Goal Setting

Okay....not like I haven't done this at least a hundred times, but I need to do some Goal Setting! One of my heros, Dave Ramsey, talks a lot about Goal Setting. He said on a podcast I listened to the other night that if you set definable, measurable, clear goals with a timeline you are well on your way to success, and in the top 5% of people...now, exactly what that "top 5%" is, I am not sure, but hey, it still sounds like a good thing to be! I have been thinking about these goals some, and not saying they won't evolve and be adjusted here and there, but I have to start somewhere, so I will start now. Not to be like a mid-life crisis person or anything, but I just am not really happy with my life right now. I will be turning 40 in about 5 months, and the title of my blog really resonates with me: This is your life, Stacy, are you who you wanna be? Well, actually no. I am far from who I want to be, truth be told. In some areas I think I am doing all right, making lots of progress even, but in so many others, I am so far from who I want to be, and so far from where I even have been before. I want to regain the parts of me that have been lost through the years of bad marriage....I want to regain the parts of me that have been lost through poor financial behavior. I want to lose the parts of me that have been gained in food taken in mindlessly to fill whatever needs aren't being filled elsewhere. I have the next 5 months until I turn 40 to make a legit beginning again...and hopefully can carry the goals to completion and/or continuing progress. I only have this one life....its a gift from my God, and what I do with it is my gift to Him...not to be cliche or velveeta-cheesy about it, but it is so true. I need to honor Him with this gift of life...and be who He designed me to be...not this messed up mess that I have allowed my circumstances to make me into. So: Here goes: Over the next 5 months, here are some goals I want to begin working on:
1. Spiritual: I want to spend some time in God's Word each day...even if it is only a verse or two! I want to be in the Word. I would like to memorize a new verse at least every 2 weeks. That would be about 10 new verses between now and the big 4-0. I also want to keep up with my prayer list. I want to make sure I cover the whole thing at least once each week. ( I really want to do more than that, but I am trying to do something that is do-able, so as not to get discouraged.)
2. Family: I want to love better. Even if I do not feel loved, I want to choose to love. After all, I promised that I would. I must make it a daily choice. I do it already by cooking, cleaning, earning a paycheck, and taking care of all the home stuff, but I need to be kinder in my words and for sure in my thoughts and attitudes. Loving my kids is easy....crazy about them. I want to love them better though with my time. I want to give them as much of it as I can. I know this isn't measurable really, but I do want to make a concerted effort to love well.
3. Finances: We will be nearly debt-free by the time I hit 40. Would love to make it by the end of 2012. In order to do that, we will need to --eat at home. --use a grocery list. --not impulse buy stuff. --go easy on the gifts. --stay the course. We have paid our debt down over the last several years from nearly 100K down to a little less than 30K....we WILL get there!
4. Intellectual: I love to read. Have been doing a lot of it. Need to keep that up! I would like to challenge myself to read at least 1 nonfiction book per week. I am probably reading 2-3 books most weeks, but need to make at least one of them something I can learn from.
5. Physical: Okay, here we go again..but it is the thorn in my flesh, dontcha know! I want to lose 10 pounds/month minimum (should be do-able) from now until the big 4-0, continuing on after that until I have lost a total of at least 100 pounds. I have got to do it to be me again, and to get healthy. I have got to do it to be there for my kids. I have got to do it to honor the Temple the Lord has given me...it's His house after all!

So, there!! A place to begin. Lets hope I can keep at it and bring this together. Not in my strength, but in His, of course!