Changing Goals Midyear
Inside: Sometimes it makes more sense changing goals midyear than to keep heading in an unproductive direction. Read on to find out.
I’ve been meaning to write about my goals this year, but 2021 started off unconventionally, and it’s taken me a while to find my rhythm. Sometime toward the end of January I had jotted down some goals–ideas , really–but my heart hadn’t been in it. Even after some prayer. Here is what I had down:
- Do something hard every day.
- Write posts with the attitude of serving others.
- Write every day.
- Declutter spare bedroom and email boxes.
- Work on healthier lifestyle–eating, exercising, positive words.
- Some landscaping project?
I didn’t feel particularly inspired or energized by the list, except the first goal–do something hard every day–oddly enough. Maybe it was that I knew I needed discipline and made myself accountable by keeping track of the hard things. (I jot each one down on a tiny slip of paper, folded into a tiny square, before placing in a mason jar. The visual aid keeps me motivated.)
So that one’s working. Although, admittedly, there have been a few days when I’ve said to myself, What’s the easiest hard thing I can do today?
Yeah, seriously.
And what of the other goals? I do want to write posts that serve my readers, but I need to get back in the habit of writing more. I’m working on this one, so it remains on the list.
Write every day. Nice thought, and I’ve done this one before, but this is not the season I’m in right now. Actually, I have been listening to my novel through the “read aloud” function in my word program to get my brain working on it. Next month I’ll be editing. I hadn’t foreseen this at the beginning of the year, but this direction feels right for me as we head deeper into the year.
Declutter spare bedroom and email boxes. I’m always in for a good declutter, but the time isn’t right. In spring, this middle-aged woman’s fancy turns to gardening. Decluttering sounds like cold weather work. I’ve been sporadically cleaning out email boxes, but, darn it, they keep getting filled up again. This goal remains, with an emphasis on unsubscribing, but it’s a lower priority.
My pursuit of a healthier lifestyle continues, which currently means tweaking my diet to see what works, keeping up with my Fitbit step and water goals, and using positive words.
A landscaping project? That was jotted down as an afterthought, but with the weather warming, I’ve been thinking about it. Today I have on my list to research lazy (simple, easy) landscaping techniques that might appeal to me.
We’ll see what happens.
This year I’m holding goals loosely in my hands and embracing the practice of rising each day and asking the Lord what He would have me do this day before making my to-do list. I gather my inspiration from Matthew 11:28-30, the Message Translation. This has been working better than anything else. In case you’re wondering, yes, writing this post has been on the list several times this week.
I’ll keep you posted on developments.
Resources and related posts:
When Your New Year Takes an Unexpected Turn
This day in past posts:
Simple Flower Craft to Make (2020)
Life in Bloom, Blog Birthday, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Inside: Life in bloom, the blog turns four in March, and brewing another batch of wellness tea. Check out all the news fresh from the farm.
Life in Bloom
Spring, always welcome, is upon us once again, and I never tire of it. I love the pastel blooms from flowering trees and the subtle floral scent that perfumes the air. Nothing like it.
If all goes well, all of those pink flowers enticing the frantic bee activity will result in peaches. Lots and lots of peaches. I didn’t get around to making preserves last year. Didn’t get around to a lot of things, really.
I aim to rectify that this year. In more ways than peaches. . .
Happy Fourth Blog Birthday!
A Rural Girl Writes turns four this year. The blog, that is. The girl turned 55. . .
But back to the blog. It always amazes me how people find me and what my most popular searched posts are. In case you’re wondering, too, here they are for your clickable enjoyment:
- Turn Sprouted Sweet Potatoes into Plants
- The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 9: Tortilla Cinnamon Rolls
- Make Our Simple Egg Fast Chai
- The Story of the Hillbilly Christmas Wreath
- Uncovering Strawberries in Spring
- Planting Sweet Potatoes in a Cardboard Box
- Simple Suppers: Easy Pizza
- Make Our Keto Red Velvet Mug Cake for Valentine’s Day
- My 3 Essential Tips for Growing Strawberries
- Crunchy Green Bean Snack
Four of the posts are about gardening, five are recipes, and one is a perennial Christmas favorite. Truly a mixture of what we’re about–gardening, recipes, and family craft projects. For years the tortilla cinnamon rolls has been popular, as well as the egg fast chai tea. But the sweet potatoes? I rank high for people searching for what to do with those doggone sprouting sweet potatoes. Which speaks to the resourcefulness of a lot of folks. . . I like that.
No matter why you stop in, I want to thank you for tuning in to my blog. It makes the writing all that much sweeter.
Brewing Another Batch of Wellness Tea
As we celebrate life in bloom and another blog birthday, I find myself brewing another batch of wellness tea. Yes, the changing weather had me catching more than spring fever. I caught myself a head cold.
Immediately I sprang into action, taking my Airborne, chopping up lemons, grating ginger root, and peeling garlic cloves. Even being proactive, it still took me about ten days–and about a dozen bags of cough drops–to get completely over it.
If you happen to be under the weather and you don’t mind peeling a little garlic, I highly recommend this tea. It’s a great detoxing recipe to drive the little nasties away.
And, er, maybe some humans.
Happy spring, everybody!
Resources and related posts:
Lemon Wellness Tea for Sick Days
All About Strawberries: A Roundup of Our Strawberry Posts
This day in past posts:
Happy Birthday, A Rural Girl Writes! (2018)
Bringing Light to Winter
Inside: The coldest season can be dark and dreary, but I’ve found a simple way for bringing light to winter, and it’s made a difference.
Bringing Light to Winter
While most everyone is looking forward to spring, myself included, this post might seem too late this season. But it’s never too late for a good tip, something helpful for future winters.
Back in January I read a great article in The Epoch Times: “To Beat the Winter Blues, Think Like a Norwegian.” The writer quoted a researcher, Kari Leibowitz, who studied how Norwegians approach winter, particularly “polar nights” when the sun sets in northern Norway in late November and doesn’t rise for two months. She lived a year at the University of Tromso, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle. What she found, in a nutshell, was that people there had a positive mindset toward wintertime instead of dreading the season, so common here in the US. They made the most of winter, spending their time outdoors doing what they love, like cross-country skiing, and enjoying their cozy living spaces indoors.
While I definitely haven’t taken up cross-country skiing, the article did inspire me to make my living space cozy. So when taking down the Christmas decorations, I kept back a strand of plain white lights for draping over the electric fireplace. I didn’t want to use the colored lights because those speak Christmas to me. I wanted this to be different.
Admittedly it wasn’t much. I just draped them here and there over my makeshift mantle, and I wasn’t even sure I liked them. When Mike arrived home that night, I half expected him to sigh and ask me what the lights were for.
“They’re a little bright,” he said, but hurried to add, “but that’s okay.” Winter isn’t his favorite month, and we both could use the lift this time of year.
My Cozy Experiment
So I’ve had the light strand up for nearly two months, plugged in most of the time. What I’ve noticed is how the lights have added a little something special to my living room, and it’s had a positive effect on my mood. It can get so dark and dreary in the long winter months of January and February. But this year that little added touch of something special brightened our days–literally!
While it’s been a rough start this year, and the February cold snap didn’t help, another Light has helped me navigate the hard places. Even better than a strand of white lights draped over a makeshift mantle.
I highly recommend both.
Resources and related posts:
The Epoch Times: “To Beat the Winter Blues, Think Like a Norwegian.”
The 5 W’s for Thriving in Winter
8 Uplifting Essential Oil Blends for Wintertime
Simple Suppers: Classic Broccoli Cheese Soup
Past posts on this day:
Uprooted, Seeing Green, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
My Word for 2021
Inside: It’s a yearly tradition around here for me to choose a word for the year–or, rather, a word to choose me. Read on to find out my word for 2021.
My Word for 2021
I don’t think I could be much later this January, unless I postpone this post for a few more hours, but I do have my word for 2021. Actually, I’ve had it since the end of December, and I’ve been meaning to write about it all month, but it’s been a crazy January, full of angst and stress and lots and lots of prayers due to the former. Rather than get into all of that, I’ll get straight to the matter at hand.
My Word for 2021 is determined.
From dictionary.com:
Determined [dih-tur-mind]
adjective
From Cambridge Dictionary:
The Story Behind the Word
Not much background this time around, but I had been thinking about what my word for 2021 could possibly be and hoping for something positive and encouraging. On the night of December 30, I silently said this prayer: “Well, God, it’s December 30, and I still don’t have my word.”
In my brain I heard the word “determined.”
And I promptly thought to myself, Oh, I probably heard wrong. I decided I’d put that word on a shelf and see if I heard anything else.
I didn’t.
So then later I asked God to do what He always does and bring the word in front of me so I have confirmation that this, indeed, is the right word for me.
And the next day I found it several times in my devotional readings, and later in other places.
Sigh. I wasn’t excited about the choice. It is a hard word to me. Something that doesn’t let me off the hook. It challenges me to not quit, not take the easy road. . . Mike even got me a sweatshirt for Christmas that said, “DON’T QUIT.” Coincidence? I think not!
A few hours into my new word and a song began to play in my head–this from the wedding ceremony of my brother Jeremy and his wife Ricci. Her father sang a song with the refrain, She is determined, she is determined. . .
And, yes, Ricci is a pretty determined person. Hmm. . . Maybe she can give me lessons.
But first on to kindred spirits. To commiserate. . . . When I told my hairdresser that determined was my word for 2021, she looked at me and nodded her head knowingly. She suggested I might think of synonyms which sound better. She used the example of “disciplined” and how when she changed it to “faithfulness” it sounded more doable.
Determined Me
I think I’ll start collecting synonyms. Ways for me to embrace this word. One interesting thing happened when compiling goals for the year–yeah, I was late in doing that, too. Forced into finally selecting something for my first writer’s critique group meeting last week. After just not “feeling it,” I prayed for some direction for goals, and a rather unusual one came pretty quickly. Do one hard thing a day. So far, I’ve been doing this.
More about goals in a soon-to-be-written future post.
I’m determined to get on it right away. . .
Resources and related posts:
Post from the past:
January 31, 2019:
Winter Conversations, Clarence Hiding, and Other News Fresh From the Farm