As you reflect on the past year, have you accomplished your goals? Have your goals changed over the last 12 months? How have YOU changed? Sometimes it's hard to look back at the year and realize we didn't get anything done we had planned to do.  On the other hand, sometimes we look back and think,  man,  look at everything I accomplished this year.

There is not one result better than the other… the concern is when either one of those thoughts is still surrounded by feelings of emptiness, frustration, or sadness. We all set goals, dream dreams,  and find motivation as the unique person we are on the first of the year. 

But life happens. And that changes us. 

Maybe you lost a loved one. Maybe you gained a family member.  Maybe a new job. Maybe a house project that turned into a major renovation. Maybe there's a global pandemic and it disrupts everything. 

Whatever the circumstances of the time that passes, it...

 As we watch the world wake up in the spring, it brings to mind new beginnings, new life, and a fresh start. January 1 is usually credited for all the “new” ideas, plans, and goals in our life, but who says you can create new goals any time of year? Or that your priorities can’t change mid-year? Shoot, sometimes your priorities change mid-week, or even before noon some days. While that is just the nature of life sometimes, it can also show a lack of commitment or an unfounded goal. 

Looking back at the last time you made a goal or a resolution, have you been able to honor it? Are you making choices every day that get you closer to reaching it? If not, why is that? 

Maybe the last time you set a goal, your priorities were very focused on physical wellness, but an injury has forced you to change what that looks like for you. Maybe your goal was all about getting your home organized, and then you found out that you were unexpectedly going...

Last week we were discussing how often we use the lack of time as an excuse for not doing those things we said we were going to do. You can read the whole post HERE but the main jist of it is that we make time for the things we call a priority as long as we are clear about what those priorities are. 

If you feel like you’ve mastered that and you’re still struggling to find the time to do participate in the things you’d like to do, whether that is a hobby or simply keeping up with laundry then we have to change our approach a little bit. If you’ve already mastered the skill of staying committed to your goals, honoring your priorities, and avoiding distractions and you still end the day with unfinished tasks it can certainly make you feel like you’re on a hamster wheel and not getting anywhere. 

My number one tip for this: Outsource! Look to your friends, family, and small businesses to help you accomplish all the things. You can hire a cleaning...

So often I hear someone tell me, “I don’t have time for that.” Immediately, I know that time is not the problem. Poor time management might be at play-I know I’m not the only one that gets sucked into social media! But more than likely, it’s an unclear understanding of your priorities that is the problem. 

See, we all get the same 24 hours in a day. Most people have a 40-50-hour workweek. Most people have homes to clean, groceries to buy, and laundry to do too. Among a million other things they’d like to do. The issue lies in having to make the decision between doing thing A or thing B. I used to have the same struggle until I got intentional about how I spend my time. Because we ONLY get 24 hours in the day. I can make more money. I can buy more food. I can watch that show later, but I cannot get this moment back. It sounds so cliché, but the truth is time is priceless. No one can make more, no one can stop it, no one can refund it....

The start of a new year, a new month, a new job, a new adventure creates an energy of new goals, dreams, and motivations. Have you ever noticed how the luster and excitement of starting something new wears off and all of a sudden you’re not interested anymore? Maybe you have a pile of yarn from that new crocheting hobby you were going to take up. Maybe you have an online course you bought to learn a new skill or some self-development. Maybe you bought a membership for a gym that you used 4 times and have never been back. Not because you didn’t enjoy any of it, but because the new wore off. Don’t judge yourself for this, it happens to the best of us—92% of us according to inc.com. So, what on earth are you supposed to do to stay motivated?

Step one: Stop shoulding on yourself.

So often we do things because we “should.” I should be going to the gym, so I’ll buy a membership. I should have a hobby to relax, so I’ll take up...

Sometimes it’s refreshing to not have any plans. To have a whole day open for whatever comes your way! However… it’s very hard to live every day like that. Most of us are driven by deadlines, points of necessity, and feelings of accomplishment. That is why we make to-do lists and schedules. Most of us get more done if we know what we are doing. As a general rule of thumb we do well with listing tasks for work, or getting the kids ready for the day, and maybe even our own daily routines as far as normal housework goes. But how are you doing on the road to your own wellness? Do you have a plan and goals for feeling better, more at peace, or less exhausted? Do you have any direction for having more positive relationships or a deeper connection with your partner? 

Here’s the funny thing about life. We get so caught up in helping everyone else achieve their goals that we forget about achieving our own. We forget to even set our own personal goals. I...

Who would you be if you weren’t burnt out and tired and exhausted all the time? If you had the energy to get on the floor and play with your kids? What would it look like if you weren’t exhausted? Or if the smallest thing didn’t set you off? If you had the energy and the desire to interact with your partner for more than just the, “how was your day?” “good, how was yours?” type of small talk? What kind of mom would you be if your stress didn’t rule you’re every waking thought? What kind of wife would you be if anger and frustration were not the go-to emotions? 

Can you imagine a life where peace is your default setting instead of frustration? 

Imagine a life where instead of feeling like everything is your responsibility, you know exactly which tasks are yours and exactly which ones are a priority today. Imagine a life where you get to live in such a way that you do the things that make your heart happy routinely and...

Offering someone compassion doesn't always feel as easy as criticizing them. Because it feels hard it might even feel “better” to criticize before we offer compassion. Sit with that for a second… it feels better to criticize others than it does to offer compassion. Not just others, but yourself too. It feels better to criticize yourself than to offer yourself compassion because that is easier. Like water, we do take the path of least resistance. But like water in a flood zone, that path can certainly be destructive! 

Today, I want you to check your inner dialogue. Whether it’s walking through the store or after a conversation with your co-workers or interacting with a customer. Your knee-jerk response is likely one with a negative approach. “What is she wearing?” “I cannot believe she allows her kids to do that!” “Grow up and manage your money like an adult and you wouldn’t need to put items back.”...

The new year is coming, for so many of us, that means a new resolve to do better, be better, make a change. Maybe New Year’s Resolutions are not your thing, but constant growth and evolution should be. The concept is the same. The problem with change is that it is hard. It takes time. It takes commitment and dedication. It takes baby steps.  

That is the ticket to any change. Small, consistent steps.  

I want you to be successful. I want to see you reach your goals and become the best version of yourself that you can be. So how can you do that? First of all, your goal/resolution has to be specific. “Lose weight” isn’t enough. “Eat healthily” isn’t enough. “Pray more” isn’t enough. “Be happier” isn’t enough. All of these ideas are good, but your resolution needs to have a bit more of a step-by-step process to be truly successful. Did you know that less than 10% of the resolutions made...