If you’ve been following us on Instagram, you’ve likely seen that we’ve been talking a lot about using your PowerSheets Goal Planner to set broad goals for the year and breaking those down into smaller starting steps. For example, instead of setting multiple goals to “become a runner” and “eat healthy” this year, I set one overarching goal to “take care of myself”. For me, this goal encompasses healthy eating, physical activity, and emotional care.
And guess what friends? I LOVE IT! Why? It gives me permission to take small starting steps. It gives me the flexibility to grow and change my goals and priorities over the course of the year. It gives me room to embrace the mantra of “little by little progress adds us” and to flourish, cultivating what matters right where I am.
A few weeks ago, our team came across this article outlining the shift in New Year’s resolutions over the past two years. A decade-long top resolution of “losing weight” fell on the charts to a broader goal of “being a better person.” As I flipped through my 2018 goals in my PowerSheets, I realized how that could be true of my goals, too. My WHY for each of them is so much bigger than myself.
I want to love Logan (my fiancé) well and invest in our marriage because I understand the importance of building a foundation and legacy for our future family.
I want to put my phone down and keep my eyes up because I want those in my life to know I value their friendship more than I value likes on an Instagram photo or being the first to reply to an email.
These are goals rooted in what matters most to me. Goals that run to the core of my hopes, my dreams, my values. If you’re burnt out by the quick fixes and promises of overnight results, you can choose a new story. A new path where your days align with what matters most to you.
Being the very best version of yourself doesn’t happen overnight, but taking the first step can.
Making good things come to life requires physical action. And then another action. And another. Over time, goals that were once huge leaps of faith turn into a new life. Our lives will bloom through daily decisions and habits–daily tending, nurturing and pruning–not just the giant leaps made once in a while. Yes, the big leaps are important, but the way we live our moments–even the seemingly mundane parts of our lives–can up to a life of purpose.
As I flipped back through my 2017 PowerSheets and look at the small starting steps I’ve been taking over the past year, I see growth. Words scribbled on a Tending List reminding me the importance of daily stepping back, looking at the big picture, and evaluating my actions. A daily goal to listen before speaking. Checkmarks and filled-in progress bars. A daily goal to assume the best in all my interactions with others. These are all intentional decisions–many that must be made multiple times over the course of the day–that bring my goals to life and allow me to look back on the year with confidence in the progress I’ve made. Little by little, I’m making what matters happen. And you can, too.
As Lara says in her first book, “Begin anywhere but just be sure to begin.” Join me, and make 2018 your best year yet.
What about you? Where did you begin? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
This is His Year: our first-of-its-kind workbook to let your faith inform the goals you set for the New Year.
Set, plan, and track progress toward the goals that matter most, big or small, the things you’ve always wanted to do—with PowerSheets!