Two years ago I radically changed the way that I viewed my life. That may sound a bit extreme, but hear me out.
Before New Year’s Day 2013, I would make the occasional “resolution” that was promptly forgotten by the end of the week–get up earlier, exercise more, think before I speak, etc. Now, these are all good things. The problem was not the resolutions themselves, but the lack of follow through. I didn’t make a plan.
My First Foray into Goal-Setting
In 2013, after some inspiration from Crystal at MoneySavingMom, I decided to change my resolutions into goals. Goals. Even the word has weight as it implies an action plan. I examined my priorities in life. For me these are:
- Faith
- Family
- Personal Growth
- Career
I then made goals for each of these priorities. I chose reasonable, manageable goals that could be broken down into bite-sized pieces. These bite-sized pieces became my weekly goals, the steps I was taking toward reaching my big goals. In short, I had a plan.
I was a bit nervous about my first attempt at major goal-setting. What if I failed? What if my husband thought I was crazy? Was I just being too Type A? Was I setting myself up for disappointment?
I began the year with some excitement and trepidation. And it was one of the best experiences I have had. I went through the year with a sense of purpose. I knew where I was going and how I was going to get there. Did I reach all of my goals? Nope. But at the end of 2013, I was a heck of a lot closer to where I wanted to be than when I started.
The Year Goal-Setting Changed Everything
Fast-forward to 2014. Late December I sat down to make my goals for 2015, just like I had for the past three years. I wrote a few similar to ones I had in years past: have one date night each month, go on a family outing each month, and watch 12 movies from the AFI Top 100.
And then, I began to dream bigger. Earlier that month I had heard of a blogger who read 100 books each year, and I thought, “Why not?” So I wrote down: Read 100 Books. Wow. Just writing that crazy big goal began to give me courage. If I could read 100 books in a year, what else could I do?
Quickly, so I wouldn’t lose my courage, I wrote: Publish one piece of writing. I sat back, almost shocked at what I had done. Could I really write something worth publishing?
Later that evening I shared my goals with my husband, and I was actually embarrassed to read that goal aloud. What if he laughed? (He didn’t.) What if he thought that was too big of a goal? (He didn’t.) Instead, he said, “I always thought you could publish something.” His quiet confidence inspired me.
So, I wrote a guest post for my favorite blog, Money Saving Mom. And….it was rejected. I tried again. This time I wrote a post for another favorite blog, Living Well Spending Less. Also rejected. This was going to be harder than I thought.
I tried again and wrote a new article for Money Saving Mom. To my surprise, it was accepted! I had my first guest post published in early March 2015 (you can read it here). I had done it! I reached my goal! I had also been bitten by the blogging bug.
So, I purchased Ruth Soukup’s How to Blog for Profit Without Losing Your Soul and Abby Lawson’s Building a Framework: How I Turned My Hobby Blog Into a Six-Figure Income. And, The Orthodox Mama launched at the end of March 2015.
Now, not only had I reached my writing goal, but I was also writing for an audience of thousands on a daily basis! All within three months of that simple act of writing a goal onto a piece of paper.
I am now a firm believer in the power of goal-setting. And, each year my goals are getting bigger. Among my Goals for 2016? Publish a book. Yikes. Talk about huge!
Goal-setting has given me renewed purpose, a vision for my life, and the courage to dream big.
Now It’s Your Turn!
If you would like to try your hand at goal-setting and to learn from the best, I’ve got some truly exciting news for you. Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom has a new course available called Make Over Your Year.
Make Over Your Year is a 4 Week Goal-Setting Course that includes:
-one 60 minute video per week led by Crystal and her husband Jessie, who will walk you through the steps toward creating and reaching your goals
-a comprehensive downloadable workbook with action steps and plans
-printable worksheets to walk you step-by-step through the goal-setting process
-4 weeks worth of encouraging e-mails with additional resources
For this weekend only (March 18-21, 2016), the course will be available for $25. After that time period, the cost will go up to $29.
I have taken other courses with Crystal and have been impressed by her teaching skills, her ability to break complex tasks down into simple steps, and her friendly, down-to-earth manner. I am really excited about taking this course!
If you’d like to learn more about Make Over Your Mornings click HERE. And then, if you decide to take the course, I’d love to hear about your experience. What goals will you set? What dreams will you dare to voice?
Who knows, one day you may end up writing an article for thousands of readers telling them how goal-setting changed your life.
Have you set goals for yourself? What was your experience like?
(This post contains affiliate links. If you click through and purchase a product, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting The Orthodox Mama!)
