Identifying and achieving goals is a powerful way to improve life, but working moms often believe they are too busy to accomplish this. This can lead to some devastating results if moms are ignoring a goal that is critical to happiness.
Many busy working mothers do such a good job in so many areas — developing a successful career, raising talented children, maintaining a happy marriage — that no one seems to notice when they are faltering in another important area — like their health, their job satisfaction or their creative outlet.
This happened to me when everyone thought I had it all together but didn’t realize my overly cluttered house had become so dysfunctional it was affecting my relationships and peace of mind. Though I realized it was a problem, I thought I was too busy as a parent and professional to find the time to achieve my goal and get rid of the clutter. After I recognized the negative impact the problem was having on all members of my family, I finally promised myself it was worth diverting some attention away from career and kids and other priorities to focus on this ONE GOAL. I was successful in achieving my dream of moving to a house with a basement by following a series of steps that I created after listening to numerous audiobooks on motivation, organization and determination.
Since then, I have given talks at various events describing my ONE GOAL strategy to help others define an area of their life that they are neglecting and come up with a plan to resolve the issue. I am sharing a snippet of my latest presentation in the hopes of helping you.
It’s not easy when you have kids at home to maintain work-life balance, especially if you have other projects you want to accomplish.
In my life, my two teenagers come first. I also make it a priority to connect with my husband and advance my career every day. That’s easier said than done, juggling all those things.
The highlight reel on social media may look like you have it all together, but on the inside you may not be feeling that.
I want to show you how to evaluate the FOUR KEY CATEGORIES in your life. If you are aware of those categories, you can catch something before it gets to the point where you need therapy or are affecting your children adversely.
The problem today is we strive to do everything 100%, but we don’t feel we’re doing anything the way we want to.
Everyone has goals and wants to achieve them. Why wouldn’t someone achieve them? Not everyone has the road map to get there. I came up with a road map to get to goals and have done this over and over. I call this my ONE GOAL strategy.
This is the formula I had been using many times in my life. First recognize the FOUR KEY CATEGORIES in life. You want to be aware if something in one of these categories is not in the right place, and then you want to take the ONE GOAL steps to fix it.
I share my story at live events because I know there are SO many parents out there beating themselves up over how they are handling things in their life. And I hope to share some wisdom to stop the voice that reiterates the guilt and create the voice that supplies the solution.
SO HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING IN YOUR LIFE THAT REQUIRES YOUR ONE GOAL FOCUS, AND HOW WOULD YOU POSSIBLY HAVE THE TIME TO CREATE THAT FOCUS WHEN YOUR LIFE IS ALREADY OVERWHELMINGLY BUSY?
The motivation is the realization that identifying and achieving that goal can be the difference between happiness and discontent, between health and feeling lousy, between energy and exhaustion.
Finding that goal and fulfilling it can make a big difference in life.
If you attend my live event, you go through a worksheet to REVEAL something that is truly weighing on your mind, even if you’ve been pushing it to the back of your mind for a long time. That one goal is something that has been weighing you down, and you want to work on. It is something missing.
You’d be surprised how the world can come to your aid when you let others know what you need, like the law of attraction. You don’t have to share it, but it will help. If you really want to lose weight but you’re having a problem with saying no to junk food and your co-workers know it, they may stop bringing in donuts every Friday and setting them on your desk. If you feel there is no spontaneity or adventure in your life and your spouse finds out you feel that way, they may surprise you by finding a sitter one Saturday night and taking you to the place where you met for a romantic dinner – even when it’s not your anniversary. Let the world know, and you’d be surprised how they respond when they know you have that goal.
I AM SHARING MY FORMULA TO HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR “ONE GOAL.” I came up with this after listening to thousands of hours of audiobooks in the car while driving from the Chicago suburbs to Milwaukee for 15 years. There are tons of resources out there, and I’ve distilled the information into a succinct plan with proven theories that work.
(1) First, you must pick just one area that I mentioned that you know is not where it should be. And you must determine what you can do to fix it, and write it down. The act of putting your goal in writing is the first step and is scientifically proven to help you get there. Be specific.
(2) Next, it’s best if you share your goal with others. It keeps you accountable. I would love it if someone shares their goal with us today. Who is brave enough to do that? If not, tell a family member or friend. Join a Facebook group and tell them. Find a life coach, then check in with them daily or weekly. If you really don’t want to admit this to anyone, at least keep a journal to discuss your progress with yourself and write down what steps you plan to take each day.
(3) Then, to achieve your ONE GOAL, it should be the first thing you think about when you open your eyes every morning. Not in that aching way that reminds you of something about your life you hate, but in that rejuvenating sense of new possibilities emerging — the way you felt when you were pregnant and so excited for the birth of your child. This is the gestation phase of your new life.
(4) To stay motivated, you must take at least one meaningful step towards your goal EVERY SINGLE DAY. Write down five steps you can take, one at a time, over the next week or so. They can be small steps. For instance, if you are losing weight you can write down: Keep a food journal. Track your calories. Track your steps. Take the stairs instead of the elevator anytime you are going to a second, third or fourth floor. Cut out all drinks but water. Keep it simple. It’s not easy, but you can put in the work to achieve it.
The important thing is to take a step towards that goal every day. Don’t take a day off.
Of course, this is actually impossible. You tell yourself you won’t miss a day. And you recognize that you will. And DON’T beat yourself up over it. We don’t have to be perfect and can’t be. Skipping one day occasionally is alright. Letting two days pass without doing at least one little thing towards your ONE GOAL is not.
(5) Finally, it’s important to never give up, even if you skip a day or get sidetracked or it takes much longer than expected to reach your goals.
And while you are focusing on your ONE GOAL, you do have to keep all the other balls in the air, but reduce effort in other areas — without dropping any one completely. Sneak in snippets of time by turning off the TV or the computer or cell phone, hire a maid, see friends once a month instead of every week. And then utilize that time wisely by taking meaningful steps.
The struggle to juggle will always be there, but if you know you have control enough to change what’s wrong or missing, your glass is suddenly half-full instead of half-empty — and that will bring fulfillment to your life.
You can sign up for MomSub here to take some time off from your kids so you can achieve your goals.