Soulful Planning for 2019

So, as I pondered what my next blog post would be, I started thinking of what I was currently doing in my pet business. The year is coming to a close and I naturally start thinking about the past year, what I have accomplished and where I want to go in the coming year. I do this on a personal level as well as a professional level.

That brings me to goals. I don’t know about you but there have been times I have been very unclear about what I wanted. I never planned and just trudged through the months year to year. You hear so much about goals this time of year. The word is everywhere. I found it so overwhelming I ignored it. A bad habit of mine. Goals for your finances, goals for your health, goals for your love life. Goals, goals, goals! My grooming business did well but had no course to follow. I was flying by the seat of my pants.

This past year was different. I have a mentor in the grooming world who did a webinar on goal setting. I also listened to podcasts and read books where goal setting was the topic. It made sense. I started to listen.  I first had to decide what I wanted. I truly had no idea. What did I want? Where did I want to go with my pet business?

I am the type of person that has put everyone else before myself. A common trait among pet groomers. I never really put my wants and needs first. I had to dig deep and decide what it was that would inspire me, make me want to get out of bed every day, make me happy. One way I did this was through meditation. 

Meditation was a way I could quiet all the thoughts that continually race through my head. Sitting in a quiet place and just relaxing and letting go. Not an easy feat for someone who’s mind goes in fifty different directions constantly. I found an app on my phone called “Insight Timer” that I use for guided meditations. Driving in silence is another form of meditation for me. I am a mobile groomer so shutting off the radio to clear my head is easy. I am relaxed and refreshed by the time I reach my next client.

 In the warmer weather, I have a favorite spot, near a lake. It is a nice hike with the dogs. I sit and ponder my life. I also enjoy early morning coffee on my deck while the weather is nice. I even get my butt out of bed early to have time to do this every day. I watch the clouds, listen to the birds. It is my favorite time of day. Now that there is snow on the ground a quiet place in my house must do most days. A lit candle, fireplace lit, and a warm blanket to cuddle in. I love to take a walk in the woods. Something about the silence of winter. The crisp air, the crunch of the snow beneath my boots brings peace.

Many people journal. This is a habit I have not fully incorporated into my life. A few times I have just put my pen to paper and wrote what came to mind after a meditation. There are many out there that find this daily practice beneficial. I have started reading a book called “The Artist’s Way” by Julie Cameron. She talks about doing morning pages every day to open a creative pathway. Maybe when I finish this will be a new practice of mine.

From the quiet comes inspiration. You hear your soul telling you what it needs. Do you have a spot? Someplace you can look inside and plan a life that will take you places?

In January 2018 I wrote down my goals on a piece of paper. I used to just keep it all in my head. I followed the guidance I was given and put it to paper. Something about putting the pen to paper is where the magic happens. You are making a commitment to the universe by doing this. I had made some decisions on what I wanted to work on. I also mapped out how I was going to reach my goals. Some goals were vaguer than others. I had made others very specific. I spent an afternoon mapping it out. I stuck the piece of paper in a notebook I have and referred to it on occasion. Then I forgot about it.

Something amazing happened. A month or so ago, I came across the paper while looking through my notebook. The goals I had mapped out and took specific steps towards had come true. The others I had made a little progress but did not complete. When I read that sheet of paper, I was so proud of myself! I had accomplished over half of the goals on that paper. I had not even realized it.

I now have a strategy. I have taken the time to discover what brings me joy and what I want to accomplish and how to achieve it.

Next blog post I will go deeper into how I goal planned. Your job is to start now and decide what your goals are for the coming year. I will then give you a blueprint to get there.

Namaste