I know I know you’re not ready to hear about this yet!  I used to feel the exact same way!

In my former corporate life November and December was the time of the dreaded year-end review.  I had to sit back and reflect on all that I had accomplished that year and then set some goals for the upcoming year.  I thought it was a useless task.  In hindsight, I now understand!

I spent many years while being the CEO of my household just allowing life to happen around me and reacting to circumstances. I ran a tight ship at home, with scheduled nap times, kid’s activities, homework and projects, specific days for specific chores, home and school board VP and had a part-time fitness gig.  But I did not set goals for myself or think ahead to what I would do when my kids grew up.  I was living in the there and then, moving from day to day, afraid to take the next step.

At age 47, I hit a wall.  With my dad passing, our family dog passing, my daughter graduating highschool and my boys not really needing me, mentally I spiraled out of control.  I had no clue what I wanted to do or be when I grew up!   It was a time of depression, desperation and anxiety, although few people around me caught on due to a great game-face! I was still able to plough through my days, training my clients, teaching my group exercise classes and putting dinner on the table.  If I had goals in place along the way, I don’t believe I would have experienced this “life-lull” or self-paralysis.

Over the past three years however, since starting a business and learning more about self-development, and surrounding myself with action-oriented people, I have changed my mindset and my ways.  I now set goals for myself and have a direction that I want my business and my life to go.  Without goal-setting, without a game plan, you are just reacting to your journey instead of creating the journey you want.  I am now excited for the “back-half” of my life!  What a different feeling that is!  The world once again is my oyster…just like I tell my kids.  It doesn’t matter what age you are, you can keep reinventing yourself.

We get one life on this earth.  That’s it!  Maybe it’s been turning 50 this year, that has allowed me to look back and reflect?  Maybe it’s my daughter graduating college and my youngest graduating highschool this year and unintentionally sharing what I have learned to help them avoid making the same mistakes I did up to this point.  I hope they find that mentor, their person to emulate.  I never had that until much later in life.  I also never knew to look for one.

I believe life to be a journey and a reflection of growth.  Over the course of our lives one can be stagnant or choose to evolve.  It took a long time to understand that it was ok to have a BS in Quantitative Business Analysis from Penn State, and no longer be part of corporate America. I can use my business degree to um, yea, run a business doing what I love!

Sometime over the holidays, take a moment to step away because this goal-setting needs to pertain to your personal life AND your work life.  Are you where you want to be?  If you’re not, what changes will you make in 2018 to make sh$$ happen.  Create a life you love, versus one you dread!  In the modified words of Eminem, “You only got one shot at this life, will you capture it or just let it slip!”