Okay well today is April 1st and we know, we know it’s April Fools. I’m a big person of making and keeping goals. You know for the ones that made those New Year’s goals, have you made smaller goals too? It’s easy to say in this year I want to do abc, but you need smaller goals to keep you aligned.
So I am no different. My goals are really not anything deep but I have them and they keep me focused on my bigger picture.
Blog: I have so many awesome blogs this month lined up and ready to go. I will be doing series to help some of the readers follow along. Series are the best because you can do so much more than one long drawn out blog. I have increased my readers overseas and I want to make those numbers even higher.
Weight: I have been losing steady weight. I bring in weekly snacks to work. Lately its been Wheat Thins, yogurt, craisins, and granola bars. These snacks help me avoid the cafeteria walk to get fries and pizza or the walk to the vending machine. It also helps curb my appetite as I am able to eat smaller meals during the day and my dinner is more sensible. It’s hard to lose weight if your hungry all the time and then by dinner you find yourself rolling into the drive thru of your favorite restaurant. I also have a walking partner so in lieu of my lunch I walk. With the small meals during the day as I do add some protein with the above snacks I can focus on fitness.
Personal Time: I have been going to my favorite spots weekly. This means a few hours without my kids or husband to veg out. I absolutely love my quiet moments. I used to feel guilty about them, but not anymore. I will also be increasing these moments to socialize more with friends especially since it will be getting nice out. I can’t stress that a happy mom if you are a mom makes a better mom. Even as a woman with no kids you need some me time. Life is hard don’t make it harder by overstressing about life, get out and enjoy it sometimes.
Water challenge: I blogged about this in January but me and my pink cup is still holding strong. I take the pink cup with me and we are friends. I named her Annie. Annie and I are okay. I have better ways in drinking it and at work I simply use my clock to time how much I am drinking per hour to get the cups I need during the day. So as it get warmer I will increase it even more. At work we bring in fruit and cut it up to diffuse it with our water as well. With it being a group effort its that much easier, as we walk pass each others’s office space we check the water level and keep each other accountable.
Financial Goals: Now that I am at the job I love making a few more coins I am focused in saving and planning the increase of money for things that I want and foregoing a few things I don’t need to get there. So I will definitely keep you posted on that. My husband and I have realigned our bills to pay them easier and trust me it has helped in large ways. It helps to have my husband and I on the same financial team.
Fashion Goals: Okay so this was a hard one for me in previous months. I have made sure that when I step out the door I represent what I want to put out in the world. May seem like a no brainer to some but as a person you can become lax if you aren’t on top of making sure you stay balanced. I will be making more purchases for myself come this summer. I usually focus all of my attention on my kids and make due with what I have. I try to stay away from trendier pieces but I really like a few of the styles and will embrace them as I desire. I also keep a manicure. Even if I have zero time or aka I didn’t make time to go to the nail salon I use my Essie nail color with the gel setter. If you have tried some of the gel with no light systems you may have had a bad time with other products. This one allows me to get a real gel looking manicure for way cheaper and it actually lasts like it says. I highly recommended by me.
Spiritual Goals: I am doing the Joyce Meyer 3030 which is for 30 days focusing on an area of my life I want to improve. I spend 30 minutes a day for 30 days reading and studying. It has been helping me to realign myself. I really enjoy taking these moments to get in my journal, write out my thoughts, and focus without distraction. Challenges are always highly encouraged by me. So I will blog about the area that I am focusing on and let you know what I got out of it.
Relationship Goals: I’m learning to pick my battles. I am noticing that when I don’t like something or understand something that my husband has said to get quiet and gather my thoughts first. I am working on listening more. Sometimes I hear but don’t truly listen. I don’t have to like his view point but I can listen and decide where do I fit in what he is trying to do. This isn’t always the easiest of goals for me. I’m so driven at times that listening and taking a step back without an answer or resolution has been the most difficult for me but I’m getting there.
Parenting: I am working on increasing patience daily. Let me say parenthood doesn’t come with a manual and therefore you learn as you go. I am always willing to take advice from people. So with that I have gathered a much broader perspective on what I am doing and what I can do to improve. I have found that praying for my children daily. I also try to make time to sit with them and have more conversations. Often time I’m so busy trying to get it done, that I have found I need to listen to them. My kids are sharing some of the most interesting stories lately. I really enjoy their stories and personalities. We are also getting my son registered for preschool. His birthday is after the September 1st cut off in Philadelphia. He will be 5 so technically he should be in kindergarten. He can do his 1st grade sister’s homework as we spend time getting him prepared. We are going to look into some options and part of that is to go to a new preschool where he can be challenged.
My goals may not even mirror your goals but I know you have some or at least you should. Whatever your goals are make some smaller ones to help you along the way to your bigger picture.
What are you working on? Write your vision and make it plain. You can’t achieve it if you don’t know it and can’t see it. Be intentional about becoming better. We all are flawed people but you have to be more willing to work on your flaws everyday. If you fail along the way, be intentional in not letting it stop you. It’s better to fail trying than to not try and fail.
