NEW YEAR NEW GOALS
I get it, I get it… It’s February 4th… a little late to be posting a blog about new year resolutions. It may or may not be true that I was just trying to keep my head above water with a toddler and two week old on January 1st this year and a blog post was the furthest thing from my mind, BUT I actually like this better! I’m not sure about you, but I tend to get a little resolution crazy the first week of January, try to do/change WAY too much, and then end up discouraged by the end of the month at how much I already gave up on.
THIS YEAR IS DIFFERENT.
I gave myself a six week grace period after having Elliott so I knew I wasn’t going to try to start anything new until February this time around. The more I was writing out my own goals this last week the more I was thinking about YOU. Maybe you (like me) were a little over ambitious with your goals in January and are already feeling down on yourself for getting behind. Maybe this new year was such a crazy time for you (again, like me) that you never got around to sitting down and thinking through your goals. Well I’m here to tell you, IT’S NOT TOO LATE.
We have the opportunity to stop and dream whenever we want to so let’s do that NOW. Find some time today where you can get alone with pen and paper and start dreaming about what you want to achieve this year. Get crazy. Get ambitious. Get your prayers on. Don’t let any fears stand in your way!
I used my favorite planner from Horacio Printing (see here!) to help me plan out my goals. (We may already be a month in to 2019, but it’s not too late to get this planner! They are currently on sale AND you can get an additional 20% off with code: IAMLOVED right now!) This planner helps you dream in every area and helps break it down for you in these categories:
SPIRITUALLY - PHYSICALLY - RELATIONALLY - PROFESSIONALLY - FINANCIALLY - PERSONALLY
I wrote out about 3-4 goals for each category. They all ranged from realistic goals to at least one goal that would be difficult to keep, but something to challenge myself on! My challenge for YOU would be to do something similar! Take these categories (or cut a few out if they don’t go with your current season of life) and write out at least three goals for each one. Make two goals something you really want to see happen and you KNOW you can do if you put in the effort. Then… if you’re feeling crazy… write down one goal that you REALLY want to make happen, but seems just a tad out of reach. You may not achieve it this month or even this year, but keep your eyes on it and you CAN make it happen!
I’ll share some of my personal goals for you to help you brainstorm some of your own! Some may seem silly to you because we may be in totally different stages of life. Some may seem unobtainable for you because again, we are in different stages of life! The whole purpose of this is to start dreaming about what you want to see in YOUR life! Don’t let comparison steal your joy before you even get started! Also, feel free to scroll through my goals if you already have your own and don’t need new ideas! I tend to ramble. :)
A peek at my 2019 “New Year” Resolutions
Spiritually - Wake up one hour before the kiddos for my quiet time. This may seem easily doable… especially if you know my great sleepers. BUT what is easy for you, may not (is NOT) easy for me. I love sleep. I love sleeping in. I tend to think 9 hours is what is needed for anyone to function properly. I thought as I got older this would change and I would become a “real grown up” by getting up early, BUT that’s just not me! However, on the mornings I DO have some time to myself in prayer and in the Word before the baby feet hit the floor, I am a new woman! I am a better wife and better mom. I am better to myself! I am better at living out the Gospel! So 2019 is the year the voices on the baby monitor will NOT be my alarm because I will already be up with the Word (and coffee ;)) in me ready to conquer the day!
Physically - Can’t believe I’m putting this out there… on the internet… AGAIN… but I want to run another half marathon this year. I ran one in April last year after making it a resolution and I really think I truly only kept it because I had shared it with all of you in my 2018 resolutions. Now I did JUST have a baby so I’m not trying to get there anytime soon (I ran a mile this weekend and thought my insides were going to fall out. TMI?). BUT I do want to get there before the year is up! We spend our Thanksgiving in Atlanta every year with family so it is my goal to run the Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon in Atlanta. That is 9 months away and 9 months have never seemed so short when thinking about trying to get in that kind of shape. But it’s my goal and I’m sticking to it!
Relationally - Okay, this one is embarrassing. One of my 2019 goals is to respond to messages. Wait, what? Text, instagram, facebook, you name it. I am HORRIBLE. If you’re one of the people that has ever sent me a message, you can “amen” this! (And I’m sorry!) This is truly such a weak spot for me. Miles will be messing with my phone and show me messages I never responded to and then gives me a lecture to get with it! I’m working on it! I promise! I promise it’s not you, it’s totally me. 1. I somehow miss the message entirely. Hi, I’m keeping two tiny humans alive, it happens. OR 2. I see it, tell myself to respond later when I have the opportunity (because again, keeping the tiny humans alive), and then it completely slips my mind. I have missed out on so much by not getting back to people so this is definitely a goal for me. One I have already failed at miserably the last month so I’m glad I’m not starting this goal until riiiiiiight NOW.
Professionally - So let’s be honest, I’m a full time mom/occasional blogger. But I felt a true calling from the Lord about this blog since day 1 so I did write out a few goals in this area to help me stay on track. One of those goals is to make myself have a designated time to work on the blog once a week. And if I’m honest, I still haven’t found the best time for that yet. But I’m working on it and hope to find a good, CONSISTENT time soon! Someone hold me accountable and check in!
Financially - Okay this one may sound silly too, but one of my goals for this area is “no boredom spending”. I don’t care what season you’re in, if you have a few free hours there is just about nothing that a sweet trip down the aisles of Target can’t fix. I have found (especially in these cold months) that I will take the girls out to the store just to get out of the house for a little bit. Of course there is always something we “need”, but there are a million other things we don’t need. I’m not saying it’s wrong to treat yourself here or there (if your budget allows), but I do not want to get in a trend of just spending to spend because we have nothing else to do. And I am excited about all I could save by doing this for something I REALLY want over a bunch of small things I just saw in the moment. I’m pretty sure my husband is excited about this goal too. :)
Personally - This one I am excited about. I have a few goals about self care in this area, but I also have something I started the last two months and I LOVED it. I am going to “fast” from social media the last three days of every month this year. I am going to use this time to pray intentionally about something specific so that every time I think to mindlessly scroll, I pray instead! I started this in December because Anniston was going on FIVE weeks of a nasty cold and I was about to lose my mind. I decided to get off social media for a few days and use that time to pray for her (and reset myself!) Every time I went to grab my phone out of habit I prayed for Anniston’s health instead. I truly believe at hour 48 of this fast the Lord revealed to me that Anniston has an allergy to Christmas trees. I know that sounds crazy, but Miles and I got rid of the tree that night and in two days Anniston was completely better. We did some research about the allergy and when her symptoms started and they were spot on. Now we may have figured this out on our own eventually, but I am SO glad I took that time to pray intentionally for my daughter and be open to hear what the Lord had to show me. Now you may ask, why social media? 1. Why not? 2. I have been pregnant or breastfeeding for 2 years and 10 months now so fasting from food hasn’t been an option for me. 3. I love social media and believe it can be used for so much good. I also think we can use it to numb ourselves and become a little too dependent on it. Those three days off of it the last two months have felt like a breath of fresh air AND have caused me to not get on it as much once I get it back. Again, these are my goals, but this one I highly recommend for anyone!
Okay… this was a long one! But now for the motivation! We have our goals, but how do we keep them? Well you can check my post last year here to see how I split my goals into small chunks. This way you can monitor them better and they definitely seem more obtainable! But I also believe in a reward system. Or I just like rewarding myself, but I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this. :)
No boredom spending for the entire month of February? Splurge on those shoes you’ve been eyeing!
Stuck to your fitness schedule this month? Get a new workout outfit!
Completed your bible study? Get your nails done with someone you can talk about it with!
I love the endorphins that come with checking something off my list. I also love claiming what my reward will be ahead of time so I don’t have to explain the shopping bags to my husband once I complete it. ;) He will just be proud! Haha
Right after I press “publish” on this post I am going to sit down and pray for YOUR year. I am going to pray you make time for your relationship with Jesus, time for yourself, and time for others. I am going to pray you don’t find yourself stuck in the comparison trap, but you set goals that are best for YOU. I am going to pray that the best really is yet to come and we’re just scratching the surface!
“Happy New Year” friends! May your February and 2019 be the best yet!