Goals

Tending the Garden

May 9, 2018 by Michelle Leave a Comment

After my last post, I thought it might be good to share a little more of my work in my Power Sheets and how that is transforming into what I do currently.

In the Power Sheets, once you’ve identified your goals you start to break them down into smaller focus areas quarterly, monthly, and weekly. Here were some of the things I wanted to keep in mind for the first three months of the year.

And once you put together your focus for the three months, you then move to focusing on the month ahead. As part of the monthly goal-setting, I identified some things to remember.

And then, keeping in mind my big goals for the year and also what I want to pay attention to this quarter, I started to brain storm about this month’s focus.

I knew that the key to reaching your goals is tending them daily. Without doing that daily check in and daily doing tasks to move that goal forward, you’ll never realize it. The time will pass and then you’ll be wondering where the year went (ask me how I know this!). So, I took that brain storm and filtered it into a clear action plan (ie tending list) for the month of March.

This keeps me on track with monthly goals (that feed into my quarterly and yearly goals), weekly goals, and daily goals.

What I struggled with though, is that because Power Sheets aren’t (and aren’t intended to be) a planner. I was having to work out of both my Erin Condren Planner and my Power Sheets. Which got a little unweildy at times. So, I decided I needed an easier way to keep track of those daily habits I was wanting to cultivate. My weekly and monthly goals, I could keep in my planner so that I could refer to them frequently. But, my daily habits were getting lost in the shuffle. I did some searching online and found this great printable habit tracker from Sparkle of Sunshine. I liked being able to see the whole month at a glance, and monitor how I was doing with my habits. What I know now is that I was setting myself up for failure. Not because I was tracking my habits, but because I was trying to start like 20 new habits at one time. I’ll talk more about that next time.

As I’m finding my way and identifying what works best for me, I feel like I’m better able to keep my goals at the forefront and not just let the days go by and wonder why I didn’t accomplish those goals I’d set for myself in January. I love Power Sheets for how they get you to brain storm and dig in and identify what those goals should be, I just needed a better way to keep them in front of me and easily accessible without working in two or three different set ups.

One Little Word

May 5, 2018 by Michelle Leave a Comment

I talked a little bit in my last post about goal setting and what I had planned for in 2017. My word for 2017 was Transformation. Which, although it didn’t manifest itself in quite the way I was expecting, it really was a transformational year. I let go of a lot of things, I learned a lot of things, and I came out the other side.

For 2018, I had a hard time coming up with my “one little word” to describe all that I had in mind for the year and all that I wanted to achieve. But, finally in mid-January I found it – Limitless.

I truly feel like I could not have chosen a better word for where I am right now. It has all the potential and opportunity that is before me within it.

So, my next step was to take a look back through the prep work I did in 2017 in my Power Sheets and reassess my goals.

And when I looked at last year’s goals, what I found was that they were pretty much the same goals I want to achieve in 2018. So, I thought I’d share them here.

My 2018 Goals

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.

So, there they are. And on the face of them, they seem pretty simple but they encompass so much. And in a way I’m really glad that they withstood the test of time and they are still arrows fully pointed in the direction I want to go.

So, then the next question is – how do I do that? How do I turn these goals into reality. Simple – an action plan. So for each of these goals, I came up with actionable steps I could take that breaks them down into smaller bites.

And funny enough, just writing this post and again looking at my 2018 goals has got me geared up to get moving.

In my next post, I’ll take a look at how I break those big goals down into smaller goals – quarterly, monthly, and weekly. I’ll also talk a little bit about why I needed a different method for tracking my goals.

Begin Where You Are

March 3, 2018 by Michelle Leave a Comment

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.)

What I’m Saying Yes to in 2016

March 24, 2016 by Michelle Leave a Comment

This is the second post in my goal setting series. First post is here.

I’m continuing with my 2016 goal setting with the prompts from Lara Casey’s blog series and after taking a look at what did and didn’t work last year the next step is to determine what I’m going to say yes to in 2016 and what I’m going to say no to.

What I’m saying NO to in 2016:

burn out
mindless scroll on social media
comparison
distractions

What I’m saying YES to in 2016:

progress over perfection
building and strengthening relationships
unplug, rest, and recharge (physically, mentally, and emotionally)
weekly/monthly goals to help keep me focused on my larger goals

I feel really good about setting some boundaries or direction for myself by determining where I’m going to put my energy this year. And when I look back at 2015, so much of it was full of running around with no focus and allowing myself to get completely burnt out in every sense of the word. And with that craziness, yet another year went by where I felt like I never reached my goals. I love the idea of choosing a word for the year, so my word for 2015 was Intention (actually, now that I think about it that may have been my 2014 word too. :/ ugh) And what I’ve learned about myself is that I can get so caught up in the “thinking about” and the “planning” that I never actually get around to the doing. So, for 2016 I chose a more appropriate word, one that also embodies my intention for the year.

So, now that I’ve decided what I’m saying yes to this year and what my word is for 2016, Lara then has you put together a vision board. I’m a very visual person so this step was really important to me. I wanted to be able to look and my vision board and have it trigger me to evaluate if what I am doing right now aligns with my goals and ensure I’m taking action to make them happen. I’d started a vision board over on Pinterest, but I wanted to have something that I could print out and keep somewhere I will see it every day to remind me of where my focus should be. So, I put this together this afternoon and I kind of love it!

I wanted to be sure to have something that represented my marriage and its importance above anything else. Then of course I have a few things that are great ways for me to recharge – meditation, journaling/my daily Bible study, yoga, reading. I wanted to also show my focus on health and fitness through working out, eating whole foods, and of course my essential oils. Throw in some travel, making a home, and creating abundance through my business and you have my vision board for 2016.

So, that’s it for this installment in my goal setting series. Next week I’ll be back to share my goals and how I’m going to work to achieve them.

Making Things Happen

March 2, 2016 by Michelle Leave a Comment

On January 1st I started reading Lara Casey’s book Make it Happen: Surrender Your Fear, Take the Leap, Live on Purpose. I had been introduced to Lara’s blog last year and had wanted to read this book for awhile. I’ll spend more time reviewing the book itself in another post soon, but today I want to share with you some of the work that came out of reading that book and also Lara’s blog series on 2016 goal setting. As with most years, the beginning of 2015 started off very promising and I even blogged about living a year of intention back in January of last year. Somehow, as often happens, things went off course. So, I found myself in December wondering where the hell 2015 had gone and feeling defeated that I hadn’t accomplished all those things I’d wanted to do. So, this year, and we’re only a couple of months in, I’m already finding that the key to making things happen is 1) to take action – actually go and do stuff, and 2) tending – if you don’t monitor those goals and keep focused attention on them, you can’t actually accomplish them.

So, for 2016 I am going to work through the goal setting process and share my progress here not only as a way to be accountable, but also because hopefully someone else will benefit from it.

The first thing Lara has you do is to first check in with yourself – how are you? I won’t share the epic novel I wrote, but the main theme is that I’m feeling very disappointed in myself for getting so off course last year and feeling like I was basically in the same place that I’d started the year at. Also, I had a life-changing lightning bolt moment recently of discovering what my purpose is. And although I feel this huge sense of relief from having identified where I’m going, I’m feeling a bit lost though not knowing how to get there or what it’s going to look like. But, I’m willing to have faith that as long as I move in that direction, I’ll have the guidance that I need.

Next, it’s time to take a look back at 2015…

What worked:

I detailed my crafty accomplishments and new endeavors over on my Cozyegg blog here
I was re-introduced to essential oils through my friend Sylvia and became an independent distributor of Young Living essential oils
Read the Red Tent (my New Year’s planned start for 2015) and 9 other books
I got to reconnect with my friend Marty and visit with other high school friends, plus help raise money for Adele’s retirement
Eric and I celebrated our 9^th wedding anniversary
I completed my first Whole 30
I made some new friends
I was able to take all of my vacation time and holiday time without having to check in to work at all
Eric and I went to visit my Dad’s grave at Christmas, which I’ve been meaning to do for three years
I reached out to my mom to try to begin healing that relationship
I had a huge attitude shift with work and on letting go of the stress thanks to my essential oils (Stress Away!)

Three Lessons I Learned from What Worked:

I don’t have to kill myself with working so much, I am better if I completely unplug and rest
Essential oils have changed my life and using them daily makes a difference
I do better focusing on one thing until it’s done rather than jumping around. Also, I do better doing my own thing rather than being dependent upon someone else’s participation.

What hasn’t been working?

Allowing myself to get burnt out
Running around with no purpose/no focus to my actions
I feel like I can’t do it perfect so I don’t do it at all
Allowing myself to be totally thrown off course by someone else’s stuff
Comforting myself with things that are bad for me (eating junk, overspending, mindless internet time-wasting i.e. the mindless scroll)
Health challenges
Dealing with feeling unbalanced/unsatisfied in some areas and then getting bogged down in the sadness of everything
Missing my family so bad it hurts
Feeling burdened with the weight of financial stress
Procrastinating and not moving forward, staying stuck
Completely wrecked over some work situations and office politics
Feeling like I never have enough time

Three Lessons I Learned from What Didn’t Work:

Don’t get sidetracked by distractions – distractions can be other people’s stuff, shiny & new, want to vs. have to, mindless scrolling
Take time for me – rest – mentally, physically, emotionally. I need time to recharge.
Concentrated focus is what allows me to be most productive and stay on target with my goals/purpose/projects

What Season Are You In?

I feel like I’ve been in winter – it’s been a really hard season that has stretched over the past several years. I think the beginning of last year was like a false spring, and then winter returned. At the end of the year I was able to do some reflecting and be still and really look at what’s important to me. I feel like now I am in spring, and reaching toward summer when I dig in and get my hands dirty to do the work.

So that’s my look back at 2015. And I feel like really taking a hard look at what I’ve learned from what worked and what didn’t work will be very helpful in starting to define my goals for 2016 and what I can build on. Check back soon for the next installment of this series and how I’m working towards defining my goals and working daily to achieve them.

And So We Begin

January 7, 2015 by Michelle Leave a Comment

Late in 2013 a friend directed me to this post on a favorite blog. We talked about wanting to make 2014 the year of living deliberately. I was inspired to be more discerning in where I focused my energy and choosing to plan over my usual flighty approach to things. Shortly after the new year my world tilted on its axis and while there were some good memories made in 2014, I carried with me some things that weighed heavily on my spirit during the year. My eyes were opened wide with wonder for the new experiences I embraced, which was a much-needed counterbalance to my heart’s ache over the empty spaces.

It was only in the last weeks of December that I was able to pause and be still and sit with it all. What I learned in those solitary moments bathed in white twinkle lights was that it is truly time to slow down, to take care of myself, and to be deliberate in my actions. So much of my life is internal. I get caught in my thoughts and my dreams and my plans, but to really and truly live deliberately I have to put actions behind those intangible thoughts. I have learned that I am resilient. That even when it seems as if everything that was a constant in my world is stripped away, and even when it feels like God has hit me over the head with a 2×4 to get my attention, I’m still standing.

So now the challenge is what to do with what I now know? What do I want to create in 2015 for my life?

I want to focus on good stuff. I know that sounds overly simplistic, but that’s what I want to do. I want to be happy. I want to be my authentic self and all that that brings with it. I want to be excited about life and not just going through the paces. I want to open myself up to all that life has to offer – even though that means being vulnerable. I don’t want to look back on 2015 and say “I wish I could have…” And the critical thing for me lies in the act of doing, not just thinking about and planning, but the actual doing.

So here is what I’m doing –

★ I want to nurture my relationships. The past few years have been so full of protecting myself from hurt and anger and all those messy emotions that are just part of life. I shut down and insulated myself against anything that might find the smallest chink in my armor and unravel me. I want to allow myself to love and be loved, to reach out and connect and be open to giving and receiving. I’ve already started working on a clean slate and letting the past go and have reached out to a couple of people in the hopes of starting a fresh conversation between us.

★ I want to read more this year, and read more involved books and a little less of the potato chip variety. I set the same goal of reading 25 books that I had last year on Goodreads. I’ve started reading The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. After seeing the mini series, it was a perfect choice to pull off the shelf.

★ I want to spend more time on my spirituality. One of the things I thought about last year was reading the Bible. This weekend I downloaded the She Reads Truth app and started the Bible in a Year plan. It’s feeding my soul.

★ I want to be more active. I’ve spent so much time thinking about and goal-setting about losing weight and getting healthy, etc. but it’s time to focus on the doing. The 2,015 miles in 2015 challenge on Instagram immediately struck a chord with me. What better way to encourage myself to get moving? One step at a time!

★ I want to learn new things. In the past I have allowed myself to become paralyzed by not doing new things for fear of failing. But if I never try, I never practice, I never take that first step – I will never grow. I’m learning to knit and I’m practicing because it’s not perfect and I’m still not entirely sure what I’m doing, but I’m learning. And I’m learning because it makes me happy.

I think 2015 is going to be challenging, but I hope also it will be rewarding. I like to think that January is an empty bowl, full of promise and possibility of what’s to come.

And so it begins…