WOW I MEANT TO HAVE THIS FINISHED DAAAAYYYYYYYYSSSS AGO!

Life took over…

Can you believe that we are into the second week of April already!

Hate to break it to you my fellow Unicorns, but we are 1/4th of the way through the year…Time just seems to be flying by! I meant to get this written right away at the beginning of the month, but life has been a little bit chaotic so I apologize for that.

I, like so many others, made a few new years resolutions to try and accomplish this year. I wrote down a number of things I wanted to accomplish this year. There’s the usual goals like trying to save money and pay off debts, then there are ones specific to me like how I want to finish writing my books, read 24 books this year, open an Etsy store, and learn a new language.

From January first till about 2 weeks ago I hadn’t gotten very far on any of my projects. I tried a few times, but some issues arose with my back again, causing me to feel a bit dark and twisted which in turn held me back from really making any progress for a couple weeks. And then time just started flying by, and I knew I needed to make some drastic changes if I really wanted to make this year better. I came to the conclusion that quarterly benchmarks where I re-evaluate my resolutions would be needed to help keep me on track. I don’t generally give up or walk away from things I have started. I have a hard time not finishing books I don’t like. But when a goal isn’t giving you what you need in the long run, then maybe it’s time to readjust it or aim it in a different direction. But never walk away from a goal just because it is hard to obtain for follow through.

The evaluation process is very simple.

So the first step in my Goal Evaluation Process: Why did I pick these goals again? What was the purpose behind these choices? Are they pushing me out of my comfort zone? Are they making me more skilled, more knowledgeable, a better human overall? Does it still mean the same thing to me now as it did in January? Basically, are you still happy with this resolution and hopeful outcome? -yes, then stick with it.

It may seem like a weird and random resolution, to open an Etsy store, and I’m in no way doing it in place of my real job. Even if I don’t sell one thing, I’m still happy that I took the time to put all of it together and put it out there into the world for people to see, and ultimately judge. That is a very difficult thing for me to subject myself to. On top of the the fact that I find playing with clay very therapeutic, it’s making me better and more skilled in art, and setting up the shop has increased my skills with website work, which is what my full time job deals with. So in a way it’s a great learning experience for me as well. I think that’s the most important lesson, that the journey of obtaining the goal is more important than the goal itself.

The second thing I did was looking at was where my progress was with each of them. Then compared them to the ‘deadlines’ I had given myself so that I could prioritize certain ones to work on first.

Obviously saving enough to open a Roth IRA at the end of December is a goal that’s going to take all year, so I’m slowly working on that one every week. But things like my Etsy gift shop, and the goal to finish writing my books, those are goals I can achieve early on this year with a little extra hard work each day, and completing those tasks will propel me to stick to more resolutions throughout the year. Because for me, once I get into that ever elusive productivity groove, the momentum keeps me going into new projects.

There’s such a fulfilling feeling that comes from putting a lot of time and effort into something, and seeing it all the way through to the end. It can maybe be a bit daunting or overwhelming. I suppose I find it that way with the bigger dreams I hope to one day achieve. There’s always there fear that you just might fall short. The only thing that holds some of us back is the risk of failure. Being scared of looking like a fool and a joke in the end. That fear has held me back from a few things in life and I can say with positive certainty that it’s not worth it. The ‘what if’ is way worse than the ‘just doing it’ would have been.

I want to hear from all you unicorns. How are your resolutions holding up? Have you abandoned any of them? Have you accomplished any thus far? I hope you all have made or continue making positive choices so you can make this your best year yet.

There’s never enough time out there so go after what you want.

❤ lgr