It’s critical to focus on the positive when you’re deep in the weeds working on your goals. And, oh my gosh, these weeds are thick! At the of each day, we want to be able to say, “we did everything we could.” We want to say that but some days we just soak in our hot tub and figure out how to do better the next day.
Alas, I am going to look at the positive – we have achieved 10 of our 50 goals already! We have been plugging away for 5 months and we are giving ourselves all of 2022 to finish them. Have you seen our “Year of 50” Goals? If not, click here to read the last blog post about them! Will we achieve all 50 goals in 2022? Today, we are going to be positive which includes not focusing on the finish line.
“If you really want to do something, you will find the way.”
– Jim Rohn
Our approach to our “Year of 50” goal-setting has been to stretch ourselves, challenge ourselves, do fun stuff, and remember a life worth living is a life worth living well. When I am deep in the weeds, sulking about what isn’t done, I remind myself we are blessed to have choices. We know the burdens many are faced with mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially. We don’t take our blessings for granted and we share in many of their struggles. But we stay positive and continue to live a life of adventure; one that makes others feel like they are right there with us even when it’s something they cannot do, don’t want to do, or are too scared to try.
In order to live a life of adventure, step one is meeting with your financial planner. Haha! We never want to go into debt – period. We have been deep in debt, both before we met and as we merged two families. It stunk! We have learned that no house, no RV, no adventure is worth living paycheck-to-paycheck. We sought out advice from professionals and friends we trusted. It took the first 10 years of our marriage but we are better off now than we ever have been. If you are struggling with your finances, please get help. When I was a single mom, I got help from our local Consumer Credit Counseling office and they changed everything for me. I am thankful I was able to admit I needed help because I was not raised with a good understanding of how to manage money.
We are not completely debt-free yet, but we are getting there and are definitely smarter about money. We analyze our finances monthly, we strategically pay off debt, and most importantly, we strategically spend money. Would we love a bigger RV? A bigger truck? Stay in the best hotels? Absolutely, sure! We would love to win the lottery too but we don’t play the game. What we do have is a great 30-foot rig that takes us on adventures and has become our second home, we have a truck that can pull it, a comfortable home base so we can work the jobs we love, and backpacks that help us see the world through the eyes of slow tourists.
Another goal we’ve completed is planning our pilgrimage. As I type this blog, we are 90 days from go time! This goal accompanies other goals that we have struggled with but we continue to plug away. We have no idea how this pilgrimage will go but we do know this: We are going to see Switzerland and Italy, we are going to be together, we have planned an outstanding trip, we will do what is necessary every day so we can do what is possible, and Lord willing, we will have a blast doing the impossible. Thank you, St. Francis, we pray for support along our journey.
Because balance is the secret to success, another goal we’ve achieved that I have to mention before this blog is over is that we’re swing dancing again! 💃 🕺 I cannot explain how fun it is to dance with your partner. We started swing dancing in 2016, and though we certainly don’t do it enough and will never win any awards; we love it when music is playing we can joyfully hop on the dance floor. We are thankful to VuDo Swing for teaching us what we know and for continuing to teach us more about swing dancing. It truly adds to the breadth of our adventures.
We challenge you to live your best life. Don’t live with regrets about what you have not done. Rather, wake up every day and do what is necessary, so you can do what is possible, and believe it or not, before you know it you will be doing the impossible.
0 Comments