Welcome back to Day Three of PowerSheets Prep Week! Just joining us? That’s great! We started our 2019 PowerSheets Prep Work early so you would have everything you need when you’re ready to get started.
Watch all the videos in the series here: part one, part two, part three, part four, and part five.
Today we’re focusing on pages 18-23 in our Prep Work. Grab your PowerSheets, your favorite pen, and stickers (stickers make everything more fun!), and get ready for a pep talk from the goal coach in your pocket (or on your computer screen!):How to Set Goals with Your 2019 PowerSheets—Part Three from Lara Casey on Vimeo.
Join Lara at 3 pm ET on December 6th (tomorrow!) for a live class: How to Set up Your 2019 PowerSheets. She’ll be walking through the PowerSheets Prep Work and showing you how to get organized for the new year, make your goals happen, and live intentionally in 2019. If you can’t join live, a replay will be available at the same link.
A cultivator uncovers her own unique goal and path. Instead of looking to other people’s goals or social media feeds to define her own, she puts in the hard work of uncovering a path that fires her up. As you work through your PowerSheets, it can be tempting to begin to compare your progress to someone else's, so today we're sharing six ways to crush comparison and cultivate contentment!
Turn comparison into celebration. Admiration points us towards what we value most. And when we become aware of what we value, we are much better positioned to create a life that means something to us. When you’re focused on celebrating instead of comparison, you'll start to see a shift. Instead of fuming and coveting, you’ll find that over time your heart will slowly bend towards celebrating, making it easy to send the congratulatory email or “double tap” that photo on Instagram.
Cultivate a heart of gratitude. Thankfulness isn't just for the holiday season! Fight comparison by nurturing daily thankfulness. You can start small by keeping a gratitude journal, setting a daily alarm on your phone to remind you to give thanks, or ending your night listing three things you're grateful for before falling asleep.
Create a truth squad. What's a truth squad, you ask? These are people in your life who are your trusted confidantes and can help you position your heart towards gratitude when you're struggling. Whether it's a significant other, a group of girlfriends, or a family member, ask for accountability. One of my favorite authors, Brene Brown, says "vulnerability is the birthplace of change," and saying out loud the areas where you are struggling with discontentment or comparison to trusted friends is a great way to hold yourself accountable.
Focus on your why. When you are fired up about something, you'll be excited about others doing the same thing instead of feeling threatened by them. In the same way that gratitude will help you fight discontentment and comparison, pursuing greater things—things that really matter to you—is going to give you laser-like focus and confidence in your unique path. Instead of feeling threatened by someone on a similar path or season of life, you'll be eager to learn alongside them. Not sure what those greater things are? Our PowerSheets Prep Work will help you uncover good goals–goals that are connected to what matters to YOU and no one else–and then do something about them.
Weed it out. Start to track the times you feel most discontent. Where are the areas in your life where you most often find yourself succumbing to the comparison trap? Is it when you're scrolling through Instagram? Reading fashion blogs? Talking to a friend who is an avid traveler? Find the root of your discontentment, and begin to remove the weeds. If going online isn't fruitful, it might be time to try a Low-Information Diet or delete the Instagram app. Jealous of your friend's travels? Ask her for budgeting tips so you can plan an adventure of your own (that would be a great PowerSheets goal!).
Consider a Contentment Challenge. Our dear friend and PowerSheets user, Nancy Ray, embarked on a Contentment Challenge where she gave up shopping for three months. If the Anthropologie website or Target dollar bin leaves you feeling like you aren't enough, download the free guide or purchase a more robust devotional to accompany you. While Nancy's faith inspired the challenge, it can be applied to anyone looking for a reset.
Your turn! Leave a comment below, and share something you've learned from your PowerSheets Prep Work today! I’ll choose one lucky commenter tomorrow to win a $25 gift card to the Cultivate Shop!
Don’t have your 2019 PowerSheets Intentional Goal Planneryet? Now is the perfect time to dig in! Order yours today, and we’ll get it in your hands in a jiffy. While you wait for your order to arrive, you can follow along with a notebook, or you can come back to the Cultivate blog (where everything will live) and get started when you have PowerSheets in hand! Not sure if PowerSheets are right for you?Send us a note, and we'll be happy to help!
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!