Setting life goals has never been one of those things I enjoyed doing. Quite honestly, I avoid goals. I think I always used to set very unrealistic goals for myself. Naturally, I would always be disappointed when those goals weren’t met and figure what was the use in trying to set life goals anyway.
I need goals because I am now in a rut personally and professionally. It’s no secret this past year has been tough. I’ve even been through things that have made me take a long look at what I want the rest of my life to look like. I don’t want to spend it just settling for things and trudging my way through. I need joy. I need a fresh perspective. I need to let go of some people and things.
Information Diet
I have information fatigue. Even though I don’t watch the news or even TV for that matter, I still find myself bombarded on a daily basis with too much information. I open a search engine and there are the headlines, good and bad. I have a lengthy friends list on Facebook and everyone is constantly sharing everything. Then there is Instagram, Twitter, etc. As a blogger, I used to be expected to keep up with all of this in order to get ahead. I can’t do it all. I don’t want to do it all.
GOAL– Hide or unfollow everyone and everything that doesn’t make me happy on social media. Follow the people I want to see updates from. I have started hitting “unsubscribe” while checking emails. I have deleted news apps from my phone as well as Facebook messenger. My Facebook feed looks really sad now, but now I only see what matters to me (along with a few ads I won’t ever get away from) and that saves time.
Remove Toxic People
I am a nice person. I am also a TOO nice person and I often take on others’ problems. It takes me longer to figure out that some people are just users and actually love to wallow in their self-pity. They want to complain to me, ask for favors and take, take, take. When I need a favor or just a listening ear, these people are never around. I go out of my way to pour into everyone I consider a friend, but this is stopping now. I have slowly learned that some people really are in your life for a season or a reason. Unfortunately, I have identified too many of these toxic types that I need to let go of in my own life.
GOAL– Distance (and in some cases entirely cut off) from toxic people. I will only give my time to friends and family that put forth the same effort for me. These types of people stress me out and I don’t want any added stress in my life.
Take Care of Me-
This is the most important thing to me right now in setting life goals. It has often been said that you can’t pour from an empty vessel. I feel like the empty vessel right now. As women, we tend to always put our needs last, even if it means sacrificing our health and happiness. My health issues have now come home to roost. I am tired of feeling sick and tired. I can’t be the best version of myself when I don’t feel good. This affects every aspect of my life.
GOAL– I have made my health a priority and am seeing specialists now for my issues. I don’t care how many appointments I have to make, I will make the effort to get my health issues under control. I will make movement a part of my daily routine. I will make the effort to eat the most nutritious meals possible. I will take time to plan for these meals. I will give my body proper rest and not push myself. I will do only what I can without making myself feel bad. And also? I don’t care WHO that upsets.
Nourish the Mind
This ties in with the information diet, but feeding my brain positivity is another goal. I know life is NOT always sunshine and rainbows. However, I can choose to read uplifting books, listen to encouraging podcasts, read my Bible (the ultimate how-to book) and read blogs that I enjoy. I firmly believe in the old adage “garbage in, garbage out”. It’s time to take out the trash and focus on the good.
GOAL– Make sure my INPUT is what I want my OUPUT to be.
Be Creative
I love to read, blog, write, listen to very old music, and paint. The trouble is, I don’t always allow myself time to do these things because social media usually sucks up so much of my time. I need time to express my feelings.
GOAL– I have started writing three pages of crappy junk (thoughts, feelings, lists, etc) every morning and then promptly send it through my paper shredder. It helps get the bad emotions out. I have brainstormed things I want to write about here and in private. I am pulling out my paintbrushes and listening to old music while I paint.
Setting life goals is still a strange thing for me, but it has also been helpful to truly understand what I do like and what I don’t like about my life. I can change what I can, and let go of what I can’t. Why it has taken me forty-six years to suddenly realize this is beyond me. But, life is a journey of learning.
Image by gabrielle_cc from Pixabay
Leave a Reply