Leaving Failure in 2018
‘Tis the season for self-reflection and setting new goals! I don’t know about you, but I find the end of one year and the beginning of another just about as refreshing as a cold glass of lemonade on a hot summer day. That is to say- I dig it.
Each year, even before I set my goals and New Year’s resolutions, I decide on a single word I will use as a guide, a compass so to speak, to apply towards all my goals and pursuits for the year. I use it as a focal point, or even more appropriately a lens to look at my world and myself through.
2018 WAS ALL ABOUT INTENTION.
That was my word. I set out to be intentional in strengthening my relationship with God, with my kids, with my husband. I set out to be intentional about budgeting and getting out of debt. I set out to be intentional in my health and fitness, in my business. Now that the year is coming to a close, I can honestly say my word choice was powerful and incredibly helpful! I became a person who set goals and pursued them with intention. I ran a half marathon (and was previously NOT a runner), I lost weight, I read a devotional and wrote in my journal every single day, I was intentional in growing as a wife and being present with my kids, and I even got out of more than half of the debt we carry. Looking back over the 2018, I do feel pretty satisfied with what I’ve been able to focus on and carry out.
But do you know what is funny? There is this blaring, blinding, almost annoyingly conspicuous area that I failed in being intentional this past year and in my mind, it almost cancels out all those beautiful things I feel so great about in the previous paragraph. Sometimes we get so focused on what doesn’t work that we completely miss the things that went perfectly wonderfully… or is that just me? First goal of 2019: Celebrate the wins and give grace! I think we can all do more of that!
So I failed miserably in my health. Yes, my fitness was okay- all the running and such- but my eating! I just can’t seem to be intentional about self-control and self-discipline. Y’all I share this because for me, it’s not at all about weight loss, it’s about health. I know better. And I know how to do better. And I was miserable most of the year because my body literally doesn’t work when I don’t eat what I know I need to eat.
As I move into 2019, I KNOW I need to leave this ‘failure’ back in 2018. I need to let it go! Feeling discouraged and frustrated about it isn’t serving me and I know that in order for me to face this personal Goliath head on, I’m going to need to take that head trash to the curb. I do NOT want what didn’t happen last year to stand in the way of what I can accomplish in the New Year. So what about you?
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO LEAVE IN 2018 SO AS TO ATTACK YOUR 2019 GOALS HEAD ON?
The year has already begun- let’s get to it!
Written by Wendy Cunningham