I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I am not a big fan of new years resolutions. Why? Because to me, a resolution means you need to fix something with you or your life. And I’m a total believer that we are all exactly where we are meant to be and given all the gifts we need to serve others in this moment.

Resolutions mean you aren’t good enough.

Resolutions mean that you need to be a better person.

So can we vow to not make silly self commitments to go to the gym every day and never eat sugar again (who is sane enough to commit to that?!)? Because you are totally amazing right now, just as you are.

Although I am a resolution-basher, I totally believe in continuing to strive to live the life you want. Whether that’s a life spent globe-trotting with your best friend. Or a life where you are intentional about spending time with your family and growing your relationships with your friends. I know it’s so important to be active in how you are pursuing your life, so I am a big fan of writing down goals.

Did you know that only 13% of people have goals in mind for their life and only 3% of people actually WRITE DOWN THEIR GOALS?! Friends, do you want to look back on your life and wonder how the heck you got to the point you are? Even if your goal is as simple as “visit my grandparents in Oregon this year” (this was one of my 2017 goals that I wrote down), you are being intentional about how you want to live your life. You are so much more likely (like 40% more likely) to achieve your goals if you write them down.

Every January, Ben and I have a goal setting night where we clear off our white board from the previous year, pour some wine and spend the evening talking about and writing down what we want to achieve that year. So can I please encourage you to take just one evening in January to write down what you want out of 2018?

Here are some practical tips that Ben and I take to write down our goals:

• If you are doing it as a couple, write down individual goals and couple goals – for example, Ben has individual goals related to what he wants to do individually this year and I have individual goals related to mine, but together in 2017 we wrote down a team goal to “live somewhere else for one month out of the year”.
• Your goals can be about anything! I have written goals down about my business, my relationships, where I want to travel, how I want to volunteer and what I want to learn. Goal categories can include:
  • Personal Growth (Do you want to learn how to sew this year?)
  • Spiritual (Do you want to find a bible study group?)
  • Health + Fitness (Maybe you want to train for a half-marathon?)
  • Relationships (Do you want to be more intentional with your friendships by meeting up with friends one-on-one at least twice a month? Or, maybe you want to schedule a date-night with your fiance once a week?)
  • Career (Are you aiming for a promotion this year? Or, do you want to start your own business?)
  • For Fun (Do you want to climb four 14-ers this year because you got away from hiking in the busyness of life? Do you want to go on a road trip?)
• Write down long term and short term goals. When Ben and I write down our goals we write down goals for the year, but also goals that are far off (For example, we have the goal to someday live in another country with our kids. We don’t have kids and are not planning to have them soon, but we know we want to do that in our life).
• Don’t stress about how big they may be! I had two hefty goals written down for 2017 that I had no clue how I was going to achieve them. They were big, they were far off, and they totally scared me. But, because I intentionally wrote them down, throughout the year I was constantly thinking of them and did end up achieving them because I had the constant reminder. Even if you have the goal of flying to the moon, write it down and go for it!

Ok, now it’s your turn to pour a big glass of wine, put my inspirational Spotify playlist on the speaker and physically write down your goals for 2018 and beyond. I’m doing in right alongside you, friend, and cheering for you every step of the way!

To get you in the goal writing mood, I created a inspirational playlist to blast on the radio while you write down your 2018 goals! So pour a glass of wine, take out a piece of paper and get writing!