avatar by on January 30, 2013   •   37 Comments Personal Growth You

A 6-step process for finding your mentor…today

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Wouldn’t it be great if there was a Mentor Fairy? You leave your request under your pillow and then the next morning a Mary Poppins-ish mentor shows up at your front door, ready and willing to teach you everything you need to know.

If she could show up with a Dish Fairy, Bathroom Cleaning Fairy and Dinner Fairy, I think I’d be all set.

But, sadly, there is no Fairy Dream Team. The only way to get a Mentor is the good old fashioned way.

Ask.

A Simple Process For Finding A Mentor

We have talked about the importance of mentors, what to do if you don’t have one, keys to personal growth and more, but today we are going to talk about exactly how to find a mentor.

If you take an hour or two to walk through these six steps, you could have a mentor by the end of the day. Ready? Let’s go!
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avatar by on January 5, 2013   •   17 Comments Personal Growth You

One bite at a time together: Make annual goals (project 45)

Written by Jeannett Gibson of Life Rearranged.

Are you working through Tsh’s ebook One Bite at a Time yet? I’m tracking my progress through the very practical (and manageable!) tasks monthly through this series. The projects aren’t chronological and you can do them in any order, so feel free to start now! You can buy the book here for just $5!

A new year seems to always bring with it a renewed energy. A fresh start, a clean slate, a carpe diem scent wafts through the air on January 1 amid the leftover champagne and the roses in Pomona.

Resolutions are made. Everyone is geared up to go, with every intention of this being The Year. Cheeks flushed with vigor. No, really. We mean it this time. No kidding around.

The problem is that for the vast majority of us, those resolutions are broken almost immediately. And, like your favorite mug, is eventually tossed in the trash after being shattered so many times. It just gets too pathetic to even try to repair anymore.

Every year I swear I’m not going to make resolutions, as I don’t like to get in the habit of setting myself up for failure. But the truth is that the start of a new year brings a vitality and freshness that is contagious.

One of my favorite things about One Bite at a Time is that you can go in any order. You can skip around in a way that helps make the tasks more meaningful for where you are, right now. In this case, I’m taking my own advice and skipping ahead to Project 45: Make annual goals.

I like the idea of goals versus resolutions. It may seem like semantics, but goals bring with them the elastic sweatpants of life. There’s room to make mistakes. Resolutions are a bit more rigid. They split open easily. And when they do, you feel really, really bad about yourself.

Tsh’s ebook lays out four pages of very specific questions to help you figure out what your annual goals might be. A forewarning: to truly answer them, you have to give yourself some time. Maybe even a few days. They are nothing if not thorough. I set about scribbling in my notebook and chatting with my husband. From my copious notes, I culled down some of the biggies.

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As I looked through my list: things like getting organized and staying organized. Simplifying. Being consistent. Taking the extra second to put something where it goes the first time. Drinking more water. All of those specific line items pointed to me to my very own Word of the Year: Intention.

I want to be intentional in how I spend my time. In the things I own. In the ways I spend my money. In how I interact with my children. My marriage to my husband. How I treat my body. How and what I blog about.

Every single bullet pointed to the same overarching theme: Living Intentionally. I need to order myself a necklace. (I realized after writing this that my 2013 goal also happens to be the Simple Mom tagline. Well played, Universe. Well played.)

It was actually freeing to realize that what I want for 2013 is not a list of to do's, a goal weight, or a strict rule. While I have pages of detailed specifics to refer to, I am comforted by the fact that what it will really take to make my 2013 different is a change in perspective and heart. While harder to measure quantitatively, the rewards are so much sweeter.

Will you join me this year? Every month I share my thoughts on the projects outlined in One Bite at a Time. The ebook is only $4.99 normally, but you can get $1 off with code HAPPYNEWYEAR.

What are your goals for 2013? Do you have a word/theme of the year?

avatar by on January 1, 2013   •   16 Comments Personal Growth You

New year, new goals

Happy new year! Hope it’s off to a good start so far. After you pour that second cup of coffee because you stayed up too late last night, download these free goal-setting questions to help you dream about the next 365 days. Use them however you like—journal solo, talk about it this next week with your spouse, or take a chunk of questions at a time, all year long.

If you still want to reflect on last year before moving forward, download the reflection questions. In both, you’ll find a code for $1 my e-book for the month of January.

E-book, you say? Yep—my e-book, One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects For Making Life Simpler, is a popular book this time of year. If you’re interested in simplifying your 2013 but are ironically overwhelmed at the hugeness of the task, this might be the guide you’re after. 52 tasks given to you in a one-at-a-time, take-a-breath format, for you to tackle at your own comfortable pace. Stuff like “start menu planning,” “organize your photo collection,” and “use the envelope system.”

And if you’d like to buy it in a bundle of other fabulous e-books, head here to download it and four others for only $7.40. That’s a serious deal.

Enjoy the e-book, enjoy both free downloads, and enjoy that caffeine today.

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avatar by on December 31, 2012   •   Personal Growth You

20 questions for reflecting on your 2012

Happy New Year’s Eve! Today I’m over on (in)courage, sharing my annual list of questions I use to reflect on the previous year. Head over there to read the post and to share your thoughts.

Then, head back here and download the free PDF of questions. Use it to journal in solitude or to chat with a group of friends over the next few days. Either way, I hope it’s a blessing to you.

Included in the free PDF is a coupon code for $1 off my e-book, One Bite at a Time, in the download linked above. If you haven’t yet, mosey over to 52 Bites and download yourself a copy—it’s a great way to start off the new year. Or, you can buy it in a bundle of other fabulous e-books from fellow bloggers like Crystal Paine and Stephanie Langford—a stellar price at $7.40.

Soon I’ll share another round of annual questions that’ll help you plan your goals for 2013. What are your plans? Your hopes? What would you like to happen for you personally, for your children, for your family? Be intentional, and jot down some ideas so that you can create a workable plan.

Enjoy the day, and I’ll see you in 2013!

avatar by on December 24, 2012   •   75 Comments Personal Growth You

Embrace imperfection

Christmas is tomorrow. Did you get everything checked off your holiday to-do list? And in the midst of it all, are you actually enjoying the season?

No need to panic. I haven’t done it all, either. And I have fleeting thoughts that wish the holiday would hurry up already so we can go back to normal life.

But I’ve decided to just let it go and enjoy Christmas how it is now, for what it is. I didn’t decorate all like I wanted. We didn’t make fudge as I hoped. There were evenings when we were out late, so we doubled up on our Jesse Tree devotionals.

It’s okay. Christmas is not about perfection.

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