2014 Goal Posts

This past Sunday I went on a snow hike with Travis. One of my new years goals is to spend more time DOING things with my husband and my family...just say "yes" more often and try new things I may have decided in the past I would be unable to do because of a bad knee, or my weight or any other number of insecurities I have populating my head.

The first hike I went on this year was on New Years Day. Travis and I had discussed going and I decided it would be fun to invite my sister Amy and her "hiking" family (husband Lance and their 3 kids) and to take Jay, our 16 year old foreign exchange student from China...between the kids and Jay, who always looks out for me, I decided I could go for a hike and no matter how slow I went, there would be someone trailing along with me and I wouldn't hold up the strong hikers anymore than the 4 year old would.

I re-evaluated that assumption pretty quickly. Jay would have stayed by my side if I hadn't encouraged him to go with Travis and Lance...AND the kids. Amy hung around with me a bit and Elle - yes, the 4 year old, thankfully had the urge to run, then hunker down to look closely at a frozen leaf that MIGHT turn out to be a petrified dinosaur toe nail and, while I trekked along with my hiking stick to catch up, spent an unprecedented amount of time deciding on the value of picking it up and sticking it in her pocket for later examination...maybe it would hatch and fly away later?

We had a great time - Amy, Elle and I turned around just before the trail turned real hard and when everyone got back we ate Trav's amazing Chile Verde and rice...yum. Even Chuck and his girl friend joined in the fun. It was a pretty great day.

On the Sunday hike it was just Travis and me and we started at the steep part of the trail the others had done the Weds before so I could see what it was like and figure out how much my sad sack knee could handle. Travis had gone out and bought me my very own pair of ski poles and I had purchased some waterproof boots that I love just a few weeks before, so I was feeling pretty prepared and determined.

During the hike I thought a lot about building my business plan for work and writing out the goals I have been thinking about non-stop for weeks for the new year. I couldn't help getting a bit philosophical as we walked along in the cold winter forest.

My boss is constantly talking to us about "knowing where we are going" - endlessly talking about having a vision and destination in mind. Today was our Summit meeting and the focus was setting goals for this new year. He asked us to write down our vision and goals for the following areas:

1) Your Health, 2) Your Family and Relationships, 3) Spiritually, 4) Finances (savings, debt, income, etc.), 5) Travel - where do you want to go and HOW will you get there?, 6) Career Goals and Business Planning, 7) Leadership...what skill sets do you need to learn to lead those around you to be great?

It is important to know where you are heading so you do not get lost in the trees.

The other thing I thought about on the hike was how important it is to have the proper tools to achieve the goals I set. Travis bought me the ski poles and it made all the difference to me while hiking. I know without the poles I would have difficulty navigating the uneven and often steep ground with my bad knee and I know my lower back would ache badly without using the poles as support. These simple tools also gave me more confidence in my ability to finish the hike we intended.

I also realized how important it was for me to have a guide on this first hike. There were several off shoot trails that I could have taken and I was not familiar with the trail system - my husband insisted on staying with me even though I told him I felt I could get back to the car on my own. In the end I realized it was important for me to have that guide to keep me going in the right direction and help me make the best decisions on how far to go and which trail to take to optimize my first real hiking experience to make certain I would be interested in going again.

I will be spending the next several days outlining my vision for the 7 sections of my life referenced above to make sure I know where I am going and how I can achieve the things I would like in my life. I think 2014 is going to be an amazing year and I am grateful I am surrounded by great leaders, an amazing and supportive family and a husband who wants me to succeed.

I'm Just Sayin' - I Am Grateful,
HB

QUOTE: "In the moment of decision, our destiny is created." Unknown