5 Practical Goals to Totally Crush this Year

The past year was very, unexpectedly awesome! Which I’m really thankful for because honestly, that’s not something that I’ve been able to say about my life for many years. It was great mainly because of the following 5 goals that I set and achieved, which have really turned the tide for me and helped me overcome challenges that have been holding me back for a long time.

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which just means I may earn a small commission at no cost to you, if you click on them and purchase something.

And I’m sharing my story with you, with the hope that some or all of these ideas might help or inspire you to see possibilities that you too could accomplish this year. To see that you can potentially significantly increase your overall life happiness also- with a few key changes.

Are you ready to begin? Here’s the 5 simple, yet big, action filled ideas and suggestions to help you jump-start your own adventures in 2019!

1) Just Go for It!

Does that seem too simplistic? Or maybe better said than done?

Possibly, but it depends on you and your desire for change, and your willingness to overcome challenge. Which we all have from time to time. But when you decide to go all in- I bet you’ll be surprised at what you really can do!

For instance, what did I go big for this past year? Well- I finally got married! Yep- that was my absolute biggest success of last year!

You see, I’ve struggled for many years in so many ways that have kept me from reaching that goal, things like: self-sabotage, REALLY bad decisions, fear, anxiety, worry, depression, addictions, you name it.

These things all prevented me from making the best decision I’ve ever made. But please know that I’m not saying I overcame all of those things in just this past year, because I didn’t, but it was the culmination of deliberate, intentional growth.

I’ve been working on it for a long, long time. I’m just so thankful that my (now) husband is one of the most patient, forgiving, caring, kind, loving, sacrificing, and helpful people I’ve ever met in my life.

I could have continued to let my past haunt me forever, or let my fears overwhelm me to the point of paralyzation, and just remain in the same stuck, broken, non-progressing life, that I was living before. OR, I could change.

So I looked at the years ahead (we both did), and at where I was, and even though it was a leap of faith, I knew that if I didn’t I’d regret it more than any other mistake I’ve ever made. Because without him, I knew I wasn’t going to progress in my life the way that I wanted to. And that was the scariest thing of all.

So– we went for it! And, if I’m being completely honest, I have not even considered looking back once.

What goals do you want to “go for”?

Now let me ask you, is there something like that for you? A goal that you’ve been putting off for years?

What is it? Losing weight? Getting out of debt? Improving your relationship? Going on that trip you’ve been talking about forever? Or maybe starting your own business?

Well, they say “there’s no time like the present”!

So, I want you to stop right now and ask yourself honestly, what goal(s) do you really want to accomplish this year? Can you picture in your mind, how you would feel if you did it? Can you imagine it with clarity?

And have you written that goal or those goals down yet? If not, do that right now and look at it.

Now, don’t get overwhelmed, get excited!

When you’re excited about something, your body releases adrenaline and other hormones, and that spurs you to take action. So get excited, and stop “waiting for right time”! Stop telling yourself that you’ll do it later, and dive right in. Start right now!

A quote I recently read perfectly sums up that excuse we tell ourselves…

“If you wait until you’re ready, you’ll be waiting the rest of your life.”

– Unknown

I understand that your goals could be complicated, or are not something that you could literally complete this year. Even so, there are steps you can take now to help ensure your future success.

What are Your Obstacles?

First, you need to figure out what obstacles or barriers are in the way of this goal. And then you’ll determine the steps that you’ll need to take to work through them.

If the obstacles are just excuses and not real barriers, let them drop to the wayside. Figure out what you need to do to remove or deal with those right now.

Next, give yourself permission to get over your fear, and push through it! Tony Robbins says to “use fear as your motivator”, rather than your prison. Which I think means that you can use fear to your benefit, if you look at it the right way.

For instance, if you tell yourself that “you have no choice but to succeed”, and if “achieving your goal is an absolute must”, then “nothing else matters”. No sacrifices, no excuses, no rationalizations will stand in your way.

If you give yourself only one option, to succeed, then that is what will happen. You have to get this in your head and decide it.

Living intentionally with this kind of mindset is how some of the most successful people get there. It might be a tad bit dramatic, but it can work, and I say that from experience.

Related article: “How to Avoid Procrastination and Actually Accomplish Your Goals.”

Because really, to get big results, you’ve got to take big chances. Comparable to if you were to invest in the stock market. The more risky the trades you make, the greater the chance to lose, but also the greater the opportunity for big return.

But, what do you get if you don’t invest at all? Well, you get to keep what you already have– you don’t lose anything, but you also don’t gain anything either. Invest in your goals!

Don’t Let the Fear Hold You Back

So think about that in terms of your life– if you don’t at least try to accomplish that big goal, you’re going to stay exactly the same, or possibly get worse. But going for the goal, gives you so much more.

Considering that you have already decided that you are going to succeed (because you’ve given yourself no other option) then why not go for the biggest win? The bigger payoff?

Even if you don’t finish this year, or get there the first time you try, you’ve still just gained some fabulous experience, knowledge and momentum. You know more than you did before, and now you can use that insight to try again or to just keep going!

Was I ready to get married this past year? Well, I’m definitely not the perfect partner, and I’ve got plenty of things that I’ll continue to work on, probably forever. But the big win here is that now we can work on both of our problems, together.

Your big goal may require a lot more work to actually get there, but you can still “just go for it” in terms of working on overcoming the obstacles to get there, and not giving yourself “no” as an answer. Decide you are going to accomplish your goal, and continually work on it.

By the way, I’m definitely not telling you that you should get married. (Because maybe you already are, or maybe there’s a myriad of other very, valid reasons, like not wanting to!)

But, what I am saying is, really look at your life right now, and imagine what you want to tell yourself that you’ve accomplished exactly 1 year from now. If it’s not marriage, decide what it’s going to be for you.

Don’t let fear hold you back any longer!

If not, then now is the time to go all in, to go big, and to just go for it- whatever that “it” is in your life.

And realize that there will always be challenges, trials, successes, failures, hardships, and accomplishments to get through in life — and that’s okay.

Deciding to get married may not be on your “to-do” list, but you can use these same tactics to go for any other objective, target, or destination that you have.

Plus, what better way to come up with a million different topics and things to blog about right? (Presto, marriage is my new content developer!)

But, don’t hold back any longer, and let your fear motivate you instead of paralyzing you. Give yourself no other option than to succeed, and just see where that leads to- just go for it.

2. Get Your Debt on the Fast Track to Extinction

Like a T-Rex stuck in quicksand next to an active volcano, my debt is disappearing at an astonishing rate! It’s a goal I’ve had for nearly 15 years!

How am I doing it?

Well, along with my husband being a fantastic partner in marriage, he is also a very smart financial analyst, and therefore has a most extensive knowledge about money and how to manage it.

He’s really helped me see where I’ve been making mistakes, which I desperately needed help with. He’s helped me uncover one big key that I’d been missing. (Well, several, but one I’ll focus on here today)

A little background on me, I won’t beat around the bush, I’ve been terrible with money ever since I started first making it. And that was back when I was 16 years old, so, quite a while ago.

Granted, there have been a few “better” years here and there, where I wasn’t completely imploding. However, in general, my finances (not unlike my life in general) have just been a total, huge, hot mess.

My debt has been much higher before, and low enough as to be within only $10k of being paid off, and then only to skyrocket again. It’s seriously been an absolute struggle for me.

Related Content: “The Debt Detox- Part 1” and “Emergency Fund or Pay Off Debt: Which should You do first?“

But, to sum up the year, I’ll have paid off more than $8,000 in principal, just in the last 6 months! How completely unbelievable is that?? (and my credit score is finally going up too!) 

So much so, that if you told me at this time last year, that is what’s going to happen, I seriously would have laughed and then cried, just knowing that it couldn’t possibly be so.

Well, I have to eat some major humble pie, because it did happen, and it due to in large part to at last, learning how to budget, and most importantly…

Learn How to Save and to Just Stop Spending! 

That has been the secret for me thus far. It has involved sacrificing a lot of comforts and conveniences (like that daily soda or purchased lunch). I’ve even stopped buying new clothes and shoes, and nearly anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary.

And with the money I would have spent on those types of things, I’ve instead put it into a savings account. I’m telling you, there is no other peace quite like knowing that you have some money saved up for whenever you need it.

Not spending on anything extra will be hard at first, especially if you’re not used to it. But, you need to remember that it is just temporary. At least until you get a sizable chunk of money saved up– starting with at least $1,000.

Another quote that I recently saw explains this perfectly:

“It’s not your salary that makes you rich, it’s your spending habits.”

– Charles A. Jaffe

Words to live by!

Then once you’ve saved up this “back-up” fund, you don’t just start spending again, now you use that money to put toward your debt, which will help you pay it off faster.

As such, I’m also really working really hard to find all kinds of ways to save, and get discounts on the things that I do need. For instance, I just found and signed up for this neat program called “Earny.”

It’s not going to change your life or anything, but if you are working to get out of debt or save money (who isnt’?) then it’s a really simple small achievement to get!

Earny watches your receipts for you (in your email), from stores where you shopped at online, like Amazon. And if your purchases go on sale, Earny will automatically file a claim and get you a refund for the difference in price!

It’s really cool! You don’t even have to do anything once you sign up. If you’re interested, click the following link to sign-up for free: *Earny*

And if you sign-up through someone else, like me, you are helping that person also earn 5% on any money that YOU get back (with no cost to you whatsoever). AND you can do the same and invite people to sign up through you and you’ll also earn 5% on their refunds too, as well as THEIR friends. It pays returns up to 2 sign-ups deep.

It’s a total win-win! The more friends you sign up, the more you can earn back too! Sign up! (Leave me a comment if you have any questions about using Earny)

So, to sum up this tip, if you’ve decided this is the year you’re going to stop living paycheck to paycheck, or with the constant fear that you might overdraft your accounts, it’s time to start Saving and Stop Spending! And then, because you’ll already be in the habit of not spending that money, the next step will be to use it to target and pay off your debts faster.

3. Work Where You are Happy Goal

I was so fortunate when I very first moved up to Seattle from Utah two years ago, to have landed a job, like literally the day after I arrived here.

No kidding—I spent my first entire day just applying for job after job. I got a call later that same day from a woman who did a quick phone screening with me and then invited me to come in the next day to interview.

I went to the interview the following day and it went spectacularly! She wanted me to come back for a 2^nd, but I was heading back to Utah soon for Thanksgiving. So, she had another manager come in and do the 2^nd interview right there and –bam- I had a job!

Working there for the following year and a half was a whirlwind of change. I definitely hated it some days, but I also really enjoyed it some days. But, I realized one day, that I had come to a point that I was unhappy more days than I was happy, and I decided it was time for a change.

I’m grateful for what I learned there, though, and for what the job provided me with at the time; a steady income, health insurance, and great new friends. But, it just wasn’t enough.

I decided that if I have to spend 8 hours a day, 40 days a week trading my time for money– I needed more than just to be able to pay the bills.

I wanted to do something that was actually fulfilling, and to be somewhere where I really felt valued, was treated with respect, and was not verbally abused by customers every day.

Life is just too short to waste away your days doing something you hate or that is making you miserable!

Most of us have to work. Why not at least try to enjoy it? Look what else is out there, see what the possibilities are!

I know, you might be saying, “well, what about ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ syndrome?” And, yes, that can definitely happen. That’s always a possibility. You’ll never know how good a company or an employer is, until you actually work for them.

But the point is that you should at least try to get yourself into a better situation, rather than wasting years being unhappy in what you’re doing all day long, every day.

However, I am not saying that you should just up and quit your job! But, if you hate it, and if you are unhappy, or you don’t make enough, or there’s any other solid reason that makes you feeling miserable about it every day—I’m just sayin’, see what else life has to offer you.

You honestly deserve more than that! Like a good friend of mine recently discovered.

She quit a new job recently, after only 3 months, at what she thought was her ultimate dream job. It was at one of the absolute top tech, Fortune 500 Companies no less.

They did not treat her right. She said she felt abused and unheard, and that her boss was actually openly mean to her. She knew that it wasn’t going to work out, and she had the courage to leave because of it.

That took a lot of courage, and not everyone could do that, or should do that. But I challenge you to look- to believe in yourself enough to put yourself into a better situation.

There are so many resources for getting jobs, it’s crazy! Let me know in the comments below, if you need some suggestions or help with resources in your area and I’ll try to hook you up.

So, I immediately dove for it, when I had the opportunity to interview for the job I’m at now. And miraculously, I had the best interview of my life and landed the position with flying colors.

Check out my LinkedIn page if you want to know more about what I do—but essentially, I help people who are unemployed get jobs! It’s SO much better!

It’s been a fantastic 6 months so far. I’m constantly inspired by the folks I work with, and I love what we do here. It’s very fulfilling and gratifying, while at the same time, a benefit to the community.

And with that, I’ve become somewhat of an expert in refining Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviewing, as well as how and where to search for jobs.

SO… if you’re thinking that maybe it’s actually time for a change, get started today– go to Indeed, check out Glassdoor, and do whatever else you need to do to find something to do that will bring you joy this year.

If you are interested in getting some help with that, get in touch and I’d be happy to give you some pointers.

But please note, that depending on how busy I get, I may start charging for my assistance in the future, so if you want any help, now’s your chance!

4. Start a Blog or Small Business

I started a blog this past year, which you probably realized since you’re, um, reading it. But yeah- I took a giant leap further into the world of online marketing and launched this blog!

Besides working at a better job, I know that I have skills that can be put to good use helping other people in many ways too. Especially in being able to make extra money.

I have had my Etsy Shop open for just over 9 years now, and have had steady and growing success there. I feel super grateful for what it’s allowed me to do, and the talents it continues to help me develop.

And in fact, the income I’ve earned from Etsy is what has allowed me the opportunity to launch this blog, or really, to invest more in myself.

What talents do you have that would be of help to other people? What do you do really well? Or, what do you want to learn to do? Blogging is a perfect opportunity to enhance or develop those skills.

You can blog about anything– and there’s an absolutely unlimited opportunity to make money online. Whether that’s by selling your skills through coaching or teaching, or by actually making something physical to sell, the sky’s the limit!

I’m still learning SO much about blogging, pretty much every single day. And I’m telling you, there is SO much to learn!

I’ve had to learn WordPress, learn how to start my own email subscription list through Mailchimp (see link below), learn what “plugins” are and how to use them, how to create opt-in’s, how to design using PicMonkey and Canva, and honestly, too many other things to name here.

And it’s a lot of stuff that I’ve never dealt with before, even doing marketing for a Fortune 500 company for 12 years- this is a whole new ballgame.

But, I do have to say that much of the early success I’m having has come from marketing on Pinterest. If you own any kind of business online or otherwise, I highly recommend using Pinterest as a marketing tool. It currently brings in the majority of traffic to my blog.

I’ve also been using Tailwind sporadically too- which is software that helps you schedule pins and then automatically posts then on Pinterest for you- but it does cost a little more for that feature after the first 30 days.

However, Tailwind tribes are always free and I highly suggest joining those if you’re needing some exposure on Pinterest for whatever you’re needing to promote. Getting involved in tribes will help you connect with lots of others too.

But I’ve personally found that pinning manually is working quite well for me at this stage. I work on it a couple times per day, and I’ve seen a steady and serious increase on my Pinterest account just over a few months.

I started working on it back at the beginning of September, and went from (NO JOKE) about 345 monthly viewers to today, 167k monthly viewers!! Staggering right?

If you’re interested in starting your own money making blog this coming year, I highly recommend going through Bluehost as your host and using WordPress.org to create your site.

You can learn how quickly and easily it is to start a blog at this article I wrote a while back, HERE.

But I’m also totally open to helping you get started, or answering any questions you may have early on. (At least for now!) Just hit me up in the comments below.

The other big thing that I’ve had to learn about is Affiliate Marketing. Which is basically advertising a business through links on your page. When someone clicks on those links and/or makes a purchase, you earn a small commission, at no cost to the person who clicked your link.

It’s been very trial and error for me, and while I haven’t made much money from it yet, I anticipate that to change dramatically in 2019!

So far I’ve signed up with Amazon, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, Affilorama, and a few others mentioned above.

So, any mama’s or ladies out there looking for a side hustle? Join one of these programs I’ve mentioned or get in touch with me and I’ll help you out.

5. Start Writing (Again)

Working as a professional marketer for much of my career in the past, led me to write, A LOT.

Everything from business plans, to product concepts, brand alignment, brand design, brand standards, web copy, emails, social media posts, video and workshop scripts, blog posts, speeches, and a gazillion PowerPoint’s- uggghhhhh, SO MUCH WRITING!

But after about 15 years of doing that non-stop, I was totally burned out. I started feeling like I was losing my creativity always needing to come up with “the next great thing,” year after year after year.

So, when I didn’t have to do it for work, I just stopped writing all together.

I didn’t keep a journal, I rarely wrote emails to anyone or anything. The only writing I did was via text messages.

But something has totally awakened inside me since I started writing again these past few months. It’s like a spark has been lit and now it’s slowing growing into a bonfire!

I can’t stop thinking about writing. I’m constantly observing the world around me and considering how everything could be a potential subject to write about. I’m reading more, I learning again, I feel I’m overflowing with inspiration. It’s just so exciting!

In fact, when I do start writing (or typing) I get going so fast that my fingers barely touch the keys and my error rate explodes! Thank goodness for auto-correct, spell check, and Grammarly is all I can say.

It’s truly amazing how easy it has been to get back into it once you get started!

I had a brief moment of feeling terrified and worried that no one was going to read anything I wrote. But I ‘m over that and decided I didn’t care, I was going to do it no matter what.

And hopefully, the more I write, the better I’ll get, and the more readers that will find me. “If I write it, they will come!?” ….maybe! If not, I’m still okay with that.

Writing can be intensely freeing, by helping your brain actually process and utilize information that you’ve been storing in there for ages. It helps you see the world around you in a more interesting way, by giving you the perspective of potential topics in everything.

And another cool thing that happened, besides re-discovering my love of writing, is that I realized that I really want to get involved in freelancing too.

I mean, why not?? It’ll keep me on my toes, potentially help me earn more money (to pay off my debt even faster), and I’m sure it will make me a better writer and help me “hone my craft”, as they say.

So, I did two more things recently that you can do too. First, I joined UpWork as a freelancer, so people who need a copywriter with my particular skills can hire me. I just submit proposals for “jobs” that other people post as well, that I’m interested in.

AND lastly, I submitted myself to be a content publisher on a Medium site called, The Writing Cooperative. And I’m accepted!!!

I just published my first article there: “The Worst English Teacher in the World.”

So, if you’ve every had a love of writing and you’re looking for a way to encourage your creativity back into being, just start writing.

You can write anything! A novel, a memoir, a blog, an e-book, whatever you want to. And there are so many helps available on the internet now, it’d just be silly to not try it, if that’s something you’ve ever wanted to do.

I’m not sure which opportunity I’m more excited about personally— writing on my blog, writing for other publications, or starting my own book, but I do know that I need to get my butt in high gear and get writing so much more, right now.

I hope you will try it too! Let me know if you do, I’d love to hear about your story too.

In Conclusion

I hope you’ll use this read as an opportunity to think about your own goals for next year and perhaps try out some of these suggestions.

My goal with this website is to inspire other women, like yourself, to stop being afraid of trying new things, to learn new skills, and to overcome whatever it is (if anything) that is keeping you from accomplishing all of your goals and living the life you’ve dreamed of.

I’m well on my way there—if this past year was any indication—and if I can do it, girl, I know you can too. I’m so excited!

Leave me a comment and tell me what you’re going to work on in the coming year—or what exciting things happened to you last year?

And don’t forget to sign up as an email subscriber—you’ll get notified when I publish new, helpful content. Plus, you’ll receive a FREE gift of my printable Planning Pages.

Here’s to a fabulous 2019 and beyond, my friend!