Category: Goals

Living Life Intentionally

~ K ~ Leave a comment

This weekend I tried (although did a rather lousy job) of taking a personal retreat in which I spent time alone, focusing on developing a full life plan, which resulted in an outline of my priorities and goals in life. As a result of completing this, I had to say no to many of the things I was considering pursuing.

Image from michaelhyatt.com/life-plan

The idea of a personal retreat comes from Michael Hyatt, former CEO (and current Chairman) at Thomas Nelson. He developed a free e-book called Creating Your Personal Life Plan, adapted from Building Champions, in which he discusses the following:

  1. The Outcome of Your Life (how you want to be remembered)
  2. The Priorities in Your Life (what is important to me?)
  3. The Action Plan for Each Priority (outlining where you are and where you want to be)
    1. Purpose Statement (your purpose with each priority)
    2. Envisioned Future (how you ideally see yourself with interacting with each priority)
    3. Supporting Verse (if applicable, or perhaps a quote that motivates and inspires you)
    4. Current Reality (how does what is happening now stack up to your envisioned future?)
    5. Specific Commitments (developing a practical plan to move from current reality to envisioned future)

Hyatt recommends reviewing your life plan quarterly but following up on your specific commitments weekly to make sure that you are accomplishing what you need to accomplish toward your envisioned future.

When I think of Jesus, I think of a man who lived his life on earth intentionally and with a purpose. He didn’t do things haphazardly or “nilly willy.” If this is the example that Jesus has set for his followers, why do we as Christians simply bumble along in life simply trying to survive?

Changing the Road Map to Match the Ground

~ K ~ 1 Comment
Image from maps.google.com

Since August 2009, I put my life on hold, hoping that our family would have expanded by now. As of February 2011, it hasn’t. And as of February 2011, I realized that I keep putting my life on hold for something that isn’t here and is nowhere close. So I’m moving forward with my life, come what may.

The more I try to plan my life, the more God messes with my plans. I had my life figured out at 18: get married at 25 and children at 30. I got married at 23, but I guess I’m on track for children at 30.

I’ve said before that I don’t adapt well to change. I also don’t really like for God to screw with my plans. (I know, it’s like a 5-year-old telling the 45-year-old, “My way or the highway!” It just doesn’t work.)

So for once, I’m going to try to go along with “the road map on the ground,” as Elizabeth Edwards liked to say. I had a planned road map but it didn’t match the ground so my ideal map needs to change to reflect reality.

I’m contemplating pursuing a Master’s in Library Science, specifically in the field of digital libraries. I enjoy my job at the library immensely and hope this is something I can continue to do at 65 or 75 when I’m old and grumpy. I’m going to take my GRE, apply for scholarships, and hope that I can start a Master’s in the Spring of 2012.

I’ll also plow ahead on my novel. I will rewrite it and revise it this year and begin submitting queries to agents by the end of the year. Just in time before I become swamped with fifteen credits of classes for nearly 2 years.

I am moving forward, adapting my map to match the ground, and open to God screwing with whatever’s in my head. (He does anyway; I’m just going to make a more concerted attempt to not resist Him anymore.)

2011 Resolutions… Goals… Targets… Likely Misses…

~ K ~ 1 Comment

I don’t have the statistics on how many people fail to keep their resolutions and how quickly it drops off but I know for certain that the percentage is high (ie, majority of people who make New Year’s resolutions don’t keep them).

So with the dawn of a new year, I’m not expecting much either so I’ve thrown something on the list that’s a definite (to make me feel better) and the rest are just hopeful shots in the dark. They’re not unrealistic but the likelihood that I’ll actually hit any of these goals by the end of 2011 is low. That being said, I’ll revisit these goals on June 4, then again on December 4 to see if I’ve made any progress.

2011 Resolutions/Goals

  1. Land an agent for my young adult novel.
  2. Exercise for at least 15 minutes 4 times a week.
  3. Lose 25 lbs.
  4. Eat more salads and vegetables.
  5. Read 75 (or more) books.
  6. Relax on the Sabbath (Sunday). [This one, by far, will be the most difficult one for me to do.]
  7. Attend a writer’s conference.
  8. Attend CCEF’s October conference in Louisville.
  9. Learn to be content with what I have and who I am.
  10. Spend more time with God through prayer and Bible reading.
  11. Attend morning church services at my home church at least twice a month.
  12. Write a post (nearly) every day on different aspects of enjoying God.
  13. Cut down on sweets aka be less addicted to sugar.
  14. Read through the Chronicles of Narnia.
  15. Hold scheduled write-ins at the library through the month of November for NaNoWriMo.

I purposely left #16 off this list. Since it falls under contentment, I will try to deal with that as best as I can.