Goal-Setting for 2020!

2020 is here, y’all!!!

There’s such an awesome energy and excitement for what feels like a bit of a fresh start! 2020 in particular feels bigger – it’s a whole new decade of happiness, good living, soul-enamoring gratitude, and opportunity! Guys, some of the most incredible moments of our lives haven’t even happened yet! Does that make your heart burst and soar like it does mine?! Goodness gracious, I am SO EXCITED for this year!!!

I know a lot of us look forward to our futures in general, whether it’s catalyzed by the new year rolling around or not. We have dreams, ladies and gents! We see this new year, our futures, as a clean slate, full of opportunity, elevated mindsets, new experiences, increased income, and more fulfillment and happiness than ever before. So many of us have high, high hopes (cue Panic! At The Disco) and celebrate that along with the turning of the new year!

But for some, recognizing and celebrating a new year feels overrated, pointless, and even a bit dreadful. Like, “Another new year is rolling around, and I’m still where I was at a year ago? Another year, but still no closer to the life I want or hitting the milestones I envisioned?” Or how about the more bitter comments like, “My life is what it is; I’ve been dealt the cards I have and dreaming for bigger and better is simply a fantasy that I’m too old and experienced to get caught up in. I know what this world is. I know what this life is like. My life won’t magically be better this year; it’ll be the same crap.” Let’s not exclude the things we tell ourselves when scrolling through Facebook and Insta, either: “If I see one more person post ‘new year, new me’ I’m going to freak. New year, new you? Maybe strive to find some originality this year, Karen, and let your actions speak for you.“

Yiiiikes. Was that a bit intense? Too negative? Well, I’ve thought these exact thoughts before. Add in “New year, same single/lonely life” and “why would my life be any different this year than it has been in the past?” and you have my precise thought pattern at the end of every year. I know I’m not alone in this.

Your Outlook on 2020

How you view the new year says a lot about how you view your life. Maybe you are excited and you’re looking forward to all of the growth you’ll achieve!

Maybe, just maybe, though, you’re in the latter group. Maybe you feel angry at life because it just doesn’t treat you well. You think it beats you down, chews you up, and spits you out. You think it keeps you trapped in your circumstances no matter how hard you try. You’re not looking forward to the new year because you didn’t find happiness in any of the other years.

You wake up exhausted, stuck, and numb, and when you do feel something, it’s irritability and anger. I know your pain because I’ve lived it. You think the unfair, difficult world is the reason you’re not happy. But please let me speak to you from a place of kindness, grace, and love: You’re wrong. You have a victim mentality, and your mindset is the reason your current life is the way it is.

As much as we refuse to believe it, and as “out there” as it may seem, we manifest what we believe – about ourselves, our lives, our relationships, and our futures. We define our realities. If you believe you’re a victim and that life is always against you, you’re going to find every reason in life why that’s true. When something goes wrong, you’re going to blame the universe. When you’e exhausted, you’re going to blame your husband and your kids. When you feel overwhelmed, you’re going to blame your job and society for fueling the expectation that you have to be a career woman and a supermom and a good wife and an individual.

The problem with all of this, though, is that you come to believe that you have no control over your life, and you in turn take no responsibility. By victimizing yourself, you take away your power, put yourself in a position of constant defense (as opposed to being on the offense), and allow your circumstances to determine the quality of your life. You allow misery and helplessness to expand into every nook and cranny of your heart and mind until all you see, all you feel, is mental and spiritual suffocation.

Friends, it doesn’t have to be that way. Please read that again. It doesn’t have to be that way.

You can reframe your thoughts and live an entirely different life. If you strive to see every obstacle and difficulty in life in a positive light, you’re never going to let any bumps in the road slow you down, derail your progress, or define your worth. You develop a tenacity, a drive, that makes incredible things happen for you! You come to believe in yourself, that things will work out for the best, and that you’re capable of achieving every goal on your heart. And guess what? Your stars align; the universe comes into harmony with you. Things begin to happen!

I know it feels impossible to go from a person who feels pummeled by life to a person who believes in positivity, manifestation, and self-efficacy. You think that you are the way you are and that’s just how you’re made. But I promise you, it’s possible. It won’t happen overnight, but little by little, you’ll become the person you never knew you needed. Even if you’re weary, get a piece of paper, a pen, and ignore your hesitations. We’re jumping into 2020, y’all!

Building the Framework for 2020 Success

If 2020 is going to be your year, then you MUST tackle it with intention and focus. It’s super important to define exactly what your goals are for the year ahead, which is why I set aside time to make a list of my own goals! With a pen and paper in my lap, I asked myself: What do I want to happen this year? What steps am I going to take to get closer to my huge dreams? When I envision a successful year, what do I see myself achieving?

I anticipated this exercise would go quickly because I’m a huge dreamer and goal-digger (Jenna Kutcher reference – check her out if you have no clue who I’m talking about!). Like, I definitely know what I want in my future: Making 6 figures, owning my own brand and business, having the freedom to live life on my terms, owning condos in Hawaii (near my mommy) and down south (near my sisters), and starting my own non-profit.

But y’all, I sat there and wrote nothing, because my mind went BLANK!

Seriously, I couldn’t identify what I wanted to accomplish specifically in the next 365 days. I know clearly what I want down the road, but I struggled to break those huge dreams down into smaller steps that I could work toward now! How could I work towards something if I didn’t even know what “something” was?! How could I have a productive year, a breakthrough year, if I didn’t even know what I wanted to happen?

THIS is the reason this exercise is important! THIS is the reason I’m writing about this!

Friends, I want you to do the same thing. Sit down with a pen and paper and ask yourself what you want for 2020. Write down the first things that pop into your mind, the dreams that don’t make perfect sense, the goals that you think you don’t have time for. Write it ALL down!

Half the battle is simply allowing yourself to dream and resisting the “Well it’s never gonna happen so what’s the point of thinking about it” attitude. Take your dreams and begin breaking them down into smaller steps.

• Do you want to buy a home? Save for your down payment. What can you aim to save this year?
• Do you want to own your own bakery? Take a cake decorating class this year!
• Do you want to find happiness? Buy a top-rated self development book and get to work!

No matter what it is you dream of, there are things you can do this year that will get you closer to your end-goal. Make your list, narrow your focus, and harness your power! Work your butt off to achieve your 2020 goals, accept nothing less in the process, and they will happen for you! Your mind and energy are too powerful for the universe to ignore! Cheers!!!