Diary entry time!
I find myself saying this more often than not, but life just seems to be moving at hyper-speed lately. I’ve had what I feel is a very productive week, yet I still have plenty of things lined up to accomplish. I’m not overwhelmed, but certainly filled to the brim. Yesterday I messaged David during my moment of nap time silence with ‘this is all leading to something, right?’
Not but a few seconds later I received back a longer, more detailed version of Absolutely.
That was all I needed to rev my engine back up and keep on trucking. David and I have big plans for our family’s future (ah, vague blogging at its best). We talk about our goals often and enjoy discussing strategy on how to reach them. To take Dave Ramsey’s words, we want to live like no one else so later we can live like no one else.
For those that aren’t Dave regulars, the translation is that if you’re willing to do the tough work that most people won’t, then down the line you will be able to live like most people can’t.
The stage we’re in right now means a lot of long days on both our parts. Between us, it means early mornings, late nights, and working hard in between. Honestly, it doesn’t leave a lot of time for much else, yet we both keep grinding. Though I’d say we are both naturally self-motivated people in our own ways, what really keeps our wheels turning is our collective WHY.
I’m finding that having a ‘why’ that makes you cry is the key to success in anything you want in life. If you have a purpose that you feel so passionately about that it brings you to tears, then you will be successful in your ventures that align with it. Most of these big goals are marathons, not sprints, so having a cause that you’re working for or towards will give you the stamina you need to make it.
The above quote is usually read in a negative sense, eliciting the desire to change, but it can also be read in a positive light. If you’re doing good stuff, keep it up and you’ll keep getting good stuff from it!
Remembering my why is what keeps me positive and focused on even the longest days when I’m ready to throw in the towel.
…when I have lost all patience with three-year-old tantrums, I refocus on parenting with patience because I want my girls to grow up to be kind and knowing how to handle their emotions.
…when I want to order pizza every night for the entire week, I remind myself that what I put into my body directly results in how I feel and my overall health.
…when I take a couple days off of working out and debate whether the sweating is worth my time, I remember that I’m not exercising to be a certain jean size, but for my health and longevity to be there to run, play and dance at life’s events for years (and years and years) to come.
…when I am tempted to say screw it and buy a whole new wardrobe and shoes, I go over our family’s financial goals and reevaluate where I’d really rather spend the money.
This isn’t to say my actions always align with my why. I’m human. There are certainly days I slack off and just chill, but usually the WHY picks me up, dusts me off and puts me on my way again.
Though I’m in no rush for time to pass quickly, I’m excited for the family goals we have and am willing to work my tail off to get there. I am enjoying the process (do we just call that life?) of working towards our goals, learning, trying new ventures and seeing what sticks. Underneath it all, the WHY keeps propelling me forward and keeping me engaged and excited.
Do you feel passionately about the goals you are working to achieve?
What is your why? What is a big goal that you are really striving to achieve?
What would hitting that goal mean to you? How would it change your life?
Dana says
Wow~ What a great post! So inspiring….I needed that today. A gentle reminder to keep going..to keep pushing forward to achieve your goals!
Thx 🙂
John J. says
Well said. I have such great respect for you and David as you communicate well about your life and goals. You prioritize well and “suit up and show up” (one of my favorite sayings). I’d like to believe that both of you learned something about that from the respective family in which you were reared. Your Mom and I have had the same dreams and put in the effort so that now we are “living the dream”!
Jennifer says
We follow the Dave Ramsey plan too! I feel like I’m in Baby Step 2 FOR-EV-ER so a lot of days it’s really hard to keep motivated. But, I just keep plugging along and know time is gonna pass no matter what, so I may as well follow the plan and reach my goals! I’d love to hear more about your journey with Dave if you feel like sharing! 🙂
Jodi says
Love your ‘diary’ and deep thought posts! Keep them up please, you know interspersed between your fabulous recipes and posts about the girls! 🙂
Though lots of whys and goals, my biggest one I struggle with lately is working. WHY?????? At first going back par-ttime was awesome, but lately, my schedule is packed, the complexity is more intense and the work after I leave the office is piling up. De je vous from my last job…. grrrr. Though I love what I do, I don’t like the extra hours I am having to put in. So I struggle with how to get that under control/be more efficient and not let it take over. But, in the meantime, I have to remind myself the why. I seem to always focus on the long term goal of college for the girls. Not sure why I pick that as my focus (other than the obvious..) . Plenty of people have gone to college w/o having their parents pave the way (ahem, me…) But, if we can, I want my girls to be all set with college/weddings/first car. We are totally on board with the Dave Ramsey concept. So that is my ultimate why. But in the short term, I remind myself of the nice things we can do, feel less stressed about, etc, by having my extra income. I need the short term reminders (ie a few hours alone at TJ Maxx… 😉 from time to time since they are more tangible. Great post! We need to chat more over wine… 😉
Marnie @ SuperSmartMama says
Wow…this was really inspiring! I’m going to have to go look up Dave Ramsey. I have a lot of little goals — I am good at setting and hitting the little goals: running a half marathon, striving to eat healthy (most days), remembering to teach my son kindness day-to-day, but I find the really BIG goals alot harder: save up enough money for retirement, find a career I really really love.
Thanks for the motivating words today!
Beks says
I feel like I’m in this weird state of arrested development, mostly because I had to move back in with my parents five years ago, and I’m still there. I have regular bills, like everyone else, like I pay them rent, and pay my quarter of the phone bill, and cook and clean, but I keep wondering if living with them is keeping me from something bigger. Problem is, I honestly can’t afford to move into my own place. It’s this precarious balance, which I can’t stand, but my goal is to work through Dave’s Baby Steps (working on saving $1000 now), and hopefully get my own place soon.
Heather says
We only recently got Dave Ramsey’s book and are going to try and start making some changes in our life. For a while I don’t think we had any real goals, just wishes and things, and now we’ve finally started realizing what we want. In the near future the goal is for me to become a stay at home mom as of January 1, 2016. I’m stoked. Then we have some travel goals, which means major budgeting goals and changing our lifestyle. I think we’re up for the challenge, though. 😉
Maryea {happy healthy mama} says
I love Dave Ramsey. I went to one of his seminars the year I graduated college and it was the best thing I ever did financially. I’m so glad I learned some financial savvy at a young age.
I feel very passionately about the goals I want to achieve. I can’t imagine working hard towards something I wasn’t passionate about!
Brynn says
One of my biggest keys to success is remembering and focusing on my why. It is a tool that I have used for years and has helped me push through tough times, decisions and even workouts. It is so easy to give in, give up or say no – the hard part is pushing yourself over the hump. It is worth it every time.
tiff @ love, sweat, & beers says
Is it bad that my goal is to keep on keepin’ on? haha Some days that’s plenty! Good luck with your goals. It must be something fantastic!! 🙂
And I like how you take that semi-negative quote and just look at it in a new light. I bet most of us see it the first way instead of the second, which is just silly.
alex d says
This was so inspiring – just what I needed this morning! Love reading your blog!
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul says
What a great post! I’m definitely working my tail off now in hopes it pays off later. I have big dreams and big goals and I really hope I reach them one day!
Kathy Henwood says
THANK YOU! You are so inspiring to me and this is one of those posts I will save to read again!
brittany @ Delights and Delectables says
The more I read your blog, the more I realize how much alike we are. I definitely have to keep reminding myself of my “why”.
Danica @ It's Progression says
My husband and I both love Dave Ramsey. We’ve been following his financial freedom baby steps and we *just* paid our last debt payment last week – we’re literally debt free!!! It’s incredible and absolutely worth every sacrifice we’ve made along the way. Now we get to move onto the next baby step, and with that, focus on the next goal we have as a little family. I love that saying of his, too, about living like no one does now so that we can live like no one does later.
Lisa B says
Brittany thank you for this. I may need to print it to read again and again. I began working on my Masters Degree when my daughter now 2 1/2 was 8 months old. I look back and wonder how I made it through all those classes. Just before my son was born I started to write my thesis but didn’t finish. Now I’m coming up on a deadline and it feels impossible. Right now life is messy (potty training), chaotic, exhausting (nursing is tiring, I have a cluster feeder), and sometimes totally disorganized but I wouldn’t trade it for anything, I love my babies. I needed the reminder to push through, besides I started this journey to be the example for my children.
Now to pick a topic… I’m very interested in researching nutrition realted issues if you have any good ideas for a correlation study please send them my way. Thank you!
Natasha says
You are so inspirational. Thanks for this. Gave me the kick I needed 😉
Laura @FitMamaLove says
Thought-provoking post. I blogged at the end (or beginning? Can’t remember) of the year about how everyone is blogging about goals for the new year and I don’t have any! Maybe it’s sad to admit, but we really don’t have goals, just things that we would like to do, but even then not much. I feel like we should because everyone talks about living more purposely because of their goals, but I’ve never been a goal-oriented person. I just take life as it comes out me.
Tracy says
Wow! Good luck with all those goals! Anything worthwhile takes a lot of effort!
Elizabeth Evans says
Now I’m so curious on what your goals are! We don’t really have big long term goals – that feels weird to write but I’m honest.
It must be fun to have long term goals that bring you feel so passionately about!
Maria says
I personally love the Brittany diary posts by the way. Also, get out of my head – I could have written this! We have big plans for our family one day too and they involve risks that I know for sure we’ll be grateful to have taken after the fact. But as for right now, it’s waiting and saving and working our butts off to make this dream happen. Somedays, I literally come home, throw up my hands and just beg for us to take the conventional route, but my husband always brings me back to reality and reminds me of why we are sacrificing now for a (hopefully) big lifestyle change and pay off in a few years. We are enjoying the ride (most of the time), but getting to our destination is going to be so sweet (vague commenting at its finest!). And yes, the Why makes me cry…tears of happiness 🙂
Courtney @ Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life says
Awesome post, Brittany! Thought-provoking, indeed. We have many goals ourselves, but I don’t think we’re quite as focused on them as we should be…now the wheels are really spinning up there…
Tanya says
Powerful post today Brittany! I personally need an attitude adjustment when it comes to meeting the goals we’ve set. I appreciate your words and encouragement!
Heather@hungryforbalance says
You are so good at coming up with inspiring and thought provoking posts! That is one of the reasons I love your blog so much!
My husband and I are making some sacrifices right now that I know will pay off later, but sometimes it is so hard to keep that distant future goal in my head, you know?
Morgan @ Managing Mommyhood says
This definitely speaks to me. Right now my husband is working out of state M-F so that in a eyar or two he’s in a position to work a little less and spend more time with me and our now 11 month old son. We both went into him taking this job knowing it would be hard, but we both know it’s to put our family in a better position later in life.
Colette says
i love you thought posts Britt! The why is so important. Sometimes it really does get lost in the day-to-day shuffle. I love the idea of having a visual reminder to remember your why — a vision board by your desk, or even make a private Pinterest vision board! Perfect for when you are having a tough day or need a little motivatin boost! Totally with you and can’t wait to hear more about your long term goals!
Ashley M (never)homemaker says
This is a GREAT post, girl. Thank you. I needed this advice. <3
Michelle O. says
I loved this post, I have so many dreams and I definitely try to work hard towards them but I let myself get side tracked too many times. I love to travel and I hope to travel more often in the future.
xx, Michelle
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