February Goals and How to Set Yourself up for SUCCESS

Setting monthly goals is a crucial part of staying on track with your goals throughout the year so that you can achieve and create what you want in your life. Sharing my monthly goals is my way of staying accountable and inspiring you to do the same. Take the time to discover what you want to achieve, how and.. DO IT! I’ll also be sharing a few tips on how you set yourself up for success.

Even though we’re already mid-way through February, I still wanted to post my goals for the month because, well, #accountability.

If you follow me on Instagram and are signed up to the newsletter, you already know that February was an exciting month. I started working with my blog coach, Sheila from In Search of Sheila and she will be helping me step up my blogging game, which I’m so excited about. I also went to the Simply Stylist Conference in New York where I learned SO much which I can’t wait to share with you.

So those are my excuses for not having this blogpost up sooner. Sowyyyy!

I think that I finally found a format that I like and I want you to tell me what you think about it. I’m going to split my goals into 3 categories: mind, body and soul. These are the main three areas that I believe must be in harmony for you to feel balanced. Does that make sense to you? Yay or nay for this format? 

{ Setting yourself up for success }

This month’s focus has been learning and planning for the year ahead so that I can reach my goals. A key component of successful goal-setting is taking the time to plan. I’m learning to stay patient because there are times where I want immediate results and I just want to jump into things head first. But that’s not always useful because you might waste your time and energy in areas that aren’t worth it. You have to be strategic about your goals to set yourself up for success.

[bctt tweet=”A key component of successful goal-setting is taking the time to plan” username=”seppyforlove”]

For example, if you want to learn how to dance, you’re not going to walk down the street to the first dance studio that you find. There’s a thought process that needs go behind it: What kind of dancing do you want to learn? Is this for leisure or do you want to do competitions in the future? How often can you commit to classes? What’s your budget? Do you have a specific timeframe by which you’d like to learn a particular dance or choreography?

Once you have your goal in mind and you’ve thought of all the “logistical” questions behind it, then you can do research on the best strategy to reach your goal within the timeframe you set yourself.

Trust me, I completely understand getting excited about something and wanting to start right away. But often, the journey is more important than the destination.

[bctt tweet=”The journey is more important than the destination” username=”seppyforlove”]

Through any experience, you can learn a lot about yourself and your capacities and skills. These are valuable life lessons that you need to remember. It’s not just about the dance lesson for example. By defining your goal specifically, by thinking about the logistics, and by then taking the time to do research, you might learn that you are good at researching. In that moment, you learned a strength about yourself that can help you build your self-confidence and helps you know yourself better.

You might see that you need to learn more about budgeting more effectively. So you discovered an area of weakness that you need to work on. Or you might realize that this is an opportunity to get physical activity but also invite one of your close friends so that you can spend time with them. So you also discovered an easy way to socialize while doing something for yourself at the same time!

There is a wealth of lessons to be learned at every turn in life. Especially when it comes to your path in achieving your goals.

Set yourself up for success and be patient, think things through and take the time to plan for the short-term and the long-term.

Now, I know that this all might sound a bit ambiguous and you’re wondering what it all means in practical terms. And I’m all about the practical tools.

[bctt tweet=”There is a wealth of lessons to be learned at every turn in life” username=”seppyforlove”]

If you haven’t picked up on the hints I’ve been dropping in the newsletter and on social media, there is more to come. I’m working on practical and inspirational tools and resources to help you in achieve your goals and this just gave you a little taste. Stay tuned because I’m SO excited to share with you what I’ve learned from the years I’ve been goal-setting (and goal-reaching! Get it? Goal…reaching…reaching my goals? Not funny? No? Kay…).

In the meantime, try to think about one goal you’d like to achieve in the next few months and think about the following elements to help you plan and set yourself for success:

• Be specific about your goal: what do you want to accomplish?
• Set a timeframe: by when do you want to have accomplished your goal?
• Now get more specific and set milestones for your goal. Set target dates by which you want to accomplish different steps towards achieving your goal (i.e. in a week, find 5 resources. In one month, have read one book related to your goal so that you can learn about it etc.)
• Keep track of your progress: how will you keep track? By measuring something specific or by hitting milestones (such as reading one chapter per week or listening to two podcasts per week for example).
• Where will you monitor your progress? Keep it somewhere visual where you see it every day so that you have a constant reminder of your goal and your plan.

There’s a science behind setting and achieving your goals. You can do whatever your heart desires, it’s simply a matter of uncovering what you truly want and then being strategic about how you achieve it.

[bctt tweet=”You can do whatever your heart desires, it’s simply a matter of uncovering what you truly want and then being strategic about how you achieve it” username=”seppyforlove”]

{ February goals | MIND }

De-clutter makeup

I’m constantly de-cluttering because I want to get rid of excess stuff that we have so that I can make more mental space for things that matter. I don’t ever stop de-cluttering some things and this month I’m focusing on makeup.

I find that the less things that I own, the lighter I feel. I know that it sounds crazy but try it. It really works. If I have less stuff, then I have more time to enjoy the thing that I do have.

And the less stuff I have, then I only make space for things that are meaningful. I’d like to think of this as ‘intentional living’ where you allow things in your life that inspire you and make you happy rather than clog up your space and mind.

However….I’m a bit of a makeup junkie and to be honest, it’s gotten a little out of control where I don’t even have enough time to enjoy all the makeup that I have (I only have one face after all!).

So this month, I want to get back on track with the habit of de-clutter and I first want to tackle my makeup “collection” (because calling it a collection makes me feel a bit better about it).

Organize finances

And this is why it’s so important to write your goals…

To be perfectly honest, I had forgotten about this goal until I sat down and started writing this blogpost HAHA. Thanks past-me, signed, present-me.

I don’t feel like I have a good grasp of my finances. I do the basics, track my expenses, have a savings account that automatically transfers money from my checking account every month. I contribute to my pension through work (but I have no idea how much).

And that’s about it.

I want to have a better long-term plan when it comes to finances because I’m at a young enough age that I can be smart about my money to set myself up for the future, but I need to sit down and figure it out.

And I have to say that finances is a little bit of a stressful subject for me because I feel like when I don’t know or understand something, I feel frustrated with it and depending on what it is, I’ll ignore it. And I’ve ignored this area for a little bit too long so I need to tackle it. This will ease my mind and help me feel more in control.

Finish reading “Your Best Year”

My approach in life is to have an approach and mindset of learning. In other words, “Be a student of life”. There are always lessons and inspiration around us, if we choose to see them and learn from them. I always want to learn and discover new information and lessons from different sources.

My hubby bought a book that I totally stole from him and that I am ADORING! I know that a book is inspiring when I’m taking NOTES, like a good student! This book is actually giving me so much inspiration and ideas not only for my own goals but also for content for the blog.

{ February goals | BODY }

Lose 5 lbs

Ok the truth is, I haven’t weighed myself since December and I don’t plan on weighing myself for another 1-2 months. I was going to do it last time I saw my trainer, but I chickened out haha The last time that we did the body test where it measures everything from your body weight to your body fat percentage and muscle mass, I was TOTALLY discouraged because I’ve been working hard on getting in shape and losing weight.

This year started on the right track and at this point, I just need to remember to stay consistent because I’m noticing significant changes when I look at myself in the mirror and how my clothes are fitting. Even though I’ve had a few slip ups when it comes to eating but I’m being kind and patient with myself and remembering that I also want to live and enjoy life and not be completely restricted.

With a combination of stress-management (which is probably one of the biggest problems I’ve had for losing weight) as well as exercising and being more mindful and analytical about my eating habits, I’m at a place where I feel more in control.

I set smaller and more reasonable goals each month and that has also helped me mentally to just focus on the month rather than on the long-term because I know that every step matters. Every effort counts in the long-run and if I stay consistent, I will see the change that I want in a few months.

Take supplements

After my doctor diagnosed me with severe anxiety (and minor depression…which I hate to admit but I’m trying to be transparent with you guys), I went on a research rampage on what I needed to do to manage my stress. My doctor wanted to prescribe me medication but I refused. I’d rather deal with a health issue naturally and medication is last resort.

I’m happy to report that I think that all the changes that I’ve made have helped my anxiety! It’s a relief to be honest and I’m just happy that time and money invested in doing the research and buying the supplements is paying off.

Let me know if any of you would be interested in the supplements and plan I created for myself to manage my anxiety! I’d love to share what I’ve learned if it helps you.

Set goals for food groups

Ok, I haven’t done this just yet and I’m still struggling to figure that out, but this is in an effort to track what I eat to make sure that I’m staying in the right path towards losing weight.

Tracking food doesn’t work for everyone and even for me, I find it stressful at times but it also helps me mentally knowing that I’m staying on track with my meal plan and if I have one piece of dark chocolate and it falls within the requirements, then I don’t need to worry about it.

I know that I need to work on not worrying about eating and also enjoying life, but it’s a delicate balance that I don’t feel like I’ve reached just yet. If any of you have any advice or tips, I’d love to hear them!

Body measurements changes

This is the alternative that I’ve come up instead of weighing myself and it’s helped. I already met my January goals which was very exciting so I’m looking forward to the end of the month to see if there are any more changes!

{ February goals | SOUL }

This is an area that I’ve neglected a little bit and I want to make sure that I’m more aware of it because it has a big impact on how I’m feeling emotionally.

What do I mean by ‘soul’? Well, it’s as simple as : what makes you happy?

Is it spending time in nature? Is it spending time with a particular friend? Is it taking your mom out for a coffee date? Or maybe spending time with your niece?

Whatever makes your soul, your heart happy, make sure to do it consistently.

Mona’s devotional

For me, I’ve neglected my spirituality a bit so this year, I’d like to get back to that a bit more and it’s a slow progress because I’ve lost the habit, but I know that it will get better with the reminders that I’ve set for myself.

One of the easier ways that I want to do that this month is to support one of my close friend Mona’s spiritual activities that she has at her house every Friday evening where friends come over to share music and devotions and quotes and spend time together. It’s a really uplifting and easy environment to be in and a good excuse for me to see my friend!

Learn about visualization

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m big on goal-setting (duh). And one area that I want to learn more about is visualization because I think there’s a lot of power in that tool to achieve your goals and I want to try it out for myself!

In January, I started a little bit but I need to read more about it so that I can make sure that I’m using the right technique.

Try 2 new recipes

What also makes my soul happy is cooking and baking. Even though I’ve accepted the fact that I don’t have enough time to be cooking a few times a week, I’ve set a more reasonable goal of trying 2 new recipes every month, one cooking and one baking. This way, whenever I make the time the cook or bake, I’m not doing it rushed and I’m enjoying the processing and taking some me-time.

Do one cultural activity 

I want to do more cultural activities. Especially in Montreal, there’s always a lot happening and I want to take more advantage of that! I’m lucky enough that this month, my cultural activity was to hear Michelle Obama speak and it was INCREDIBLE! (special thanks to my bff Alexandra for inviting me!).

{ Self-Love Lesson }

Constantly feed your mind, body and soul with the right ingredients that make YOU feel happy and balanced. The better you take care of yourself, the more energized and inspired you will feel.

Invest time in yourself and do the things that make you happy. Your future self will thank you, trust me.

What’s one thing you’d like to accomplish in February (or maybe you already have!)? How can you set more intentional goals? If you need help or inspiration on setting goals to begin with, shoot me an email so we can chat! Otherwise, keep an eye out in the next couple of months (hint hint).

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