Not "Gold Digger" but Goal Digger. That's me. 

I like lists. I like writing things down and taking notes. No, not electronically. I prefer the old fashioned way. Just ask Kyle, I'd gladly take a pen and piece of paper over any type of electronic record. There's something about being able to freehand my thoughts and ideas that just doesn't have the same feeling if I were to type it in. Yes, I have a blog. I also have a journal. That way, I can jot down my personal feelings in a private place but use this blog as an outlet and a more public way of writing about our family and things that I need to let out. 

With my love of writing things down comes a love of setting goals. Whether I scribble it on to a sticky note or I get a fresh sheet of lined paper, I like to set goals and come up with plans to accomplish those goals. I'll admit that there have been many times that I write down goals and they fall by the wayside. No matter how set I am on getting to work on them, I lose momentum and hope in myself. Regardless, I make new goals. I write up new plans. I don't give up forever, I just take a temporary break or two to reevaluate and ponder on the best path to take toward the finish line. 

Some goals are a lot easier than others. For example, setting a goal to run for 10 minutes each day is fairly simple while setting a goal to run a marathon will take a lot longer to accomplish. It's not to say that one is better than the other, I'm just trying to point out that there are varying aspects of every goal, whatever it may be. 

In previous posts, I've mentioned some goals that we have made as a couple. Things like when we'd like to purchase our first home, trips we'd like to go on, financial stability goals, and the list goes on. Although making a goal is a great first step, the work is incomplete until you create realistic steps to accomplishing that goal in a timely manner. 

I've been taught that goals must be S.M.A.R.T. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Going from being a couch potato to running a marathon in one week is not realistic nor attainable or timely. Instead, you should write out a game plan. If you run this much every day and increase by this much each week, then in this much time you can run a marathon. Until you accomplish each step and make sure your goal is SMART, the goal will never be accomplished. It will leave you discouraged and upset, feeling like a failure and a loser. That's not how goals are supposed to make you feel! Goals are meant to make you take a good look at your situation and get you motivated and excited to get from where you are now to where you want to be. 

Today, after finishing up with work, I looked up at my white board. I try to write down a quick to do list for the day so I know the things that need to get done. Next to that, I have a sign I found at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago.



Having it right there above my work space reminds me of my worth. I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. I'm a goal digger! With a surge of motivation, I decided to write out some goals for our family. I put them in to 3 categories; Financial, Travel, and Looking Ahead. Each category has a few ideas of things we'd like to accomplish or be better at. Me being me, I had to use cute fonts and bullet point everything so it looks fresh and clean.