Quarter 1 Goals + Word of the Year

Happy Quarter 1 and New Year, friends! I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that it is 2019 already. I am currently sitting in my pj’s (hello cute owl pajamas with fuzzy socks––thanks mama!) writing this post because, why not? One thing I love about a new year though, are all the new opportunities to start fresh and create more goals for the year ahead. Today’s post may be a little longer because I will be recapping my goals from the last quarter of the year, giving you my quarter 1 goals, and also revealing the word I chose for this year as well as a little recap about my word for 2018. So, hopefully you stick around to the end cause I promise this post has a lot of good meat to it 🙂

I can honestly say that after doing quarterly goals for half a year now, that I love them a lot more than monthly goals because it enables me to set goals where I can pace myself to achieve them. It’s been a breath of fresh air and has made me so much more productive with my goals, which is great! When I was doing monthly goals, it became overwhelming and my goals were pretty redundant because most of my goals were more long-term instead of things that can easily be attained in a month’s time––hence the overwhelm. So this has been a wonderful change for me and I look forward to continuing this.

Quarter 4 Goals| A Recap

BLOGGING:

1. Pick a launch date for the shop

Not gonna lie, that part slightly overwhelms me. But, this will be a good thing to do! It also motivates me to put more products in there so that I have enough to fully launch. 

2. Start budgeting for ads

Now that I am working again, I did an experiment with Facebook’s bribery of a $15 credit for ads and ran a couple of them. In case no one told you, they DO work and I’ve seen the proof in the numbers. So, with that said, I am going to budget to do some more in the future in hopes it helps me in my overall mission with this blog. 

3. Start being a bit more vulnerable

This one I know is gonna be pretty hard in the beginning, but my hope is that God will use my vulnerability to minister to others. It’s so easy to put on a façade in this world of social media of how you want people to perceive you, when in reality we all struggle with things and we need to start showing others that side of us too.

Life isn’t all pretty styled pictures and perfectly worded captions. It’s messy and we shouldn’t be afraid of what others will see cause they’re in the same boat we are. 

PERSONAL:

1. Practice being patient

If I’m brutally honest, I am very much the opposite of a patient person. Slow drivers? I am incredibly impatient. Technology problem? I tend to scream at the computer. So it’s safe to say I need to practice being a little more patient. I will make it my goal to work on my patience instead of letting my patience work on me. 

2. Watch less TV

Okay, so this one is going to be mighty hard. If you know me, you know I am literally obsessed with TV police dramas. It’s literally all I watch. I have this bad tendency to binge watch an entire season in one sitting which is not only bad for my eyes and brain, it’s bad for my productivity. So, I am aiming to scale back to only watch one episode a day! 

3. Remember my worth

In the world of social media, I often find myself falling victim to the comparison game that leaves me crippled in fear & doubt. I want to make it a goal of mine to remember that I am chosen, loved, & accepted by God and that the only “status” that matters is that of my heart which Jesus has already captivated. When I remember Whose I am, everything else seems to not matter so much.

How’d I do?

1. BLOGGING: Pick a launch date for the shop

The launch part technically happened, but not exactly how I envisioned. So, this month (maybe) I will plan a better “re-launch”.

1. PERSONAL: Practice being patient

I am a work in progress every day, but I feel like I’ve taken some baby steps to practicing patience. Most of the time I still fail, but some days I remember to tell myself to see people the way Jesus sees them––even if they did cut me off in traffic. 

2. BLOGGING: Start budgeting for ads

I haven’t made it quite as far as having a set budget for ads yet, but I have created a bank account that I am transferring a little to each month in order to save for things I want to invest in with this space, so I call that a win!

2. PERSONAL: Watch less TV

Believe it or not, I have begun watching less tv! Some days are better than others, but since starting back with LifeWay I am gone most of the day now and don’t watch near as much tv as I was previously. So, yay to this goal!

3. BLOGGING: Start being a bit more vulnerable

Yes to this one. I wrote a little while ago about what it was like vacationing with a special needs sibling growing up. That part of my life is something I rarely talk about for various reasons, but I feel it may be helpful to or encourage someone walking the same road I did and so I am trying to talk about the not so sweet parts of life a little more.

3. PERSONAL: Remember my worth

It’s hard to remember that you’re amazing just the way you are, isn’t it? Social media for me can be such a negative experience because I am prone to comparison. We all are. But, I’ve started making myself love notes to remind myself that I am worthy and capable and unique. You are too!

Reminding myself of the things I know to be true help me drown out the rest of the negativity and see others as unique too instead of trying to be them. We all bring something different to the table, and we are all fearfully and wonderfully made no matter what the world tells us. 

Quarter 1 Goals

BLOGGING:

1. Create more products for the shop

Because I got a Cricut machine for Christmas, this part will become easier and I am pretty pumped about making products!

2. Launch a podcast!

I have been wanting to do this for a little while, and so I’m gonna make it my goal to try and launch this month. If it doesn’t happen, then that’s okay cause I’ve got all year.

3. Learn more about photography

Taking your own blog photos can be somewhat challenging. Especially for someone like me who is B-A-D at posing herself and looking remotely natural lol. So, I am making it a goal to learn some more about how to do all that!

PERSONAL:

1. Practice deep breathing 

I’ve got a really bad habit of getting angry when things decide to not work properly. That’s shameful to admit, but I did make it a previous goal to be more vulnerable. So, I am going to try to take more deep breaths and walk away in place of angry outbursts at things that are out of my control.

2. Eat less. Even if I still think I am hungry

Anybody else have an overeating problem? I love food, but I need to learn how to control my portions. So, one of my goals is to eat less, even if my brain tells me I am still hungry. My husband always says my eyes are bigger than my stomach, so hopefully this shift will help with that!

3. Be less of a hermit

Okay, I am such a hermit most of the time. I prefer staying home or by myself than out and about. So, I am gonna try to be less of a hermit and get out more. Even if that means going for a short walk, which wouldn’t be so bad to do anyways.

So there are my goals for this month! Now the moment I am sure you’ve all be waiting for. The word I chose for my year is, COURAGE. While this word is similar to the one I had last year, there are some minute differences. Courage is the ability to do something that frightens you and being brave is being ready to face and endure danger or pain, showing courage. I chose courage because, a lot of my goals this year are ones that are a little intimidating for me such as launching a podcast and admitting things I struggle with that I am trying to work on.

This quiz helped me choose a word for the year, but honestly I feel it’s divinely inspired and the Holy Spirit uses it because it has, for the past 2 years, encapsulated for me the exact word I needed for the year without me knowing what I would face.

Last year, my word was “brave” and I felt like that word was very fitting given all the things that happened. I lost my Papa in April and had to be “brave” when he passed because it was hard and I couldn’t just shut down. I had others who depended on me and I couldn’t stay home and grieve. I started a new job in April of right after I lost my Papa, and then lost the job in May a few weeks later which was also hard. I had to be “brave” when that happened to and believe that God still had a purpose for me even though I couldn’t yet see it. Also in May, I lost another relative as well and had to be “brave” for my family.

After I lost my job, I was “brave” and decided to try and pursue blogging full time even though I wasn’t making money. For almost 6 months, I was without a job and pursuing my dream and trusting that God would open new doors when the timing was right. In October, I started back with LifeWay almost a year to date of when I lost my job with the Hixson store when it closed. I believe that was intentional on God’s part because that month held a lot of significance for me.

This year, I know that the word courage will be one of significance too as I strive to launch a podcast, relaunch my shop, and even more things that I don’t even know yet. I want to have courage to do the things that frighten me. I want to have the courage to believe in the possibilities even when the circumstances say not to. I want to have courage to pursue my dreams without fear too.

Will you have courage with me this year too? Tell me below what word you chose for the year + why!