Recently I discovered that my amazing cousin Hannah started a YouTube channel about her pregnancy and trying to conceive. I was watching her videos, and she had one where she talked about coping with trying and trying without the results a couple might want, and something she said about goals really got me thinking about my life. (And no, my boyfriend and I are not yet ready to be parents)
I was trying to figure out what sort of picture could signify my goals. I didn't want to steal a picture from a Google Image search, so I scrolled through all my pictures on Facebook and found this gem. I thought it was fitting because it is future oriented, but silly, and taken on Spaceship Earth in Epcot. Yeah, I'm a nerd :) My sister, Maddie, is on the left.
She mentioned that it's good to have multiple goals, some small, some big. Some that may seem trivial and others that are huge and life-changing. And this rang so true for me. When it comes to my goals (or what I have previously defined as goals), they're all pretty huge, and each day, week, month that goes by without success can really beat down my spirit. Sure, I may have done the dishes and gone to the gym, but I still don't own a house. I pay my bills on time, but I'm not planning my wedding.
Cue the epiphany from Hannah. If I have one or two huge goals that I base my success and happiness on, each day I fixate on them is a day I have failed. And that is not healthy. I need to find success in each day, and that way, just because I "failed" to buy a house that day, I won't see myself as a failure day to day. I am being a bit dramatic with calling myself a failure - I don't actually see myself that way. However, I do get a bit defeated when I notice that I'm 26 and my friends are getting married or buying houses or having babies or...
So how do I fix this? I'm a list-maker. I enjoy being able to cross things off, because it signifies that I have accomplished something. If it's something "trivial", like painting my nails, it's still something that I wanted to do that day, so I have accomplished a goal! I need to shift my mindset, and see these small things as "goals". That way, I am a success each and every day, maybe multiple times a day, just because I checked something off the list.
Did I take Riker for a hike? SUCCESS! Did I do the laundry? SUCCESS! Did I sew something? SUCCESS!
I hope that I can quickly condition my brain into seeing that I am a successful human being, who finishes things when she puts her mind to it. And I can also find ways to create small goals that I can more quickly cross off my list that lead to success in my huge, lofty goals. Want a house? Put away a little money each month - It will add up, and is completely doable!
My lists (and sublists and sub-sublists) can be my recipe for a successful life. When cooking, you need to prepare your ingredients in the right order, with patience, and not just throw everything in at once. My goals are the same way. I won't magically be able to afford a house one day. It takes time, dedication, motivation, research and hard work. And so does that T-shirt quilt I've forgotten to work on for months. I need discipline, along with my lists, and then I can conquer any goal.
