Goals

Goals.

We all have them, whether you take the time to sit and write out a list for yourself, or it is a quick passing thought at midnight as the New Year arrives, we all have something - or many things - we would like to achieve.

My Dad has always been into writing his goals down on lists. He taught this to me, and I remember as a teenager, when every new school year would start I would write out my goals. The GPA I wanted to have, clubs or teams I wanted to become a part of, get my driver's license, etc.

I still put my goals down. For me it is important to see them visually. People say that if you see your goals every day (either written down, or in some visual form), then you are much more likely to achieve those goals.

Shortly before I met Richard I made a goal board with pictures on it. I had a good job, but I was hoping to meet a nice guy. It had been a couple years since my last boyfriend, and I found it to be almost impossible to meet any decent guys (I worked in an office full of women), and while I tried online dating websites, yes, don't make fun, I didn't have any success there either.

After living on my own for a year and a half, I had moved back in with my parents at the end of March to save up some money over the summer. I made my goal board, shortly after settling in at their house. I put pictures on it of all the things I wanted. I found a photo in a magazine of a couple that looked happy, in love. I wanted that. I wanted to find a great guy that could steal my heart. I put the picture up.

Next, I looked for a picture of the kind of ring I liked. After all, once I found this awesome guy, I knew I would want to marry him! I found a picture of an antique-style ring, with diamonds along the band. I put the picture up.

Next I looked for a photo of a cute house. Once I found one I liked, I put the picture up. I also found a photo of a book and I photo-shopped my name in as the author, since I would love to write a book one day. I put the picture up. There were a few other photos, but you get the idea.

So I made this board at the end of March/beginning of April. Every morning when I got up, I looked at it, and every night as I was going to bed I saw it. I didn't do anything with it, talk to it, nothing. Just looked at it every day.

I met Richard in early June. We both knew right away that what we had was different from anything we'd experienced before. He made it pretty clear that he wanted to propose to me, and I found out later that a friend of mine gave him that picture of the ring I liked, when he went shopping for my ring. Within about three months of making the board, I met my husband, and got a beautiful antique-style ring with diamonds on the band. Pretty unbelievable, but also pretty awesome. Of course, not everything from the board has come true, but that doesn't mean they never will.

I remember shortly after I met Richard he wanted us to make a list of our goals together. I found that list a few months ago, and it was amazing, Richard had accomplished nearly everything he set out for himself. Maybe goal-setting isn't a perfect system, but I do believe there is much power in it. I think once you set those goals and dreams in motion, and if you're visually seeing those goals every day, it can definitely lead you to where you want to be.

This year I set some fun goals for myself. I wanted to participate in three 5k walk/runs, (I have done two so far), and I really wanted to make a quilt, (done! And it was really fun).

What goals do all of you have?