It’s been a long time, I shouldn’t have left you…
It has been a year since I have posted. Last year I was all about setting goals and crushing them. Based on the fact that my first post of 2018 was also my last, it is evident that I need to do a little more
Here’s a list of many things I didn’t get done in 2018:
- Blog once a month.
- Study for and pass a certification exam.
- Pick one of the 7,000 writing projects that I’ve started to finish and create an outline for others.
- Read a book a month.
These were my goals for the first quarter of 2018. The only thing I accomplished was to continue to work out 4 days a week. It was easy for me to do because I love the way working out makes me feel and look. I have also found that my fitness transformation has inspired others and that makes me smile <cue Lil Duval & Snoop>. But why the hell can’t I put the same energy into writing, reading a book a month & budgeting (not on the list above, but still something that I struggle with as an adult) that I put into working out and eating right (80% of the time)?
To find the answer to that question, I have been doing a lot of self-reflection so I don’t end up playing Whac-a-Mole with my goals in 2019. I have been listening to podcasts, the voice within, and journaling to help understand what’s stopping me from progressing in all areas of life. When one of my favorite Podcasters spoke about identifying your word of the year, I was able to pinpoint the one thing that would catapult me to a place of significant goal crushing. That one thing, my word for 2019, is ACTION. I realized that I can plan the mess out of something. However, planning is only the first step. I need to do a better job at execution. Plans require action, and lack of action is why I did not meet the majority of my 2018 goals.
Oh, but Nicole you workout all the time. That takes discipline and dedication. You can do anything. I can. I just have to do some things to transfer that same discipline and dedication I have for health & fitness into other areas of my life. I was able to transform my physical body because I planned every workout, and then I took the action necessary to see the manifestation of that plan. I set my alarm for the days that I was going to the gym at 5 a.m. before heading to work. I put each workout in my calendar. I signed up for classes that required pre-registration. I laid out my gym clothes every night. I made sure that I had enough clean gym clothes to support my workouts for the week. I invited people to work out with me and shared my goal with others (ACCOUNTABILITY). I followed the social media pages of my favorite workout facilities and fitness influencers. I took action. My action in regards to working on being the fittest version of myself was FOCUSED, COURAGEOUS, and INTENTIONAL.
So that’s it. I need to take FOCUSED, COURAGEOUS, & INTENTIONAL ACTION in order to crush my goals. I need to plan time to write whether it is everyday or for several hours on Saturday & Sunday. I need to have the courage to share my voice with the world because there is someone who will be inspired by my words; there is someone waiting for the exact words that I am going to write. I need to be intentional about how I spend my time. I am currently sitting in a Starbucks in between two self-care appointments (#selfcarematters). I could have gone home, but I would have wasted time & gas ($$$) driving there and back. Plus, this would have required too many trips in and out of the car and it’s cold than a MOFO here. That’s why I took the necessary ACTION to sit here alongside my Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte and share these words with you. I had to be sure that my laptop was charged. I had to be sure to grab my idea notebook and planner. There may be someone out there who says that’s easy peasy and that it doesn’t take much to pack a tote bag. Some may say that I could have been doing this all last year. I could say the same thing to someone who’s been playing Whac-A-Mole with their health and fitness goals about how easy it is to pack a gym bag and sign-up for a class, but I am trying to be less petty in 2019. It’s about focus & intention. I was intentional when I packed my tote bag because I had already made the decision that in between my appointments I was going to take action on my plan to blog at least once a month.
So here we are on the 27th day of 2019, and I will say that I am doing an okay job of taking action towards accomplishing my goals. I went to a vision board event a few weeks ago where I was able to think more deeply about the vision for my life and be in the presence of purpose-driven, like-minded women. During that time, I heard a phrase that confirmed my word of the year: BULLDOG TENACITY. BULLDOG TENACITY= FOCUSED, COURAGEOUS, and INTENTIONAL ACTION.
That’s it. If I stay true to the course, which I should because I have no reason not to, you’ll hear a lot more from me in 2019 and I will have a lot of things to celebrate in 338 days as we wrap up the year.
What is your word for the year? What are you going to stop doing or do more of in 2019 to become the goal crusher that will propel you to the life of your dreams? I’d love to hear in the comments.
