches and I'm learning to listen to my body.

I attended my high school 20 year reunion.  I reconnected with old friends and made plans for staying in touch better in the future.

Bringing on 2015!!

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Personal Victory

A little over a year ago my dad had had it.  His knee hurt too much and it was time to actually get better.  He had a date set in June to have knee replacement surgery, but by the end of April, he knew something else was wrong.  Through May he was in and out of doctor's offices and hospitals until he finally had surgery.

Turns out my dad had experienced multiple small heart attacks.  He ended up with three stents, instructions to follow a new heart-healthy diet and requirements for daily exercise.  Meanwhile, Dad's orthopedic surgeon took knee replacement surgery off the table for a year.  (I guess surgeon's don't like operating on people with heart problems. Something about risk-of-death and all that.)

But with my dad's knee still really needing an overhaul, how could he meet the exercise requirements? Turns out cardiologists are really creative and also know all kinds of ways to get a rigorous cardio workout regardless of what body parts aren't working.

And it made me realize something.  That not working out is an excuse and when it's a big enough priority, you fit it in.

It would be awesome to say that this stopped me in my tracks and I immediate changed and started exercising.  But that would be a complete lie.  Still, it's been percolating in the back of my mind ever since.

This year Dad got his knee replacement.  His recovery was impressively fast.  All because of a year of consistent exercise.

So when I set some goals recently, one of the goals I set was to exercise daily.  I didn't set a specific amount of time or speed or distance, just to be at the gym 6 times a week.

Week one is in the books and I did it!  Today, for some reason was so hard to talk myself into going.  I did it anyway.  I'm not sure how long it's been or if I've ever been to the gym six times in a week.  But I know this, I have two more weeks to make this a habit.

As Clayton Christensen put it, "100 percent of the time is easier than 98 percent of the time."





Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Good Time for Goals

Photo credit: Dumblittleman.com

As fall rolls around and the school year starts again, it seems like a great time for setting goals.  For me, realistically, my life revolves on a August to August basis much more than it does January to January.

I listened to an amazing podcast today on goal setting and with all of the planning and working I've been doing to structure my days with the kids all in school all day, it seemed like a really good time to look at the goals I set in January and see what needs to be fixed, updated or improved.  So, I looked back and discovered...that I didn't set any goals for the year.

I did set a few goals to accomplish by the end of February and I accomplished three of the four.

This is kind of a shock.

Still, it seems like now is as good a time as any to set some goals--not just for 2014, per se, but for the 2014-2015 school year.  Then we'll have a few summer goals and it will begin again.

I just have to stop right here and say how freeing it is to not feel a need to set goals in January!  I feel liberated!  (You can be, too!)

As I'm thinking about goals, I have to share some of the amazing tips from today's podcast, though you really ought to listen to the whole thing.

1. Don't set a ba-zillion goals.

I'm getting better at this as time goes on, but author, Kat Lee, insists that you cap your goals at 4.  And don't be ashamed if you just do one goal at a time.  She made an awesome point that once you've accomplished that goal, you can totally set another.

2. Be prayerful. 

She suggests reading, journalling, praying, assessing the past year for a week to solidify goals.  And even then, as directed by the Spirit, you can totally change, remove or improve your goal.

3. Set up SMART goals.  

I can't say that I was familiar with the acronym, but I was with the concepts.  Goals should be...
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound

(You can see these and get a cool free printable for Goal Setting here.)

4. Write your goal as an affirmation. 

I have long know that goals need to be positive and written in the present tense. But writing your goals as an affirmation?  This was a paradigm shift for me and perhaps the most exciting thing about goal setting that I learned in Kat's podcast.


5. Write the your goal-affirmation regularly.

I think Kat said that she rewrites her goals once a week. You could totally do it daily. The cool thing is, not only will writing the goal keep it at the forefront of your mind, but it also allows you to evaluate the goal and change it as needed.  This way, the goal serves you instead of you feeling beaten by the goal.

(I think this tip came from Kat's podcast on goals Part 2. Don't yell at me if it's not in Part 1.)

I'm ready now!  Off to write two goals.  I think that's a good place to start.



Monday, January 06, 2014

Reviewing 2013

I sincerely apologize for keeping my goals posted on this blog, but it's such a great (and easy way) for me to find them.

Part of me feels really sad when I look at my goals from January of 2013, especially with what happened just a couple of days later.

I didn't write about family history.
I didn't lose weight.
I worked on the organization but with pretty marginal success.
I did get more clients!  In fact by the end of 2013, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off because I had so much to do.
I did get a new calling.  (I'm now in the 2nd Counselor in the Primary.)

I've been taking my sweet time as I think about my next year's goals.  What do I want to achieve?  What is valuable?  How much of anything is too much?

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

A Word on 2012 Goals

Every year, I post about goals.  At the end of every year, I've usually fallen short in some aspect or another. Sometimes, I realize that I've set a nearly unmeasurable goal.  (As I did in the case of "Things I've Been Putting Off." What counts?  What doesn't count?)

In other cases, I began the year with a goal in mind, only to realize that I'm going to redirect.  This is precisely what happened in the research that never happened for the GRE.  A big part of that was because I got a job.  Having been a stay-at-home mom for 13.5 years, I was sure that I'd have to go back to school in order to get an interesting job where I could be in charge of my own schedule.  Yet here I sit with such a job, and a year and a half before Beck is in 1st grade, and, therefore in school full-time. 

I've decided to sit back see where this takes me.

Sometimes goals are much harder than they appeared.  Thus continues my struggle with organizing. Still, I'm incredibly proud of what I got done last year and I'm working to build on that this year as well.