The best thing any teacher ever told me was this: “You’re going to fail.” At first I was a bit taken aback. What did he mean, I’m going to fail? Wasn’t he supposed to say stuff like, “I believe in you!” or “I know you’re going to do amazing things!” What was this? 

Estrangement wasn’t what I ever wanted. I certainly never imagined that I would go years without speaking to my own mother. Without her speaking to or seeing her grandchildren. And  yet, here we were.

Intermittent fasting is one of the most popular. What is intermittent fasting? It’s an approach to eating that requires the participant to cut calories by either skipping meals, not eating at all on certain days, or limiting eating to certain hours of the day.

It was a particularly busy day. All three kids needed to be in separate places at about the same time, the fridge was showing the great need to be restocked, the pile of laundry was pleading for attention, and there were about 12 other items on my to-do list that I needed to get to.

Quick, see if you can answer these questions without looking at your closet or doing any counting! How many shirts do you currently own? How many pairs of pants? How many sweaters? How many pairs of shoes? Dresses?

The above is an example of a Monday and Tuesday in February 2021, my last (and lightest) semester of undergrad. Everything I did went on the calendar. Anything where I was expected to be somewhere, I logged it in my iCal, syncing across all devices.

It’s a valuable lesson that could apply to each of us as well. Of course it’s easy in life for us to pursue things that bring us glory or that show off our talents, but how are we at taking one for the team?

Relational goals are just as important as our task goals, even more important in many cases. So, as you start a new year, new month, or new week, think about those in your life that you want or need to invest in more. What can you do to build that relationship?

Work through college - If it’s possible, try to work at the same time that you are taking classes so you aren’t racking up debt without any active momentum toward paying down those bills or buying your books.

This can be for other tasks that you keep procrastinating on because they look too big or overwhelming. Start small. Break the large job down into small tasks and take them one step at a time.

What if we each made it a goal in life to ask more questions? Can you imagine what a powerful tool that would be for shaping… well, literally everything? If we asked our neighbors more thoughtful questions, we might be able to see challenges they’re facing that we couldn’t see before.

What might this look like in your own life? Well, consider your relationship with your parents. It’s quite possible that one of their greatest goals is to keep you safe while one of YOUR greatest goals is to try new things and see what the world has to offer. All sorts of arguments and conflicts can grow out of that.

Here are a few ways you can take pretty normal, everyday activities and turn them into something more. Not only will you learn a lot in the process, but you’ll have a sense of accomplishment when you complete what you set out to do!

But what if you want to break out of the habits that you are in? What if some of the habits you do are detrimental to you and you need to add healthier ones in instead? 

Teachers and administrators often say the same thing. But for whatever reason, the words “do your best” often translate to “don’t screw up” inside our heads.

You might ask. “What’s a vision board?” Well essentially it’s a collage, but it’s a collage that you create with specific goals in mind. The idea behind a vision board is that if you create strong visual representations of where you want to be in your life within a certain timeframe or what you want to do by a certain date, you’re more likely to do it.

My dad was onto something there. He knew that by turning a chore we had to do into a game, we’d actually get it done a lot more quickly and with far less complaining.

Creating a budget can be insightful, but without accountability, is it really that useful? My parents are looking to retire in a few years and realized they needed to start living off a budget in order to see those financial goals met.

As this is something she was never taught, and I made the extra effort to learn, I want to share some insights for anyone else looking to create financial goals - specifically in the form of living off a budget. 

Have you ever been given something of incredible value that you could have invested in but failed to do so? Did the fear of failure paralyze you into complacency? Just being lazy? Why ruin a good thing? At one time or another and in one way or another, we all do this with money and possessions. But did you know that we also are guilty of doing the same thing with the skills and talents we have been given?