Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Goals & Motivation for 2011

I've put it off as long as I can, but it's time to put my 2011 Goals into writing. I've pondered what my strengths are and where my issues lie. As a result, I have 4 areas of my life almost like four legs of the table which I need to work on in 2011. 




  • PERSONAL HEALTH: Fitness




  • SPIRITUAL HEALTH: Focus on my relationship with my Creator 





  • FAMILY HEALTH: Finances & Meal Planning




  • HOME HEALTH: Creating a harmonious, happy home for my entire family





  • In 2010, I completed 2 half-marathons, 2 15k races, 1 10k race, 2 sprint triathlons (and here), and 1 5k. So what is going to be my motivation to push myself in 2011? I spent last Saturday looking at some races to see what is out there. In the last few months, I've had a very small voice in the back of my head whispering, "Go for it. Start reaching for the holy grail." And then I hear the loud booming voice which shouts at me, "Are you insane?" I've made my tentative race schedule for 2011, but I have two major goals distances I'd like to achieve this year: a full marathon, and a half IM triathlon. I'm still looking for the right race, the right dates to match my schedule. As more race directors post their race dates, I'll keep you updated on my race choices. 

    The next leg I need to work on is my SPIRITUAL HEALTH. For some reason, I've felt very disconnected from my church over the last year. Well, actually for many reasons, none of which I'll go into here. While some of the reasons are outside of my control, there is definitely some part of this problem which comes from me and my lack of effort. A dear friend gave me a precious Christmas gift, "Babes with Beatitude: Devotions for Smart, Savvy Women of Faith", by Linda P. Kozar and Dannelle Woody. As soon as I opened the package, I thought to myself, "How did she know exactly what I needed in this exact moment?" My goal for SPIRITUAL HEALTH involves reading, studying and meditating several times each day on the daily devotional in my Babes with Beatitude.

    For my FAMILY HEALTH, I have two major goals: one in the area of personal finances & the other in the area of meal planning. On the personal finances front, my husband and I have finally gotten on the same page and have agreed to follow a budget. I have listened to Dave Ramsey on and off over the last few years and while Camo-Man may still be a little skeptical about some of the aspects of Dave's plan, we've agreed to follow a monthly budget to accomplish some of our financial goals. We'd both like to pay off our car loans so we can start preparing for the quickly approaching college tuition bills which will be coming our way. As for my never ending issue of meals and meal planning.....(grrrrr).....I am going to continue to work on my meal plans. I take somewhat of a macabre interest in planning my workouts on a monthly basis and modifying them each week as my schedule changes. I'm going to generate the same interest (either forced or genuine) in my meal planning as I do in my workouts. I will plan my meals on a monthly basis and then update them weekly as our family schedule changes. 

    Finally, for my HOME HEALTH: I know that I don't function well with clutter. You will never see me on HOARDERS. Now I am by no means perfect when it comes to getting rid of things in a timely manner, but I know if I have piles of junk lying around I feel more tension than I normally do. My goals for HOME HEALTH include keeping an organized, de-cluttered home for my family. I've decided to somewhat refer back to my Flylady days and break my home into Zones and keep it clean 15 minutes at a time. My Zones are a little different from the Flylady, but I think these will work for me.  
    • Zone 1: Master Bedroom
    • Zone 2: Bathrooms
    • Zone 3: Laundry Room & Den
    • Zone 4: 1 other room as needed
    I'm still flushing out some of the details, but I thought I'd share my work in progress. Here is to a healthy, financially sound, spiritually fit and harmonious 2011!!!!!

    2 comments:

    1. Way to set some goals! Make sure you are pacing yourself, finish a goal before you start another so that you don't feel overwhelmed. I'd love to hear how you like the book, is it something that I'd enjoy?

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    2. The book is definitely good. The devotions are light and interesting. It's definitely helping me focus, but I still struggle with doing it on a daily basis.

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