Sunday, December 29, 2013

2 Goals... Ugh

I hate the word "goals" because it makes me feel guilty but I love the way I feel when I accomplish one. I worked a lot with my students on setting goals and we came up with some pretty good ways to tackle and achieve them without them feeling overwhelmed.

In October I read the book "The Happiness Project" which I really loved. The author does a lot of research and sets a goal each month of something she wants to work on that is believed to make one happier. I like this idea. It's not as daunting as looking at your year ahead and crossing your fingers you'll accomplish at least one of your resolutions.

I decided I wanted to do the same thing for 2014 except take it two months at a time. Months are seeming to fly by lately and I want a little more time to work on each of my goals. I mean, where did December go?!

I also wanted to put my goals into categories in hopes of becoming a more well rounded person (another goal).
I made this chart to help me. For best quality, download here.

When making goals with my students, we would write everything in the world they could think of on the board. I told them to pick ones that stuck out to them or to do one they've been thinking about. We then listed 3 ways they were going to accomplish their goal and a date they'd accomplish it by.

Here are some things I brainstormed for each category:

Organization/Cleaning- Gut out your closets, bring clothes you don't wear to Goodwill, make a weekly chore list, give everything in your house a "home" or a special place so you're not scrambling to find things, use lots of bins, deep clean your floors, fans and baseboards, etc, clean out your garage, organize your time (less time texting, playing phone games, facebooking, etc), file birth certificates, bills, etc.

Spiritual- Read church talks written by your church leaders, be kinder to yourself, make a better effort at sincere prayer, stop gossiping, practice faith, keep a spiritual journal, meditate, look for the good in life, listen to uplifting music and watch uplifting movies

Physical- Workout X amount of minutes X many days a week, eat lots of greens, drink at least 8 glasses of water per day, go to bed on time, cut out desserts/sodas/junk, eat correct portions

Financial- Make a budget and stick to it, make a bin for all your bills, receipts, etc, read Dave Ramsey's book (hehe there's my plug, Sean and I are big Ramsey believers!), cut extra costs, pay off any debt you may have, pay with cash, build up your savings account, get smart about where money goes

Selfless- Call up an old roommate, commit to talk to parents or siblings more, bring dinner to someone who just had a baby, was in the hospital, etc, reach out to someone who needs a friend, reach out to someone who has hurt your feelings, find a place in your community to volunteer

Your pick- could be an educational goal, career goal, family goal, a goal to use time more wisely, or maybe just a goal to survive.


I'm definitely the pot calling the kettle black here but I do know that writing down my goals, listing steps to get them done and keeping them in a place I can see them will increase the likelihood of me accomplishing them!

Just a friendly reminder! Only pick one or two goals and make sure you have clear steps to complete them (Ex: I will workout Monday-Friday. How? 1) I will get a gym membership 2) I will go to bed early and wakeup at 5am  3) I will lay out my workout clothes before I go to bed)

And a reminder that's actually for me: Goals are suppose to take some sacrifice. They're supposed to be a little inconvenient and hurt a little bit. It's because it's a lifestyle change but all to make you a better person.
Cheers to a new and improved year!

2 comments:

  1. Very Impressive, Danielle, and useful and helpful! I think you have accomplished one of those goals already and put a check mark by the selfless one 'cause I think you have helped me. I have about a million changes I need to make and this will help. I have already come to terms with the fact that I do not like to keep track of my goals, my chores, my to-do's via electronics. I get so much more done when I write them down and keep a little planner. Don't know why that is. but I know it is so. So my first goal is to set up my planner and begin... Thanks! Love you and appreciate the polite little push! :)

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    1. Thanks Grandmother! I need all the help I can get... yikes!

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