Begin Where You Are

It’s January – almost the end of January* – and I’ve been (like most people) trying to outline my goals and what I want to accomplish in 2018.  As part of this, I’ve spent a good amount of time looking back at 2017 and realizing that I started off strong and then completely went off the rails.  And what I’m realizing is that this is a typical pattern for me.  So, instead of getting too bogged down in what went wrong and instead of beating myself up for not having met all my goals last year, I’m just going to pick it up from here and move forward.  Begin where I am, as it were.

So, for 2017 I invested in Lara Casey’s Power Sheets.  I’ve been following Lara for awhile and thought that I’d give her approach to goal setting a try.

One of the things I appreciated about her method is that you start planning the year before.  So in November, which is about the time of year I start to get energized and thinking about goals, is exactly when she starts doing her PowerSheets prep posts and videos.

In doing the prepwork, she has you take stock of where you are, what last year looked like (good and not so good), and setting a course for where you want to go.  Here’s part of what I wrote about my story:

I lost my way.  I was overcome by fear and insecurity.  I cocoon myself as a protection, but instead it muffles my divine guidance and communication.  I get caught up in busy and distraction.  I want a purpose-filled life.  Authentic.  I am not here to be small and fearful or mediocre.  I can teach by example.  I can show others how to live a life out loud.  I can share my awe and wonder of the world and teach others how to live their best life.  

There were so many powerful words like those above that tumbled out of me and into my workbook.  And when you’re done going through the first set of worksheets, she has you go back through and highlight or circle the things that stand out to you – those things that resonate.

And the thing I realized in doing that is that everything I need is within me.  I know where I want to go and how to get there.  I just have to tune in, listen, and take action.

I chose my word of the year: Transformation.  It seemed fitting.  And I put together a vision board to visually steer me in the right direction.

I worked through distilling down my thoughts, recurring themes, and intentions and set my goals for 2017.

• Be an open channel (stop jamming the signal) through clean, healthy, uncluttered living.
• Pour love into my marriage.
• Grow my business authentically and in alignment with my purpose – lead by example.

By looking back at the work I did preparing for 2017 and the goals I set, I’m seeing that not much has changed for me in 2018 – the goals are still relevant (with some tweaking) and the groundwork I laid is still beneficial.  I’ll be back in my next post to share more about breaking down these goals and putting together an action plan that will carry me forward through 2018.

*I started writing this post in January, but as evidenced by how 2017 went I didn’t get back to this post until March.  (note to self: Procrastination is the thief of time.)