I am starting this week in blogging off with a confession. I hate writing this post but I need to so that I can get back on track. Back in August I hosted the #CJBL covering the Law of Attraction. Armed with knowledge after the brunch I decided to use the Law of Attraction to have more Joy in 4 areas of my life. With my 35th year of life approaching I also came up with 35 goals for my 35th year. Well fast forward a few months and I have lost focus. Things got really stressful for me towards the end of 2014 and I just stopped working on my goals. I confess I gave up on my goals.
OK, not really. I didn’t actually give up on the goals that would have required me actually thinking about them and deciding to quit. I didn’t think about them at all! Now its a new year and I am ready to refocus and restart.
Here are my Law of Attraction goals, where I left off, and what the plan is now.
1. Lose weight. My specific goal was to lose 80 pounds and wear a size 14. Since i set the goal I have gained about 20 lbs. So the new goal is to lose 100 lbs. My new timeline is as follows:
10 lbs by my birthday (March)
25 lbs by June
40 lbs by September
60 lbs by January 2016
75 lbs by my 36th birthday
100 lbs by September 2016.100 lbs feels daunting but this is a conservative timeline of losing about 1 lb per week.
I will keep the action plan I initially developed for losing weight. Eat 3 servings of vegetables and 1 fruit on work days and 2 vegetables and 1 fruit on non work days. Work my way up to 1 gallon of water per day, with help of the water app. Limit my carbs. Work out at least 3 days a week. Be in bed before midnight on work nights and get at least 8 hours of sleep a night on non-work nights.
2. Go from single to in a happy healthy committed relationship with someone who is just as excited about me as I am about him. I am not sure about the timeline of this goal anymore. I still definitely want to get in a committed relationship however with my 35th birthday rapidly approaching I am actively looking into becoming a mom soon, even without the relationship. In the mean time I do plan to keep putting myself out there and meeting new people to expand my social circles. I will keep dating. I’ve been on 3 dates in the last 4 months and have another planned. That’s less than a 3rd of the way to my 15 dates in 6 months goal. I’ll keep working on it for now. I did get clear about what I wanted in a man. I’ll tweak it as needed as I have more life experiences.
3. Have more fun. This goal can be quite abstract so I specified it to do at least one fun activity every week. With all of the stress I’d been under I should have made this goal top priority but I didn’t. I will refocus on the action plan I’d previously established action plan of having something fun planned on the calendar by the Wednesday every week.
4. Write 1st Draft of Chasing Joy Book. This goal includes writing the introduction, all paragraphs, title, and layout. I’m disappointed in my lack of progress with this goal. I’m changing the action plan to write for only 5 minutes each day. I know i have 5 minutes to spare.
All of this goals still fit the SMART goal criteria, Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time Sensitive.
Regarding my 35 for 35 list, it has also been neglected. This is a list of things I’d like to do either before I turn 35 or during my 35th year. Since my last update not much has been accomplished
1-9. Numbers 1 through 9 are people. Actually it is a short list of people I’d like to have lunch or dinner with. They are friends I don’t see often and people I’d like to get to know better. A few are bloggers friends. (Only met up with 1 of them)
10. Lose 24 lb. by my birthday. New goal lose 10.
11 & 12 are both home repairs. I need to fix my sidewalk and I’d like a ceiling fan put in my bedroom. I’ve wanted/needed to do both of these repairs for a while. Home repair makes me feel stressed.
13. Get a boyfriend. Changing this to become a mom. I’d be happy with both though 🙂
14. Pay off a personal loan by my birthday.
16. A monthly Spa Treatment (facial, massage, body treatment)
17. Get up to drinking a gallon of water a day.
18. Buy myself a nice piece of jewelry
19. Get myself fresh flowers every week
20.Go to a Sixers Game
21. Go to an Opera
22. Plan Chasing Joy Charity Event
23. Move my blog to word press
24. Go to the Holiday light show and events in Center City
25. Drive through a neighborhood that does the Christmas Light Display
26. Get a new computer
27. Visit a new church.
28.Go to the aquarium
29. Visit the DC monuments & attractions.
30. Write 1st draft of Chasing Joy Book. See SMART Goals
31. Plan a fun birthday party.
32. Go to the zoo.
33. Go to a Hockey game
34. Find a Volunteer opportunity that I like.
35. See the Lion King
Out of 35, three are complete.
Numbers 1 to 9. I met up with 1 friend.
Number 19. I’ve been getting fresh flowers each week for a few weeks now and love it. I share pictures of them on Instagram each week.
Number 27. I visited a new church. I liked it and am still attending. My mom has been coming too.
So there you have it. My confession that I have not focused on my goals at all and my plan for restarting and refocusing. I do feel much better with a new plan. How can we find Joy if we don’t focus on the things that give it to us? How do you stay focused on your goals through life’s hard times?
What is most important about your goals is that you took a look at where you are, where you want to be and are going to develop plans to get where you want to be. We must be honest with ourselves, just as you were here if we are going to improve, develop and grown. I look forward to hearing from you a few months from now when you can cross some more things off that list.
I can so relate. I've started and stopped this process so much lately that my head hurts.