I have spent November and December in quiet time, prayer, and planning. I wanted to greet the New Year with enthusiasm and a plan. You see, ever since MOMCon 2014 (Mothers of Preschoolers Convention- totally awesome, by the way) I have been contemplating this year’s “Brave” theme and what it means for me and God’s call upon my life. Never before have I spent so much time and effort into setting goals. Oh I make plans, alright, and lists – tons of lists. (My Mom thinks I’m a little overboard in the organizing department. I may or may not have had my suitcase packed two full weeks before my last trip back home, outfits rolled together with undies and jewelry all together. That’s not weird. You do that too, right?) But goals? Actual write them out all official-like goals? Nope. Never. I wasn’t even sure where to start.
Several resources have helped me in that department. Each one has profoundly changed the way I think about goal setting and why I should even bother. I want to share these resources with you. Each one has been for a specific area of my life. All together, they were beyond what I’d call a good value for the little money I spent. THEY WERE FABULOUS, I’m telling you. Fabulous!
I downloaded the books A Million Little Ways, Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live by Emily P. Freeman and Restless: Because You Were Made for More by Jennie Allen. I attended workshops that each of these ladies led at MOMCon. Oh my they were fantastic! It’s no exaggeration to say that the Restless book radically changed my mindset. If you have ever pondered your purpose beyond wife and mother, these books are for you. (While I am not an affiliate for either one of these titles, I do have them in my Amazon store for your convenience.)
I also downloaded a few workbooks to help me get it all sorted out. The first one is Your Retreat, A Guide to Giving Yourself a Personal Planning Day by Erin Odom. Erin blogs at The Humbled Homemaker. She’s the perfect combo of crunchy yet practical – I like that. In this downloadable PDF, she covers why it is so important to set aside time to plan and set goals. She guides you through several areas such as homemaking, meal planning, personal growth, spiritual growth, and finances. She also touches on our roles as wife and as parent. This was the perfect starting point for me. It was easy to read and to implement.
About the same time, Tina at Savvy Homeschool Moms recommended a free ebook by Leonie Dawson called A Cowgirl’s Guide to Riding Wild Donkeys. Crazy, I know. (I loved it. You know I would. Come on…wild donkeys? Yes, please.) That book led me to her workbooks, Create Your Shining Year, 2015 Life & Biz Editions. Now, before skipping off to her site I have to warn you: the girl has got a mouth like a sailor. Somehow, though, she’s endearing on so many other levels that I sort of overlook it. (And read emails from her with one eye closed. Really. Lovely girl but whoa..that mouth.) She’s a totally groovy, hippy dippy sort of chick. I think she’s the Australian version of Dharma & Greg. (Kinda miss that show. I may have been her in my previous single, yoga teaching, life. Dharma with the clean mouth. Just so you’re clear on that one.) These two fun and artsy workbooks narrowed down the focus a bit more. They cover specific goal planning for what you want to accomplish but also the kind of life you want to have. Clever, huh?
Those three workbooks impressed me so much that I partnered with the authors as an affiliate (As an affiliate, I earn a tiny bit of moolah for each book that is purchased though clicking on their links from my site) to help them reach a greater audience. The workbooks are THAT good. I can see myself re-using them for years to come. They are available as printable PDFs so I can do that. Score! Green, even.
You know what’s even better? This week only Erin’s Your Retreat, A Guide to Giving Yourself a Personal Planning Day is available for only 99cents !
I’m curious, do you set goals? What’s your process? Do you have a plan or just wing it? Connect, let’s chat about it.
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