Hello and Happy New Year, friends! I am so excited to be back on here today following the holiday season and sharing with you all my 2018 Goal Setting process! As I do every year, I’ve spent a lot of time in the past few weeks reflecting over the past year and dreaming / praying / preparing my heart for what the coming days, weeks, and months will hold. And after filling up pages upon pages in my powersheets and journal, I’m now finally ready to speak these things out loud and start going after it all!
So let’s dive in, shall we?
My Word of the Year
Over the past year, as I focused on “everyday abundance” and really understanding what Jesus meant when He said He came to give us “full, abundant life in Him (John 10:10),” I noticed something in my pursuit: my spark (my inner fire and passion) for things had dimmed out a bit. I don’t believe it happened as a result of anything in particular; I think it had been happening slowly over a long period of time as life ebbed and flowed. Although I’ve been having fun, doing awesome things, continuing to work toward and accomplish good goals over the past couple of years, a lot of my natural excitement for things has waned. My energy and zest for life has been, to but it bluntly, deflated. I hate to sound dramatic, but as challenges have presented themselves or as changes have occurred on various levels, I’ve felt like each has taken a little piece of me, to the point where my “bank of overall joy and happiness and contentment” felt empty .
Upon making this realization, it became clear to me that this is NOT how I was built or made to live my days. We are not made to merely survive here on Earth, but to THRIVE. So, as I was reading some books and contemplating what it would like to get my “spark” back, it was evident to me that I was going to have to FIGHT for it. Life notoriously throws curveballs and it is far from perfect, even on the best days. If I’m going to take my stand against feelings of deflatedness and seek to live the way God calls me to live, I’m going to have to be FIERCE (brave, passionate, strong, fervent, wild, relentless) about it. And so that’s where I landed for the year: 2018 is my year of FIERCE.
My Verse of the Year
Although the powersheets process doesn’t specifically include choosing a particular verse or passage of scripture for the year, I definitely felt convicted that if I was going to be FIERCE about getting my joy back and going after the things that matter most to me, I need to pay particular attention to the first and greatest commandment:
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30, AMP)
It is from a deep love (and knowledge) of God that everything else flows the way that it is supposed to. And I’ve said on here before, I know that I can’t do my life right or well without Him. So if I’m going to take back any ground that’s been stolen from me by life’s challenges or the Enemy’s schemes and go into new territory, He needs to be in first place over my heart and life.
My Song of the Year
Just as much as I need to keep “loving God” at the top of my list, I also very much need to be in a position of accepting and receiving His love of me. I’m not so good at that sometimes. I tell people I’m a “recovering perfectionist” and it’s true. Although I’ve come a LONG way, I still sometimes struggle with striving and doing it all and doing it all perfectly, so I am in constant need of His reminder that He loves me just as I am, right where I am. He doesn’t wait until I’m put back together to start loving me; He loves me in my brokenness, failures, messes, shortcomings, etc. I also need this reminder because comparison is something that very much likes to rear its ugly head in my life. And I have to remember that God is writing a unique love story in my life and it’s not like anyone else’s, nor is it for anyone else. So I’m turning up the volume on Reckless Love, listening to it on repeat, and letting God speak His love over me. (I’m also making a concerted effort to stay off social media for longer periods of time. I’m finding this has really helped me to focus on my life and what’s important for me, and not be looking to the right or left at what others are doing.)
With those things defined and guiding me down the FIERCE path, here’s how I’m specifically going to cultivate FIERCE in 2018:
Things I’m saying “YES” to:
- God’s Word, His love, grace, goodness and truth.
- Abundant, intimate, and thriving marriage.
- Being fierce. Going after what matters with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Fighting for less hustle, stillness, and peace.
- Standing my ground. Speaking my truth. Letting myself feel my feelings.
- Great, uplifting, inspiring, and mutually supportive friendships / relationships.
- Hope and renewal.
- Living my best life NOW.
Things I’m saying “NO” to:
- The Enemy’s attacks, lies, schemes, and attempts to bring me down to his level and keep me there.
- Being or feeling “less than” in relationships.
- Playing small and letting others’ seemingly “perfect” circumstances get the best of me.
- Letting people treat me poorly.
- Going out of my way for mean-spirited, selfish, and toxic people.
- Depression, despair, anxiety, worry.
- Missing my best life.
The things that will “FIRE ME UP” to make what matters most happen:
- Spending time with Jesus (coffee included)
- Spending time with my man
- Spending time with my people
- Being encouraged / giving encouragement
- Long, hard runs and other exercise / movement activities
- Kindness and thoughtfulness
- Capturing ordinary, beautiful moments on camera
- Adventure, travel, and exploring
- Creating, reading, writing, blogging
- Singing and dancing
- Being outside
- Bold colors
- Decorating, cleaning, and organizing
- Dreaming BIG, praying BIGGER
- List-making
- Listening to music and podcasts
- Being on the water
- Good food and good drink
The BIG Picture
In 2018, I will be FIERCE about the things that matter, including: my faith in and love of God, my marriage and the man God has given me to share life with, my relationships with family and friends, my health and overall well-being on every level, my career and community service activities, my finances, my home-life, my opportunities to adventure and travel to more places, and my desire to do more of the things that fire me up and fill my heart with joy, passion, and excitement for this wild, beautiful, abundant, and free life He’s given me to live. The time to start living my best life is NOW. Let’s do this!
My GOOD GOALS for 2018:
1. Practice fierce faith.
2. Cultivate wild and passionate intimacy and romance in marriage.
3. Maintain and increase my emotional, mental, physical, relational, and spiritual health.
4. Pursue financial freedom.
5. Keep a clean, clutter-free home; a sanctuary free of chaos and disorder.
6. Lead and work with creativity, faith, passion and vision.
7. Make time, room, and space for connection and fellowship with our people.
8. Plan and pursue opportunities to adventure, travel, and explore.
9. Do the things that fire me up and be filled with JOY along the journey.
So there you have it, friends! These are the things I’m FIERCELY going after in 2018, and I couldn’t be more EXCITED about it!
How about you? What are you focusing on in the days, weeks, and months to come? I’d love to hear from you! And if you’re looking for inspiration, I really cannot recommend Lara Casey’s Goal Setting series or the powersheets enough! I’ve been following along with her and completing this process for the past four years and it has made a world of difference to me as I learn more about myself, God, the purpose He has for me, and ultimately, the life He has called me to live!
Wishing you all of the BEST in the new year, friends!
Dream BIG, pray BIGGER and BE FIERCE in your own journey! You are worth it!