The Secret to Living a Life that Matters
This week I’m doing something that I’ve never done before in my life. I’m prepping for writing my goals for 2017!! Yes! I am so excited! It excites me because I know that I get to anticipate great things for the year and that I’m going to do so before the new year even starts. In my career this was a natural part of the process, but in my personal life I sort of seemed to take my life more month by month or week by week or even day by day at times. Sharing with you today is a huge win for me! It’s the fruit that I’m starting to see flourish in my life—fruit to be more purposeful in living a life that matters.
Reviewing My Mind – A Look Back
Even a year ago, I remember writing about making goals for the year in February. Here’s a throwback for this thursday:
It’s a new year and everyone seems to start out with good intentions mostly in the form of resolutions. I actually think that the new year is my favorite time of year because I feel like I get a fresh start. I don’t think I ever realized until this year how this is so embedded into the fibers of my soul. So many times I feel defeated or like a failure because I often start things and never finish them or finish them well. My husband and I have talked about this at length and I’ve learned that a good way to sum this up is that I struggle with self discipline. In fact both my husband and I struggle with it.
This year I decided I wanted to really take the time to think about this self discipline thing. As November rolled around I started thinking about how I wanted my “fresh start” for the year to look. What came next was the usual flood of thoughts surrounding all that my life encompasses. At the center of it all was my main goal—how am I creating a haven of rest?
How Am I Creating A Haven of Rest?
At first I looked at my relationship with God—what did I want it to look like? How did I feel like it was going? What did God think? Secondly, I started to look at my relationship with my husband. How was that going? How did I feel? How did he feel? What about my son? Was he thriving?
What kept coming back again and again was my struggle with self-discipline. So I began asking God, why do I struggle with this and how do I fix it? As I prayed and sought the Lord I really felt like He began to whisper to my heart one word—routines. I’m very familiar with routines and have followed them all of my life. The key to my successful routine following? They’ve always been put in place by others or imposed on me by the schedule of things I’m involved in. I realized that any time routine was up to me that the very thought of doing the same thing over and over again the same way has always been very unnatural. Digging deeper I began to realize that ideologically routine for me was the epitome of boring. Why limit creativity or adventure? In reality the lack of routine and consistency in my life has been costing me a fortune—in the currency of relationships and physical dollars.
February is the NEW January!
Okay that’s great news so now what? I started to set goals of who I wanted to become this year—with routines. For me, that has taken a three whole months. Chalk it up to life with a toddler or I’d be okay with really soaking it all in and trying to do this self-discipline thing well.
February is the new January—the beginning of my new year of becoming me and growing in my journey to create a haven of rest for my family—to focus on what matters most. I’ve tried to limit the number of my goals but none-the-less they are what I want to be most intentional with for the next year.
-
-
- Relationship with God: Commit to meditating, memorizing, and praying through one book of the Bible.
- Myself: Take better care of myself for total health.
- Marriage: Establish a date night and plan at least one overnight with Joel.
- Motherhood: Read the bible to my son daily
- My Journey with Shaklee: launch a Facebook page and create at least three posts per month.
-
The Secret to Living a Life that Matters
It gives me great joy reading over what I wrote back then, and where I sit today. What I can clearly see as I review what I wrote is that I had some good goals and they were really what matters most to me. I was intentional—purposeful in what goals I set. Honestly, I wasn’t successful with each goal, but by setting goals I did more of what I wanted to do—the things that matter most to me and my family. What I also learned in the process, is to love progress not perfection. I also realized that I really need a good set of resources to help me set goals well. How? I need tools that help me connect to the deepest longings of my heart and that really hold me accountable so that I will succeed. Accountability, I realized, is critical! Personal accountability and for others to hold me accountable. In the past I used the Franklin Covey Planner, the Daytimer, and a couple other “hand–made” options, but the best part about this journey? I found something that totally fits me and is exactly what I was looking for!!
PowerSheets
It is definitely God’s gracious gift to me in leading me to discover, PowerSheets—The Intentional Goal Planner. I really love them because they are vibrant and I feel like they were made just for me—a daughter of the King, a wife, a mom. These are just the tools I’ve been searching for—really—longing for, for quite some time. They inspire me with their message of hope and life, but most of all, the products are created the way that my mind works. I got a lot of hats that I juggle and PowerSheets is going to help me to focus on what matters most so I can live a life that matters.
It Feels Like Home to Me
Before finding PowerSheets, I was so discouraged. I searched for something to help keep me on track, help me set goals, and encourage me. Everything I found was sooooo boring and drab. No offense, but they were created by men. Men, I love them, but they just don’t think or feel the same way I do as a woman. I just couldn’t find anything that fit me. Most other products were just that, products. PowerSheets have helped me feel equipped and energized as I create a future that is meaningful and it feels like home to me.
A Special Bonus Just for You
I’m so incredibly grateful for these tools. My prayer is that women, like you that I get the awesome privilege of encouraging, would be strengthened in your resolve to live a life that matters. Because I love PowerSheets and I have been so blessed by the Cultivate What Matters team, I have been given the privilege of being an affiliate. What does that mean? It means that I get to share them with you too! Have I peaked your interest? Check out the PowerSheets and other life–giving resources in The Library—Cultivate What Matters!
2017—Let’s do this!!
(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)
