What Worked, What Didn’t, And What I Learned When I Asked Myself.

In previous posts about my monthly goals, one of the things I talked about was Lara Casey’s powersheets (currently out of stock, but should be available again in March). I quickly learned these are not for the faint of heart. The complete powersheets set is over 90 pages. It includes six months of goal setting pages as well as 10+ steps to walk through before you write your yearly goals.

Lara asked two questions in her powersheets that just about wrecked me.

What worked last year?

What didn’t work last year?

The thing about her powersheets is that in order for them to work, you have to dig into the hard work and really be honest with yourself. As I wrote down my answers, a few themes really came out. Those themes helped me to shape my goals for the year (more on that soon).

What didn’t work for me in 2014.

1. Comparison and striving to build my platform instead of asking God to help me build his.
2. Staying a part of something when the season has passed.
3. Trying to do things on my own instead of going to God in prayer.
4. Not having a game plan for dinner, not creating time for exercise, not being prepared to eat breakfast.
5. Wasting too much time online doing a fruitless social media scroll.
6. Not having enough dates out with Michael.
7. Overspending.
8. I didn’t read many books at all, reading is a hobby I really enjoy.

What I learned when I asked myself what didn’t work for me.

• I have made my mental health a priority, but not my physical health and wellness. I have gotten lazy about fitness and made it too easy to go out to eat or grab take out. If I want to raise healthy kids, I need to start with my own self.
• I know I missed out on many blessings from The Lord because I was too busy striving to be the best blogger and trying to make growth happen by forcing it. I need to spend life remaining in Him (John 15) and be content with the life online that He’s given me.
• Screens and Facebook are time robbers. The endless social media scroll makes me a zombie and I miss out on life in front of my eyes when I am too concerned with life online. I didn’t have time to read very many books because I was too busy reading status updates.

What worked for me in 2014.

1. Going to bed early so I could up early.
2. Getting up before my family to have an intentional quiet time, coffee, write, and plan my day.
3. Meeting my needs so I could meet the needs of my family.
4. Speaking encouraging words to Michael and having couch dates.
5. Having a morning snuggle time with Malone and speaking his love language.
6. Listening to podcasts and worship music.
7. Chatting with far away friends via voxer, attending monthly girls nights out, having intentional one on one coffee dates with women in my life, and attending life group (church).
8. Sending snail mail, wishing people happy birthday in real life instead of on Facebook, and keeping a grateful heart.
9. Saying yes to adventure.
10. Cleaning out my closet and only keeping the clothing that I like and fits well.
11. Staying focused and completing one task at a time. Keeping on top of household chores instead of letting them pile up.
12. Reminding myself that the small things matter and serving my family with a joyful heart.

What I learned when I asked myself what worked for me in 2014.

• I am the best version of myself when I am taking the time to take care of me. Getting up early, planning my day, reading my Bible, seeing friends, and attending life group help me feel ready to love and serve my family well.
• My family gets to have the best of me- not organizations, groups, my blog, or church. We thrive as a family when my main focus is on them and meeting their needs.
• I feel very connected to Michael and our marriage is stronger than ever since we started to be more intentional with our time together.

Disclosure- Although I adore partnering with brands to bring you sponsored posts and reviews, I have received no compensation for today’s post. I paid for Lara Casey’s powersheets out of my own pocket, and if your’e serious about setting goals and living an intentional life, I think you should too! I’ll be publishing a post about my yearly goals next week, you don’t want to miss it! 

Have you ever taken the time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t? Did you find as much clarity as I did?