Hello, friends! Welcome back to another installment of my monthly goals. In case you’re new here, I set myself three goals for each month with the intention to uplift my mind, body, and soul in some way.
So May flew by because it was an absolutely jam-packed month with exciting things like weddings, traveling, and turning 25 (eek!). Unfortunately, it was also a busy month in terms of work and schoolwork, which made balancing all of my responsibilities a little tricky.
I’m not gonna lie, I had a pretty hard time sticking to my goals from May. Even though I could use the excuse of being busy to explain why I didn’t achieve them, I know the main reason is because I wasn’t being proactive about them.
Instead of setting goals that will get me closer to where I want to be in life, I’ve been setting goals because I think I should be doing them.
Let’s talk about goals for a second.
For example, last month’s goals were to write in my journal every day (fail), follow the Tone It Up Beach Babe Plan (semi-fail), and wake up at 6am every day (major fail).
Obviously those are all helpful and productive goals, but I went into them thinking, ‘I know these things are good for me’ without having any major motivator behind them.
It’s important to accept that sometimes you’re not going to achieve all of your goals, but it’s even more important to make sure you’re setting intentional and meaningful goals to begin with.
If you don’t set an intention behind them or plan out a few action steps, you’re just making it even harder on yourself to actually accomplish them.
That being said, I’m going to start putting a little more thought into my monthly goals from now on instead of having them be a last-minute thing. I’m going to make sure I’m thinking about how I’m going to achieve them as well as why I want to do them in the first place. So let’s do this thang!
My Goals for June
1. Read How To Win Friends & Influence People
I set myself a goal to read 15 books in 2016 and so far I’ve read zero. Yeah, I’m pretty embarrassed to say that. But I realized the reason I haven’t really been reading is because I didn’t have a plan or even know of 15 books that I wanted to read! I decided to stop making excuses and start a dedicated reading list on goodreads, and How To Win Friends & Influence People is up first! P.S. If you have any book recs, leave a comment below!
Why this is my goal: Because reading is so important for nourishing the mind.
Action plan: Read 15 pages before I go to bed. Keep a habit tracker on my bedside table for accountability.
2. Continue with the Tone It Up workout plan
Since the Tone It Up plan goes for 8 weeks, I’m going to continue following the workouts this month. One thing that’s slightly challenging is that some of the workouts require resistance bands and dumbbells which I don’t have at home, so I will probably need to get my hands on some of those this month. I like the plan because it incorporates pilates, yoga, strength training, HIIT, and your own preferred cardio workout into the mix, so it never feels boring.
Why this is my goal: Because exercise gives me energy and makes me feel good about myself.
Action plan: Plan out workouts the week before. Lay out exercise clothes before bed. Plan to exercise before 7am.
3. Meditate in the mornings
Ah, meditation. You are such a savior for my sanity, yet I never make time for you. I think it’s about time I welcomed a little bit of meditation back into my life, so I’m going to get back into using the Headspace app and plan to meditate for 10 minutes each morning.
Why this is my goal: Because I am able to deal with frustration and overwhelm better when I meditate.
Action plan: Open my window first thing in the morning. Lay out my yoga mat. Meditate for 10 mins in the fresh air.
What are your goals for June? Leave a comment below!
14 Responses
So true about the importance of actually thinking through the mechanics of goals, too, rather than just saying “this is good for me”!
And isn’t it funny how we often stop doing things that give us a lot of peace?! I’m making it a goal to start drawing again–I haven’t really done it for almost 5 years (yikes) but I remember how much it would help me relax and then I just stopped when I got busy… argh.
Great goals for June, Catherine! :) Wishing you all the best!
Ahh, totally feel you on the whole meaningful goal setting thing. It’s so easy to set goals based on what we think we should be doing as opposed to where we want our lives to go.
I’m working on some similar goals at the moment, particularly the meditation one. It is saving me, bit by bit, from my anxiety!
I’ve also set myself a goal this year to start reading more! So far I’ve read one book…oops, haha! I’ve tried the headspace app before, it’s really good but I’ve got such a low attention span so I suck at meditating!
Cloe X clxelouise.blogspot.com
That sounds like a really lovely read! Best of luck with your goals for the month dear! xxxxx
http://www.romantiquely.com
Intention is everything! I read a blog post about how purpose can fuel us when passion can’t :) A recent read of mine that I recommend is When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi :) Anyways, I’ve added How to Win Friends & Influence People to my Goodreads TBR! Thanks for the rec! -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
I bought the Tone It Up nutrition plan way back in the day and it has fallen by the wayside so hard. I didn’t realize they were up to their fourth DVD! I have one. Haha. You’ll have to let me know how you like them! I think setting actionable steps is really smart. I can be your accountability workout buddy if you’d like one! Snap each other during our morning workouts. ;)
Hi Catherine – love your blog! Right now I am rereading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephan R Covey. Totally read this book in like middle school but it is so refreshing for my perspective on my habits and emotions. Also, a really great app I use for meditations is call Rituals. I do really like Headspace as well but I use Rituals much more! Thank you for the great inspiration and content you create on your blog!
Hi Catherine!
I loveeeee your thought process behind setting goals. I’ll think that too – that I should do something just because it’s considered healthy or good for me.
Goals should always be personal and unique to each person! And obviously have meaning. What kind of books do you like reading? I’m sure I’ve got some recommendations!
xoxo
Danielle
Afloat On A Full Sea
Hi Catherine How to win friends and influence people is a great book . To this day I still follow the Golden Rules. I’m working on the meditation everyday myself and I love the idea of setting monthly goals . I’m gonna do this for myself for June . Best of luck :)
Hi Catherine!
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts on having intentions for goals. I noticed too that when I would set goals that they would be so last minute. I didn’t exactly have a plan or know how to achieve those goals which made it hard to achieve and feel successful. I’m going to start writing down my intention and action plan for each goal I set for myself! Best of luck this month with your goals!
xo
Katlyn
Thx for Headspace! Just finished my first ten minutes. I’ve NEVER been able to settle for that long. Looking forward to my next session as well as checking in with you daily.
I really need to spend more time on your site, because I really want to start being more mindful and putting my well-being first! I think setting monthly goals is a great start. I would love to read 1 book a month. I JUST downloaded Headspace and hope it helps me find more peace!
I love your list! And I love how you put a why behind it and created an action plan for it!!! That is so great. I’ve been looking for ways to make my goals for the month work even more and use them better instead of just writing them down. And I love how powerful the why+action is! I will definitely give this a try! Than you!!! <3
xx Ronja
http://www.sothisiswhat.com
{ CREATE THE LIFE YOU LOVE }
Also love the why and action plan, it makes things more concrete and less “wish list,” which is how a lot of my goal setting usually goes. I’ll be interested to see if you feel/see a difference in sticking to the plan with this addition. I think I am going to use that as my daily intention too, so I have to repeat it to myself every morning.