Welcome back to my blog everyone, and happy autumn season here in the northern hemisphere. As baseball season is transitioning from its regular season into playoffs; I thought this was the perfect time to highlight how great of a sport it is! And of course, {read more}
Knowing your purpose is good for your health Little did I know, that knowing your purpose is important and good for your health! Both mentally and physically. Upon deeper reflection, this makes total sense. After all, an individual who wakes up and goes about their {read more}
It’s quiz time again! Today’s quiz turned out to be a welcome surprise. Something that started out as a silly quiz just for fun, becomes the realization of a lifetime!
This quiz was just TEN questions to determine what you should be when you grow up. Or, in my case, what I apparently need to pivot to! If you’d like to take the quiz it is here: https://brainfall.com/quizzes/aspirations-quiz-what-should-i-be-when-i-grow-up/
No matter your age or status in life, I’d love for you to take it and see what you get!
Today’s post is a bit of an intense exercise. You may want a pen and paper to jot down your thoughts. And maybe some time to sit with the questions and come up with some answers. Some of you may even want to spread this {read more}
Welcome everyone! As we are about to end the month of September 2021, it comes with the realization that this year has flow by. I’m wondering what has been your experience?
Has this been a celebration type year? I know a few people who were able to have their weddings after a delay because of the pandemic! Or, perhaps you’ve made some major changes? Similar to those who created history during the ‘great resignation’? And, on the other hand, I’m sure there are those of us who experienced loss this year. Either in our communities, or perhaps in our own families.
One of the ways I’ve learned over the years to cope, with memories or with anxiety over the future is to plan. Having always been a driven person, wanting to experience more, achieve more and learn more; planning has been an important part of my life as far back as I can remember. For me, it has allowed me to be more mindful in each moment. Prepared going into a situation, and able to compartmentalize any past I’d like to forget.
Through mindfulness during planning, I also try and sit with any emotions that pop-up. You know, those pesky anxieties or blah feelings when you put something you DON’T want to do on the calendar?! I find it to be important to recognize those emotions and tamper them down, or put them in check. This helps when I finally get to the task or appointment I’m not looking forward to, to just remember it will be over soon. Or to reprioritize and put something better in its place.
Lastly, in relationship building, I find planning to be extremely important. To be able to look ahead, sometimes farther than others and be intentional about the time spent with friends makes a huge difference. It helps to know your schedule and a birds-eye view of the calendar to know when and how much energy you might have to pour into fellowship.
After all, life is about more than just achievement. It’s really about building connections. With all that in mind, let’s plan October together!
Starting with the literal calendar, I take a look at the month, which dates land on weekends and any special occasions (such as Halloween). I pencil in all appointments I know about and take note of any which need still be put on the calendar. Of course, if you are the planner for your family unit, be sure to include all of their appointments and moments in there too!
Once you have this completed, you’ll have a high-level view of the month!
After putting any major milestones, appointments or special occasions on the calendar, it is time to mark down any travel. If you are like me, and have a job where travel isn’t always planned in advance OR you are having to wait for additional restrictions to be lifted; instead be sure to mark down any place you think you might need to go.
Also, at this time, mark down any personal travel. The reason I do this, is because it typically requires more focus and attention. Generally, more thought when you are going out of town – either to be sure you pack appropriately for different weather, or to prepare for a specific meeting. The energy need required to travel is higher in my opinion than simply going out to dinner.
At this point, I take a step back and determine how full things look, as well as if timing could be improved. For example, sometimes I’ll have two appointments in the same day, and perhaps the first one is going to be draining. I’ll go ahead and try and move the second one just so I can be sure my focus is in the right area. Remember my favorite post about our pilot lights?
Over the years, I’ve met people who are uncomfortable doing this, however I have found it to be key to making things smoother and feeling better about the use of my time! Always keep in mind, that this is literally your life. The time you spend doing things, and the areas which you give your attention to, are all up to you!
At this point, I am sure to do weekly goal setting and make up my habit tracker for the month. Sometimes, these are simple like “walk 1 mile a day”. Or “less screen time.” Other times, it is more serious especially when it comes to health, nutrition and mindfulness. I find having a habit tracker helps me immensely, even if I take a day off, it motivates me to get back on track!
If you’ve been reading this blog from the beginning, you already know my passion for intention setting and being purposeful. At this point in your planning process, you should have your month mostly organized! Therefore, it is time to name intentions for each week and add the purpose behind each day. This helps so much whenever I get side-tracked or lose my focus. I can go back to my calendar and clearly see what I intended for in the week, and what the main purpose of the day’s activities were.
If you decide to follow this method, or have anything you’d change or add, I’d love to hear from you! Connect in the comments below 🙂
You asked for it! So here it is. Below is a typical ‘day in the life’ of me 🙂 Most days I try and mix things up, but the activities contained in my day are usually the same. The theme of the pandemic and being {read more}
Welcome back fam! I’m going to get straight to the point: for the longest time I forced myself to be someone I wasn’t. Instead of embracing the delicate, soft parts of myself; I showed the world only my thorns. Randomly finding this little quiz on {read more}
When doing a life evaluation, it can feel so BIG. Interestingly, I tend to want to change my entire life every March or April. It is such an odd thing I’ve recognized about myself. Basically I wake up at the end of winter, when the sun starts shining longer and all of a sudden feel this enormous pressure to start achieving HUGE things again. As the Spring seasons progresses and turns into summer, I thankfully calm down a bit. Or at the very least realign my specific goals and put things in perspective.
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I tell you this because during this high pressure time, I start wondering if I should have taken a completely different path in life. My mind jumps from, should I have gone to law school? Should I quit my day job, start going back to school and pursue my big dream (which I’m not going to mention here ;))? All sorts of things go through my head! One year in particular, I started down the path of getting a motorcycle license.
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All things considered, it makes me happy to know there is still a spark in me! In addition, I love my fearless curiosity and broad list of topics which comes up on my radar. Through these odd moments, I do a ton of research on what it would take to pursue all of these dreams, which I hope one day will help my children have a leg up!
All jokes aside, this brings us to today’s topic: Where are you going in life, and what do you really want? These two questions are important to ask – not too often, but at least once or twice a year.
When you look at the above map, what comes to mind when you see the final destination, designated by the star? Do you feel like you are even close to that point in life? Or in general with your specific current goal? As we have just gone through graduation season, many people are moving from a huge accomplishment to facing another big hurdle. Whether it be from high school to college, or potentially from undergrad to a first job. Or maybe even from one job to a bigger job with a promotion and people responsibilities. No matter where you are in life, if the heart is still ticking, your “you are here” mark hasn’t caught up to your next destination!
Can you think of all the different goals, and big achievements you’d like to reach in this lifetime? Can you think of any which you’ve been avoiding by distracting yourself? Either way, this post is meant as a prompt to get you back on track! Or at the very least, allow you to re-recognize your destination in this season of your life.
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So let’s get right to the point. What do you want out of life, really? Emphasis on the word: really. When you take a moment to place your hands over your heart, close your eyes and picture yourself advanced in years. What do you think the 80 year old version of yourself will be looking back on over your life? What are some of the proud moments you can’t wait to achieve? What are some of the things your role models have done which, you still want to accomplish?
When you do this exercise, be sure to make a heart and head connection. Meaning, don’t just think about how much money you think you’ll need to retire, but instead think about the more fulfilling things in life. The sweet moments, the awe-inspiring scenery. The food you’d still like to eat and the conversations you’d still like to have. Think of the characteristics you’d like to be known for. Lastly, only think on the things that truly matter to you, and you only.
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Sometimes, when doing this exercise it can be helpful to remember the things you’ve already done and write them down. This can help to gain a general theme or focus. Otherwise I tend to group things in some main categories:
Once you have grouped your destinations for each category, it is time to determine where you are on your path. With your destination in mind, try to figure out how far away or close you are from your destination. For those who are more visual, it could be helpful to actually draw out a path like the above picture or something similar.
Be as honest with yourself as possible, because the next part of the process is to map out the steps needed to get to your final destination.
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What sets your soul on fire? Do you remember the last time you had an inner knowing that you CAN and WILL achieve your dreams? Today’s blog post discusses the importance of passion and tenacity when meeting your goals.
