Two Little Things

There are two little things that I really enjoy...

The first is a blank new planner (yes, an actual paper one that you write in) that has never been used.  There is a certain excitement I get from seeing those beautiful white pages on January 1st and wondering how I'm going to fill them this year.  Will I go on an exotic trip?  Will I sing in an unexpected place?  Will I add new students to my music studio?  I never know.  But I do know that it's up to me to take the next 365 days and fill them with a life well-lived and well-loved.

The second thing I love is a planner that has been completely used.  I love to go back each year on January 1st and look at my previous year's planner and see all of the things I accomplished.  It gives me hope that I am capable of much more than I originally thought.

In 2013, these are a few of the things I experienced as evidenced in my planner:

-Directed my first high school musical, School House Rock Live!
-Judged Senior high soloists at Fine Arts
-Finished writing my book, Ten Weeks to a Better Voice
-Found out I was having a son
-Sang with Israel Houghton
-Took a much needed vacation with my hubby to Washington DC.
-Cleaned out a guest room and turned it into a nursery (with lots of help!)
-Ran a successful music studio during the summer
-Landed a new teaching job while seven and a half months pregnant
-Had two beautiful baby showers in KY and FL
-Wrote my son a lullaby
-Delivered my son (no small feat!)
-Traveled to and from KY with my infant
-Became a mom

It's amazing to look back on one year as a whole and see how much I've been able to accomplish.  I admit that staring 2014 in the face seems a little daunting, but I believe I will look back on this year and find that I've accomplished even more than I did in 2013.

That's why I love January 1st.  The sky's the limit.  If there's something I want to do, a new goal I want to reach, I know it's up to me to make it happen.

There is a little book that I read that has this title:

Now it's your turn to complete the sentence.  "This year I will..." Say aloud the first thing that pops in your head even if it sounds impossible or audacious.

What will you do with the next 365 days?  Remove the limits off of your life and get ready for new experiences and unexpected adventures!
Happy New Year!

Where Are the Dreamers?

Where are the dreamers?

For several days, it's been on my mind that so many people have lost the ability to dream about what could be and about who they could be.  It gets me fired up.  Makes me mad even, because there are shells of people walking around who are literally using 5% of their potential.

Without going into detail, I have some people close to me who are simply existing every day.  They have lost their ability to envision a bright future for themselves.  They have no goals, no drive, and no energy.  And so they wait around, day after day, which brings them closer to death, without ever having truly experienced life.

At one time, these people had incredible potential.  But somewhere along the way, they lost the vision for their lives.  They stopped envisioning the future because they needed to "just make it" through the present.

I believe that the mundane day in and day out is what keeps so many of us from dreaming.  We get too comfortable with our lives right now and fail to exercise any tunnel vision for the future.

What if you have stopped dreaming and become content to simply exist?  Know that you are not alone and that there is hope!  When was the last time you sat down and thought about your life?  Are you happy with where you are?  Is it where you want to be five years down the road?

In order to become a dreamer again, you must become very clear about what you want.  Even if your brain is screaming at you, telling you that you'll never be a _______ (painter, chef, architect, business owner, mother, etc.), if the dream feels authentic deep, deep down in your soul, it is probably meant to be!

Challenge: Take ten minutes today for yourself to dream.  On a blank sheet of paper, write down the following questions and then answer them as honestly as possible:

Have I forgotten how to dream?  If so, why?

Where would I like to see myself a year from now?

Where would I like to see myself five years from now?

Where would I like to see myself ten years from now?

What kind of a legacy do I want to leave when I pass on?

If you take the time to answer these questions, even a dreamer that has been dormant for years can begin to come awake inside!  Don't be surprised if you have more energy than you've had in a long time!  You're finally dreaming again, and that, my friend, is a very good step in the right direction!

What's in a Goal?

Today in my GMG post, I want to focus on a fundamental question: what's in a goal?

The purpose of this blog is to motivate women the world over to go after their goals and celebrate their successes when they are achieved.  But we all have different goals we wish to accomplish in our short lifetimes.  One woman may want to cook more healthy meals at home.  Another woman may wish to lose 50 pounds this year.  And yet someone else may want to quit smoking once and for all.

So what exactly is the criteria that defines a true goal?  And not just a wish or a dream?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of Dave Ramsey, the financial guru.  He has helped me not only understand my personal finances better, but has also taught me a lot about the difference between goals and dreams.  Dave differentiates dreams and goals in this way: a dream is a vague wish, something to be accomplished "someday".  Whereas, a goal is a specific plan that has a time limit to be achieved.  Notice, dreams and goals can be either big or small.  The difference is that dreams are hazy and goals have "feet" on them, so to speak.

No doubt, you've heard of setting SMART goals.  This acronym can help you turn a vague dream into a goal by applying the words contained in a SMART goal.

S-pecific
M-easurable
A-ttainable
R-ealistic
T-imely

Instead of going into depth about each word, let's just take a dream and turn it into a goal using these words.

Dream: I want to cook more.

Why is this a dream?  For one, it's really vague.  It's wonderful to want to cook more, but that just sounds like wishful thinking.  Maybe you've had too much McDonald's this week and would like to savor a dish from your own kitchen.

Here's how we turn it into a goal:

"I want to cook more" defined by SMART goals:

Specifically, I want to cook three dinners per week and eat leftovers on other weeknights.
I will know I've achieved this goal when I have purchased the ingredients for three different meals at the grocery store each week and have cooked the meals I've planned in advance. (Measurable)
I know I can achieve this goal with a little pre-planning on Saturdays and making sure I have been to the grocery store for the week by Monday mornings. (Attainable)
I will stick to this goal because I know it will help my food budget by not eating out so much and also help mine and my family's diet because I can control the foods we're eating. (Realistic)
I want to begin implementing this goal starting on Saturday and will examine my progress at the end of this month and evaluate what's working and what's not. (Timely)

We just took a vague wish and put SMART feet on it, effectively turning it into a goal.  It wasn't difficult, it just required a little more definition than, "I want to cook more".  Now we have a very measurable goal that we will know very simply if we've managed to achieve by the end of the month.

I have a challenge for you today: Take one of your dreams and apply the SMART method to it.  Write it out as a dream and then begin to define it into a goal using the same method above.  Once you've done that, read what you've wrote.  I bet you are starting to get excited now because you may be able to actually see this dream coming to pass, now that it's a goal.

In my next blog post, I will share with you my current SMART goal.

Have an awesome Saturday, all you GMG's!