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.

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? 

We have turned into a people of consumption, so much so that we have a hard time not filling our entire day with it. The downside (well, one of the many) is that we have left little to no room for waiting, quiet contemplation, and thought.

She had no horses but thought she did. The funeral will be held in 1977. In lieu of flowers, send Brenda more life.” I STILL laugh out loud when I read that. We should let bots write all of our obituaries.

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.

Know what they found? Participants greatly under-estimated the effect that their small compliment would have on a stranger AND over-estimated how awkward it would be.

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. 

Are you a windows down or a windows up kind of person? Music on or off? Do you chat with the other individuals in the car, or do you prefer to keep mostly to yourself with books and earbuds?

Do you find yourself constantly saying, “I’ll do it later?” If not to other people, how often do you say it to yourself?

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? 

I had a goal, but day after day, I couldn't seem to get to it. But don't worry. I'll get to it tomorrow. Today was just a busy day. I want to run, so that's a start. I feel motivated, but I just can't do mornings. I'm not wired that way. 

Do you really want to be the kind of person who thinks they have it all figured out, the person who has no weakness, who thinks they are perfect? Do you really want to be the arrogant one in the room? Admitting weakness is not weak; it's humble. And it's absolutely required if you're going to truly succeed. 

It can be frustrating, but there are times when, for whatever reason, we can’t just run headfirst directly at our goal. When my husband returned to school, he already had many of the skills he needed to succeed, but he had to invest years into education and networking to break into his industry. School wasn’t the destination, but was a propeller, moving the craft in the right direction. 

What if for the next 40 days I played the game myself? What if I specifically made sure to notice that the banker’s eyes were hazel as a way of paying greater attention to those around me? If nothing else, it certainly sounded better than giving up sugar!

But we don't do this with our goals in life. We are taught as kids to dream big, shoot for the stars--all that inspiring stuff. But I don't ever remember anyone telling me about all the tiny steps I needed to take to get there. So what happens? We end up staring at a mountain to climb, but we are too stressed, too busy, too broke, too ill-equipped, and too tired to bother. So there sits your dream, the top of the mountain seemingly unattainable and unachievable.

On one of our epic adventures, we simultaneously got lost and heard my dad calling. In an instant, we went from sheer joy to terrified. We have to go home now! But we have no idea how to get there. We weren't prepared for this moment. The goal of getting home was clear as day, but we didn't have the knowledge or the tools to adapt to our new and unknown environment and find a way home. 

That section, the opening passage to “29 Gifts: How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life”, always cracks me up. The author is so honest with her feelings about this advice! And yet she agrees to give it a try. As a woman struggling with the daily frustrations of dealing with Multiple Sclerosis, Cami Walker decides to do the crazy thing and stop thinking about all of her problems just long enough to give away one thing every day.