What I’m Inviting in 2014

Before I get started, I have to tell you that 2014, with as much promise as it holds, has also been the start to a very difficult year for many, many people around me.  My dear, sweet sister-in-law is currently in Minnesota, battling a fast-growing and baffling mass at the Mayo Clinic.  My father’s farm, with its aging infrastructure, has lost water.  They don’t know what is wrong, but they don’t have water to drink, bath in, or use at home or on the farm.  This is very scary and troubling.  There are those I know that are also battling mortality or the loss of loved ones gone too soon.  Will you say a prayer for them?

This morning Dave and I also woke up to a tender mercy from God.  I think the last battle (or consequence) of our poor decisions from 2006-2008 will finally be behind us.  The future holds more promise than it ever has.

Life….it’s such a roller coaster. I know we ultimately can’t control everything that happens.  But at the same time, if we are listening to our mission and inner voice, we can do more than simply “wait for life to happen”.  We are really powerful beings that can do great things. One of the ways we do that is by setting goals.Whether you believe in energy, a loving God, or something else, there is real power in carefully considering where you want your life to go and writing down measurable goals. Ever since I started this tradition a few years ago, amazing things have happened.

Last year I simplified and broke out one goal for each area of my life that I felt was critical.  It worked!  I’m happy to report that I accomplished all my goals for 2013 and then some.  Last year was truly transformational, and so I’m going to use the same format to invite the life I want in 2014.

By far my priorities and biggest goals have to do with my family.

Family

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, I hinted at our family goal for this year.  We are going to learn Spanish.

However, there’s more to the story.

We want to leave our lives in Wyoming for an entire month and live in Panama!

This idea sprang out of a conversation with my husband over Thanksgiving, and when I saw he was actually entertaining the idea, I started writing down the many ways this would bless us.

It creates measurable goals for the whole family, financially and in family unity that otherwise might not happen. We will have to have more family meetings and assessments, where we talk about how much money we need to save each month, what our final $ goal is,  and my favorite: foregoing wants now for a bigger prize.  We will have to adjust as life happens, for as you know, nothing goes as planned.  But teaching that you can still reach your destination through honest discussion and readjustments is life-changing for any child. I want my kiddos to go through that process and be part of the solutions we have to find.

Living in Panama will also be challenging. It may even be hard.  Already my oldest daughter is fearful of learning Spanish.  “Why can’t we go somewhere English speaking?” she asks often.  I feel her discomfort, but I also know the satisfaction and self-confidence that comes through doing hard things. We are looking for the perfect spot that will allow us to live simply.  My sister-in-law is from Panama, so we have a great resource on where to stay and how things work. I’m excited to see how much Spanish my kids pick up.

I have to mention the obvious as well….it will give us a reprieve from Wyoming’s long winters!

Something this big is scary for me to throw out into the universe, but it also “pins me to the wall” and makes me accountable.  I know people will check up on us and see if we are going to follow through. Much depends on work and the economy (both my husband and I are self-employed), but we hope to fly off in one year’s time. If not, we have to at least be half way to our goal by next January, and we will for sure make it by 2016.

Physical

This is my easiest goal to accomplish. If you’ve followed this blog the last few years, it’s also predictable.  I will sign up for El Vaquero Loco , a 25K mountain race with 4500 feet of vertical climb, with a specific time I have to beat. It motivates me to train more intensely.  Ever since discovering trail running a few years ago, I can’t get enough!

Road running? Meh.

Once you’ve experienced mountain lakes, waterfalls, wildflowers, and sunrises; you never go back.  It’s a challenge, but the rewards are endless. It has healed my soul on the most difficult days.

{a picture of the race trail I snapped with my Samsung last year after a rain storm}

Last year I was shooting for 3:50 (I checked my old post), but somehow I had 3:45 in my head for the race, and I made it to the finish line in 3:44 (as in 3 hours and 44 minutes).  That was a PR for me, and I was ecstatic.  With more vertical training planned this year, I’ve set the goal to make it across the finish line in 3:35. I think shaving off 10 more minutes is doable.

Business

Last year I must admit (with a bit of shame) that I didn’t have any goals set for my business.

Hence the….meandering, for lack of a better word.

It’s not that I didn’t want my business to succeed; I wanted it more than anything.  The truth was, I didn’t know how to succeed in a place like Star Valley, Wyoming.

Well, I was saved by an adorable fellow designer whom I now call friend, Traci Zeller, who handed me a ticket to Design Camp. I was humbled and excited to go simply for the caliber of designers there. When Design Camp was done, I had been shaken out of meandering mode and woke up.

What ensued was me putting laser focus on my business for the rest of 2013.  I basically scratched out everything I had done the previous years, even my company name, and re-structured from top to bottom. I signed up for Julia Molloy’s MMG/VIP program to make my business even better. I took a 5 week course on offering fixed bids for design work (yes, I do that now if that’s what clients need!). I was also able to learn from the best in Arkansas at the end of the year, Tobi and team, and I couldn’t be more grateful.

I vow to walk through the door that has been opened for me and continue progressing.  That means business goals need to be set. I won’t bore you with the details, but a budget is in place, events planned, books in my Amazon shopping cart to read, and a list ready for a new hire, if I get the chance/have the need for a design assistant.  I’m scheduled from January to December of 2014. I even have another service in the works that makes use of my God-given strength of drawing….stay tuned to find out what it is in the coming months. I still have some fine-tuning to work through.

Mental & Spiritual

I don’t really know how to separate these two, so I’m lumping them together.

I realized last year I had this serious, snarly fight in my head with TIME.  I know that may sound funny, but TIME has felt like an enemy with a capital “E”, and realizing this actually made me stop and think.

Why am I always feeling negative about it?  I constantly have thoughts of “I didn’t get enough sleep”, “Running out of…”, “The kids are getting home already?”, etc, etc.

In the end, I have the same amount as you.

TIME is only what I make it out to be.

What if TIME became my friend?  That it was a gift, instead of a punishment?

Does that sound silly?  Maybe.  But even writing this today, I realized how much negativity I feel when I look at the clock.  It’s about carving away another dark spot in my soul and allowing something positive to take its place.

This will be my hardest challenge, by far.  It’s not measurable like the others, and it will be a slow process.  But what a difference it will make if I can adjust my way of thinking!

I also believe that I’m not here simply for me.  While getting my relationship with TIME on better foot, I also want to be a vessel that is used for things that are good.

In my business classes this year, one way we were suppose to start our marketing was to write down someone we could contact each day and send an email or give them a phone call, hoping to make a connection and also help them in some way.  Simple.  Measurable.

But when we set goals, we sometimes say things like “I want to help those around me”.  That is great, but it falls to pieces if we don’t have anything to measure.

My solution is to say “I will help one person each day, even in a small way”.  Then at night, when I’m saying my prayers, I account to God if I did or didn’t.  Simple. Measurable.

I hope to be able to say something every night, and then give great thanks for that sacred experience (even if it’s just a smile) and for all other blessings.

Whew.  That’s what I’m inviting to happen in 2014.

Now over to you. What areas of your life are you seeking to improve? Share in the comments section!

May your wildest dreams come true this year!