The dance of productivity continues through the end of the fourth quarter. 2017 will wrap up in 35 days. For the next few blogs, lets focus on goals, intentions, and actions that you made in January of 2017. Do you remember? Did you write them down?

A goal is a specific action that you wanted to reach. An intention is a larger picture of sticking to something, a lifestyle, if you will. The actions follow the goals and intentions, which create choices that propel you forward in your desired direction.

Last winter, I wrote my goals down. I am especially proud I took into account that I’m still on baby-time, hence an easier goal-load for 2017. This lessened the quantity of goals, yet they were still SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, thrilling).

When it comes to goals, what a game-changer to have children in the mix. For those of you without kids, my friend put it exceptionally well. She said, “Before kids, as far as motivation and action go, we used to be like bow and arrows. Point. Aim. Shoot. After kids, it’s a spattering in all directions.” If you can picture a huge bucket holding your day’s direction, the bucket drops from 40 feet up, and there your direction goes, every which way. There’s a lot of surrender while I still remain focused, re-focused, and motivated in the chaos of children.

I digress, but I digress for a reason. You create your goals so your life can move forward in a certain way. In my 20’s, I could always see my life with children and a guy I continued to have the hots for. Sure, that put a damper on my career. Sure, I had to make sacrifices, and lose a lot of sleep, money, peace of mind, and energy. But it’s what I wanted in the grand scheme of things.

“You can have it all, not just all at once”

Look back on 2017, and don’t complain. The world is crazy fast and our culture’s values change quickly. That’s not the point. The point is, what did you do to propel yourself toward who you want to be and what you want to create in your world? To get crystal clear on how you want your life to look, is a must. To take time and reflect on what goals were a success and which were failures, is basic good practice.

Take a moment to review the goals and intentions that you made at the beginning of this year. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is this goal still relevant? If not, why?

2. Do I think/feel that this goal has been successfully reached?

3. How does it feel to have succeeded?

4. How does it feel to have failed?

5. What can I truly celebrate as I reflect both the successes and failures?

Number 5 is SUPER IMPORTANT. If you said you would save $5,000 this year, and you did it, it’s time to celebrate. Our culture isn’t great at these nuances. When you celebrate, you put a period on it. There’s a beginning, middle, and end to your intention setting. You also send out the energy of success, which breeds more success. You’re on a role now!

If you don’t know how to celebrate, ask a friend who you’ve seen do it well. My best advice here, is to make it known, announce your success in a way that tells the story you want to tell. It could be to take 5 colleagues up Sanitas and make it all about you for that time. It could be to throw a party. Whatever it is, don’t breeze through this and hurry to your 2018 goals. Stop. Look. Listen to your soul’s pride, and allow the actualization of your goal to have substance and spirit.

For this week, review your 2017 goals and celebrate what you can. Take time to reflect on why you made the goals you did, and how you do or don’t want to build on them.

I make 3-5 SMART goals. They reflect the important sectors of my life. Finances, Career, Family, Personal Growth, and Physical Health. I have kept these goals visible all year, so I naturally assessed them regularly.

Goal setting is for you, the process needs to work – for you. If you find that last year’s goals have been forgotten, next week’s blog will discuss what you can do now to make them stick later. If you have had them front and center, then you now have fodder to build upon, and tweaking for even more clarity next year.

Be good to yourself for the next 35 days, and I’ll talk with you next Monday.

Love,

Kate

Kate Galt

Kate Galt writes the Motivation Monday Blog for AboutBoulder.com.

Her mission is for those in relationship to be the best they can be to each other. If that’s not happening, it’s time for an overhaul. As a Certified Relationship Coach, Kate Galt is known as the Breakup Expert because she understands the healthiest way out of heartache. The breakup transition is a HUGE change that takes an enormous amount of energy to overcome. If she can motivate, uplift, and guide men and women going through this devastating transition, she’s living her purpose.

Share these resources with your friends in need. Kate’s YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/thebreakupexpert) is a five-star resource. Her Friday Night Broken Hearts Club (https://kategalt.com/webinar-registration/) is a free online meeting not to be missed. These tools provide tips and strategies to recover faster and start laughing again.

Kate hopes the Motivation Monday Blog inspires you to dream big and follow-up that dream with bold action!