Celebrating 38 Years: Reflections and Gratitude
(buckle up - this is lengthy because there was so much good stuff to share with you!)
I turned 38 last week, and it was a day filled with love and celebration. My family and friends went out of their way to make me feel special. As I savored a latte my daughter made on my back porch, I couldn't help but appreciate the beautiful moments that unfolded throughout the day. From a relaxing beach visit to enjoying delicious treats at my favorite Otto Pizza, I felt surrounded by the genuine support and love of those close to me. How fortunate am I?!
Setting Goals for Success: A Birthday Tradition
Birthdays have always held a special place in my heart, and not just because of the cake. They mark a new year filled with endless possibilities and I find that genuinely exciting. With each passing year, I find myself growing more emotional, grateful, and reflective. Instead of panicking and creating a long list of things to fix like I would in my twenties, my thirties have taught me to appreciate how far I've come while looking forward to the future.
Rather than making New Year's resolutions, I have found that reflecting and setting goals around my Spring birthday feels much more aligned. Who wants to start something new when the temperature is -10 degrees and the sun barely shines for a few hours? Let's make it easy.
Embracing Growth: From Panic to Appreciation
Taking time to reflect on the past year has become an essential practice for me. I immerse myself in my journal and revisit my previous vision boards, which never fail to astonish me with the achievements I have accomplished. Dreams and ideas that once felt distant are now part of my everyday life. It is crucial to pause, truly see our growth, and appreciate how far we've come—after all, even my kids have grown so much!
Four Buckets of Dream Life: Health, Relationships, Finances, and Business
To envision my dream life, I like to organize my goals into four key areas based on my personal core values. These buckets help me gain clarity and structure as I consider what I want for the future:
Health: In my dream life, what does my mental, physical, and emotional well-being look like?
Relationships: In my dream life, how are my relationships with my family and close friends?
Finances: In my dream life, what do my investments and personal wealth look like?
Business: In my dream life, how do my current businesses and future ventures thrive?
After defining the four buckets of my dream life, I do a deliberate process to evaluate each one.
Reflect > Dream > Goals > Habits.
It starts with reflection—a deep dive into where I currently stand and the progress I have made in the past. This reflection allows me to acknowledge my accomplishments and areas for improvement.
Next comes the exciting part: dreaming about the future. I let my imagination run wild as I envision the possibilities and potential for growth in each bucket. This stage is all about exploring new horizons and daring to dream big.
Once I have a clear picture of where I want to go, I translate my aspirations into concrete goals. These goals act as signposts that guide me along my journey towards my dream life. They provide focus, direction, and a sense of purpose.
However, setting goals alone is not enough. I have learned that the key to success lies in the establishment of supporting habits. These habits are the small, consistent actions that propel me towards my goals. By identifying the habits that align with each goal, I ensure that I am actively working towards the realization of my dreams.
This process of evaluation, reflection, dreaming, goal-setting, and habit formation becomes a cycle—a continuous loop that repeats as needed. It allows me to constantly reassess, recalibrate, and adapt as I move forward on my journey.
Smaller Tweaks, Bigger Results: The Art of Habit Change
Rather than overwhelming myself with grand plans that may never materialize, I believe that small habit tweaks bring us closer to our dream life. When reflecting on each bucket, I consider what is already going well and what I want to change. By focusing on smaller, manageable habits, I can make consistent progress. Some examples that I’m using personally are listening to podcasts or audiobooks on my drive to work instead of listening to the radio, getting on my bike every weekend for a long ride, and swapping my afternoon coffee for decaf tea and Bob’s protein bar.
Goal Setting for an Abundant Life: Examples and Inspiration
Through brainstorming, I came up with the following goals for each bucket:
Focus on my health (vague here, but I have specific goals tied to this such as a Century Bike Ride happening in September).
Take every Friday off during the summer break - for beach days!
Create an additional passive income stream to boost our debt payoff goals.
Create a bigger impact with my online business. This means creating more digital guides and assistance for you!
I created just one goal for each of the buckets, and scheduled time to work towards them. I reflected on what habits I need to create to move towards my goals in each bucket. Because I’m not a fan of overwhelm, I have started implementing one habit and scheduled a reminder for two weeks out to introduce another. Progress > Perfection, amiright? I’m starting strong with a focus on my health, including scheduling labs with my doctor, and switching my morning coffee for hot lemon water, and even added a walking treadmill at Coworking House so I can get my daily steps in easily.
Here’s the thing friend —I know this stuff works. I've got not one, but two thriving businesses under my belt. I manifested our dream house in the perfect school district, even during a rough housing market. And hey, I've completed marathons and triathlons while juggling the demands of having young kids. How did I do it all? It wasn't some kind of magic, and it certainly wasn't by working myself to the bone with crazy 120-hour weeks. No, it's all about being deliberate, getting pumped up, and living with intention.
I invite you to explore which of these four categories resonates with you the most and discover how intentionality and goal setting can shape your reality. Will you try the Evaluation Process for your own goals? Let me know which bucket interests you the most, and I'll be delighted to share more about my goals and experiences in that area. Here's to embracing an abundant life and committing to journaling more in year 38!