Good-bye 2013
This is the first year of living "My Rocks In A Jar-Arranging My Life to Reflect My Priorities". I have to say having this way of thinking has been so helpful. It kept my goals in front of me unlike resolutions that get made, attempted, and then thrown away by mid-May. Did I achieve all of my goals? No, but I did much more than I’ve done in any other year. I learned a lot along the way and I’m ready to take on 2014 with more wisdom than I had in 2013.
SO, WHAT WERE YOUR GOALS FOR 2013 AND HOW DID YOU DO?
Here were mine:
God-get closer to God (daily reading and journaling)
Health-eat for health and energy
neck exercises to prevent migraines
Family-build a stronger marriage (date nights, read books)
save for family camp
have a clean home
Kids-spend focused time with each child
teach them to be more independent
Financial-save up fully funded emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses
Career-attend Launch conference
take Apple One-on-One classes for new computer
write more
Personal fulfillment- Audition for Unbeatable
God-On the one hand, I did not read through the Bible in a year as I had planned BUT I read MORE than I ever have. Once I lost my accountability partner, things went way down hill. I was reading but not having someone to discuss the reading with made the words just words. I found myself reading just to get it done and not really getting closer to God because of it. I did make it more than half way through so my new goal for 2014 will be to read through the New Testament and I’ve already lined up TWO people to join me. The new program is OwnIt365NT+
Health-ehhhh I took a detour half way through the year dealing with my depression which was quite a journey that lasted almost six months, included being exhausted ALL the time, having insomnia, and gaining 10 plus pounds. Finally in December we got things dialed in and now I’m ready to work on eating better and exercising. The migraines DID improve a bit. I think I only had to take Imitrex three or four times this year. I haven’t had a refill in over a year.
Family-We’ve had more date nights, celebrated 15 years of marriage with a weekend away to Capitola, and have worked hard to improve communication. I think marriage is a day-to-day choice to see love as a verb not just an emotion so it will be something I need to work on every day until “death do us part.” I have to give my husband HUGE credit for working hard to be the husband I need. He is definitely the better half of this marriage.
We also saved and attended family camp. An investment worth every penny. All family members kept saying, “When we come back next year..... when we come back next year....” It’s always wonderful when you do something good for your family and they love it!
Clean home? fuhget about it!! Saved that one for 2014
Kids-Wow, I’ve never been happier as a mom. I’ve made good memories with each child looking at what interests them and spending intentional time with both of them individually. (and as I’ve done my talks this year, I have met sooooo many women who thank me for admitting that it’s hard for me to just sit on the floor and play with my kids.) I sometimes describe being a Stay-At-Home-Mom as “mind numbing.” (Not popular to say but secretly many women agree with me.) As the kids have gotten older, we can do more cerebral activities and have better conversations. So, for those of you in the younger years, know that it DOES get better. They are also learning to do more for themselves and we will continue with these goals into the next year.
Financial-Sometimes things go above and beyond what you set out to do. Not only did we save our emergency fund, we saved a little bit more and were able to buy a home after living in a two bedroom apartment for 3.5 years. I count my blessings each day. We’re going to have to tighten up our spending habits now that we have a mortgage but it will be easier to do seeing how well our hard work for the past five years have paid off. We’ve come a long way. To learn how we've done this, see www.DaveRamsey.com
Career-I attended the Launch conference which was wonderful and I certainly did more writing. I have a new website and I continue to do speaking gigs. I even recorded my last talk and will work on having it edited to be able to share with others. For some reason, this area creates the biggest fear in me (fear of failure? fear of success? I don’t know) so it will have to be the Rock I’m most intentional about in the coming year. Remember my new website is www.LunaLeverett.com This will be my last blog post at this site.
Personal Fulfillment- Holy Moly people!! I started off the year barely able to stand up and sing in front of one of my best friends for an audition, spent August singing solo in front of sold out audiences, and ended the year doing an audition I am quite proud of if I do say so myself. My advice: if you want to get good (or just confident or better) at something, pay a professional to teach you!
Being a perfectionist, it’s hard to look at my goals and not pick apart all that I DIDN’T accomplish but I know better than to do that. There is soooo much here to celebrate!
WHAT CAN YOU CELEBRATE IN 2013?
Thank you all for following me on this journey of 2013. I hope I've inspired you to be your better self, to be real, and to keep going even when you make mistakes. Please help me out by "sharing" my links via Facebook, Twitter, etc. which means you don't just "like" me you'd like others in your life to read what you are reading here. "Sharing is caring!" Can't wait to spend 2014 with you!
Much Love,
Luna
