My 2018 PowerSheets Goals + My Word of the Year
How are you feeling about 2018? As I sat down in December to reflect on 2017 and prep for the year ahead, the one word that described my feelings toward 2018 was READY. Ready for a fresh start. Ready to dive into the next. And ready to stretch myself to fashion a life and business I love. Are you ready to dive in with me?
With expectancy, I sat down with my PowerSheets to set my yearly goals. I gave up resolutions a long time ago. Resolutions are yearly wishes. They are basically a list of things that you like to do, but more likely than not, you won't get to them. Goals, however, are decisions. Decisions that give you direction and purpose. They are a target that you are aiming to hit, and when you hit them, they shape you further into the woman God created you to be. So as I brainstormed my 2018 goals, I asked myself two questions that would mold me into that woman: 1) Where and how is God leading me in 2018? 2) What goals can I set that will support the overall vision of the life He has called me to live?
The first word that came to mine is planted. I wanted to be planted. I’ve been moving ever since I graduated high school almost 7 years ago. I’ve lived in 4 different states over the course of those years, and I’m so ready to be planted. But planting involves putting down roots. Once a seed is planted, in order for it to grow, it must begin to put down roots. Once the plant is rooted, both the plant and its roots have to keep growing for it to be ready and mature enough to bear fruit.
After taking inventory of last year, I realized that although I was planted here, I wasn’t really rooted here; therefore, I wasn’t rooted or mature enough to bear the fruit I wanted to see. So this year, I wanted not only be firmly planted but rooted. Rooted in my church. Rooted in this fairly new city. Rooted in my relationship. Rooted in my finances. And rooted in my business. So my word of the year is rooted and my goals have been crafted with that word in mine.
2018 Goals
1) Faithfully root and establish myself in Atlanta.
Although I have been here for almost two years, I haven’t fully rooted myself here. My stuff is still in storage. I haven’t transitioned my doctors here yet. And if you peeked into my room, you would probably think that I’m still living out of a suitcase (because basically, I am). I’ve been having a hard time making this place home for various reasons, but I know that the Lord has called me here. Since I have a feeling that this will be my home for awhile, I want to make sure that I’m rooting and establishing here.
2) Be deeply rooted in my faith and the House of the Lord.
I don’t feel as though I’m stagnant in my relationship with God, but I want to have a deeper, richer, more mature faith. A lot of that looks like going deeper in my prayer walk -- praying more and reading more books about prayer. It also looks like me getting more involved with my church. I joined almost a year ago, but the job I had for most of the year involved me mainly working weekends. This year I want to focus on rooting myself in my church, building community there, and using my gifts to serve.
3) Prepare my heart and soul to become one with Justin.
December 14 marked my boyfriend and I’s 5th anniversary (6 unofficially ;), and we’ve been having a lot of conversations about marriage and when we would like to make that next step. Although I’m not sure if it’s going to happen this year or next, there are some areas of my heart and soul that I want to prepare for becoming a wife and stepmom.
4) Steward my finances faithfully and diligently.
I believe that I’m called to a life of financial freedom-- being debt free as well as free from comparison and discontentment surrounding finances. Although I’m pretty good at managing my money, entrepreneurship has made me even more serious about making sure that I'm being a good steward of my finances. I’m learning how to trust God more than ever in this area, and my goal is to make sure that I’m handling my finances faithfully, diligently, and wisely.
5) Cultivate a happy, holistic, and healthy life.
Ever since college but especially in the last few years, I feel like I’ve gotten away from taking care of myself and doing the things that I truly enjoy. Anxiety and stress have wreaked havoc on my gastrointestinal health, I’ve fallen off with exercise, and I rarely truly take time to rest and just be. So for the past few months, I’ve been working with a naturopath to fight this gastrointestinal diagnosis, restore my stomach, and make overall improvements to my health. It’s going to be a really long and painstaking process, but I know it will be well worth it. I’m also working on getting back to the things that I enjoy. Up until high school, I was a voracious reader; I would read 2-3 books a week and still be hungry for more. In college, I fell off with reading for fun, so now that my parents gifted me a Kindle Oasis for Christmas I look forward to reading fiction again.
6) Intentionally love my friends & family well.
My immediate family lives in Ohio and my closest friends are spread across the East Coast, so I want to make sure that I’m intentionally tending to and nurturing these relationships even though they are miles away. That means keeping up with birthdays (I’m really bad at birthdays), being more mindful (I’m an out of sight, out of mind kind of girl), and really focusing on cultivating a spirit of generosity and servanthood.
7) Grow a purposeful and profitable business.
Being that this will be my first full year of entrepreneurship, this goal is super important to me. I don’t just want to be profitable (although that’s important), I want to make sure that my business is leaving a purposeful impact on all those who engage with it. That looks like me really digging in to do the hard work of business development and releasing new content, products, and services that will support you in your season of pursuing your own goals and purpose.
8) Create purposeful partners and strategic alliances.
To be honest, this has to be one of my most challenging goals. I know that you can’t do business alone and I understand the importance of networking, but my 51% INFJ side is having a hard time embracing this one. There are so many women powerhouses in my industry that I know can serve Fearfully Fashioned and that I can do the same for them. There are so many relationships that I want to cultivate. It’s just a matter of putting myself out there and being intentional and consistent with them.
9) Intentionally steward and boldly share Fearfully Fashioned’s message and solutions.
You might be surprised, but I have a hard time when it comes to self-promotion. My worse fear is that people would think that I’m advertising and marketing false solutions since my products and services are focused on coaching and personal development. The Lord recently revealed to me that, that thought was keeping me stagnant in my business growth and is solely a lie of the enemy. Jesus wasn’t afraid of sharing His message. He boldly shared the message of salvation to all who were willing to hear and receive, and while my message isn’t nearly as transformative as Jesus’, I play a part in sharing His message through the message and solutions of my business. Therefore, my goal this year is to share that message boldly and unashamedly.
10) Seek new ways to grow myself and stretch my faith in business.
Just in case no one has ever told you, entrepreneurship is a faith walk. It requires faith to know (and believe) that as you plant good seeds, God will water them and make them grow. It requires faith to trust in His direction and provision. My faith has been stretched so far in my life and business this year, and God is stretching it even more. My goal this year is to lean into that. To stretch myself. To push past the self-limiting thoughts and behaviors that are threatening to sabotage my success. This looks like investing in myself personally, spiritually, and business-wise so I can work faithfully and diligently on my business.
So there you have it! These are my 2018 goals. Although I’ve taken action steps toward accomplishing these goals, there is still so much progress left to be made. I’m nervous, but even more confident in the work that God can do through me.
Are you struggling to set or make progress on your 2018 goals? Maybe you need the accountability and strategy so you can finally commit to your goals and make them happen? My one-on-one coaching programs are designed to do just that -- give you the accountability, strategy, and the confidence needed to fashion a life & business that you and God love. All month long I’m giving away a free copy of the Developing Discipline e-Book and free access to the She’s Intentional LifeClass to new clients. Click here to learn more and apply for a complimentary Clarity Session.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase the PowerSheets mentioned in this post, I will make an affiliate commission. All products and resources I recommend have been vetted and used by me. If you decide to purchase them, at no additional cost to you, you help support Fearfully Fashioned.
