I love the idea of 4 Simple Goals {hosted by Elsie at A Beautiful Mess}. My favorite part is probably the word “simple”; so often, when I create goals for myself, they are very specific & rarely uncomplicated. The idea of this project is to create goals “that will make your life richer and happier on a daily basis.” I want to create a mindset for myself with these goals, rather than just looking to accomplish a task & cross it off a list {not that there’s anything wrong with that either!}.
1. Turn the new house into a warm & loving space where I’m happy to live. I had sort of resigned myself to the fact that we were going to be living in crappy rental houses for the next two years, & I thought I was okay with that. But since I work from home & spend most of my time at home, I had no idea how much not loving my home would take a toll on me. This new house is a blessing that popped out of nowhere. The landlord is letting me choose most things, including the retro-inspired black & white checkered tile kitchen floor. I’m thrilled to be moving to a place that’s clean, bright, & {most importantly} safe. I’m excited about future thrifting excursions & filling the house with our well-loved things, as well as some new thrifty finds. I’m reinventing my style along the way, which is all part of becoming the woman I want to be. More {much much more} on this another time.
2. Get healthy. Enough with the excuses {& I have had many, including moving THREE times in the last 2.5 months, not living in a safe enough area to run, weather rivaling the climate of Dante’s Inferno, etc}. I’m armed with a membership to the university gym, where they have spin, Pilates, & yoga classes galore. There are treadmills & all sorts of other foreign machines. I’m paying for this every month, which is huge since we’re on a small budget, & shows how important it is to me. I also want to go for walks with Michael & the dogs more often, & this little town was made for long bike rides. No more talking about it, it’s time to get healthy & fit once again.
3. Actively look for ways to get involved in the surrounding community & make friends. Because they’re not coming to me, & if I don’t get out there & meet some people, I might explode. I’m actively trying to find a book club, a women’s group at a church, or pretty much anything that involves estrogen. I’m in a tough spot: I’m not a college student, yet I’m not a mom. There’s not a lot of groups in a small Southern college town for the “married, working woman.” But I will keep at it until I find a good fit & some friends to meet for coffee & mid-week chitchat.
4. Treat writing as a priority, not an option. Whenever I get busy, writing is the first thing to get pushed aside. I don’t want it to be like that. It’s my passion, it makes me happy, & I feel like I’m doing what I was meant to do when I’m scribbling on scratch paper or furiously typing away. Lately I’ve been staying up past my usual bedtime & using that time to write, & while that’s probably not the best long-term solution, it feels really good to be writing on a regular basis. In the next few months, I hope to develop some sort of system & make daily writing a habitual thing.
Well, that’s all I have for now. What about you? What are 4 Simple Goals you want to accomplish?
PS: Happy Weekend! We’ll be moving all weekend so I might be MIA come early next week, but once we’re settled into the new place I should have lots of new things to tell you. <3
Comments on 4 Simple Goals
From Jayme:
I love the idea of this and #4 is my fave. What ways do you plan on making it a priority, growing your writing and getting more organized?? would LOVE to hear your ideas as well as others!
Thanks,
Jayme
@jaymelamm
From Kyla Roma:
“Actively look for ways to get involved in the surrounding community & make friends”
This is one of my unofficial goals, I’ve been working really hard on branching out and making time for new friendships to happen. I want to be really involved in where I live, not an island :)
From mandy:
Great goals, Lauren. Branching out meeting new people, taking long bike rides, and making your new place a home all sound so fantastic and a great way to spend the fall months.
From Kaci Johanna:
Numbers 1 and 4? I’m right there with you, lady. We’re lucky enough to have bought a house, and I want it to be a HOME. A home where we can host family holidays and people feel cozy. And the writing? I used to ENJOY it. I still do, but sometimes it’s more of a chore than anything. I don’t want to feel that way about writing.
From Tabaitha:
Love the goals. Being healthy is really high on my list right now.
From san:
Love the “4 simple goals” idea by Elsie and I might just have to jump on the bandwagon… I especially agree with your #3 goal.
I’ve been living here for full 3 years now and I still don’t have a circle of friends to draw from… it’s so hard to make new friends when you’re not in College anymore and not yet a Mom. This in-between stage is so difficult, especially when you move to a new place where everybody seems to have their fixed circle of friends already.
Good luck on your goals!
From Jill:
The first of my 4 simple goals needs to be: make a list of 4 simple goals!! Yours are good. I saw your floor on twitter…excited to see your new house take shape! :) I think you have great style, from what I’ve seen.
From Kinsey Michaels:
These are all wonderful goals to aspire to. Your living environment can definitely take a toll on how you feel, so that’s great your new landlord is giving you some flexibility. And yay for joining the gym – I think classes can be a blast, and it may also be a perfect outlet for you to meet people too!
From Jayme:
Hey Lauren
Finally did my goals…thought I’d share!
http://adollarsigndollarsign.blogspot.com/2010/08/what-dreams-may-come.html
From Caitlin Brown:
I’m a lurker usually, but I thought this was a great idea and i should leave a comment :). Good luck on all of your goals <3 They definitely sound like ones I could use for myself as well!
From Victoria:
I know you will just LOVE your new HOME :))))
Your goals sound great! :)
From Nora:
I can’t wait to hear/see the new home! It sounds lovely already =)
I’m working on getting healthy too, so we can do that together, ok!?
These are fabulous goals and I think you can do them all with ease; I need to meet some new friends too, so any suggestions on how to do that would be most appreciated!
From Joy:
Love this!!
Giving serious thought and will post mine soon.
Wishing you great luck and much happiness achieving your goals!
From lil miss butterbean:
I’m *definitely* going to create my own goal list!! I can relate to being in a new town and not knowing anyone. The hubby and I have been in our little Texas town since April, and I have yet to meet anyone! I’m still driving two hours to Austin just to go out!
{btw, I’m dying to know where y’all moved to! The more you talk about the town, the more it reminds me of my hometown!}
From DanielthePoet:
I have a new set of simple goals, but I’m so exhausted I can’t remember what they are. I’ll get back to you.
From E.P.:
I love these four simple goals you have set for yourself, and they make me want to set some for myself, too. Like growing my photo business. And putting down roots in the place we will call home in a year. And learning how to make a gumbo as good as W’s dad.