At the start of the New Year I get excited to create lists, tasks, and goals for the year ahead. I am generally all about creating SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable/Action-Oriented, Realistic, and Time Sensitive) for myself but this year was a bit different for me. I so badly wanted to create the normal list of things I could check-off throughout the year ahead, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it–it just didn’t feel right.
You see, we have a baby on the way and he will be here mid to late January. I am not naive to the fact that things are about to get a lot harder before they get easier with having two kiddos 15 months apart. It will likely take me time, patience, laughter, tears, and support from family and friends to achieve an even keel–I am totally cool with that and wouldn’t expect otherwise. Giving myself a list of goals–big or small–to check off in 2018 felt suffocating. My first priority in 2018 is to just survive–you feel me other mommas? Instead of thinking about goals to check off a list, I thought more about what I want my 2018 to be like, how I want it to feel, and what kind of actions I want to take…the thoughts, feelings, and words I came up with are below:
Give. This is the word that I resonated with the most for 2018. I kept coming back to it. I wrote it multiple times in my journal in CAPS. You guys, you know it’s serious when you write it in CAPS. When I look at my life, I can’t even begin to count all of the wonderful things that people have done for me–supportive messages, random gifts, hugs, kind words when I needed them, acts of service, forgiveness, dropping off food when Bode was born, a surprise coffee purchase in the drive-thru line, babysitting, and the list goes on. When you look at the things on this list, the people who did them probably thought of them as “small gestures” but to me they were HUGE! All of these gestures brought me joy and happiness. I want to be that ray of light for others this year–my children, Cody, family, friends, and clients.
Grow. The main area of growth I would like to see for myself this year is in my faith. I believe in God, attribute my life’s blessings to Him, and have a relationship with Him, but the truth is that I don’t spend as much time as I would like in prayer, quiet time, and communication with Him. Like any relationship, the more you put into it, the more it will grow and flourish. Some action steps I would like to take to foster this growth are to go to church 1x/month, rejoin a small group, and make it a practice to journal my prayers. I feel like these action steps are completely doable, will make my life less stressful, and bring more meaning and joy to everyday tasks.
Explore. When you see the word “explore” you may naturally think of traveling, but for me, it means wanting to “explore opportunities.” I want to explore new and innovative ways I can help my clients reach their health and wellness goals, explore new recipes for the 21 Day Transformation program, explore some shows/festivals/fairs in which I might be able to set up a booth to sell my cookbook, and even explore next steps on continuing to expand my nutrition education. I don’t have any “hard and fast” goals with any of this “exploring” which is a bit weird for me, but I feel less pressure that way and am allowing myself the grace to go where the adventure leads me.
Have you given thought to your 2018 goals, desires, wishes, and dreams? Do you resonate with anything above? Leave a comment below and share what you are hoping for in 2018. Xoxo.
