Happy New Year from my home to yours!!! 2019 has come and gone in a FLASH and it’s so hard to believe that it’s time to start setting some resolutions! You are reading this and probably thinking one of 2 things…
- I am so stoked to start this year with fresh intentions
- I spend the time to set these goals and I stick to it for a day….so what’s the purpose.
If you are person number 1, I am SO WITH YOU! This is going to be the best year ever! I have a clear head and I already started on my personal goals; I already feel unstoppable!
If you are person number 2 keep reading…I am going to be sharing some secrets for goal setting and some amazing ideas that have really inspired me this year!
You could be sitting there like “Jamie, what does this have to do with photography?” Well, let me tell you! I broke my life into three areas: personal, photographer, and teacher. This year I am setting a single word intention to each of those areas (more on this later). For my “personal life” I chose intentional, “photographer life” I chose authentic, and for my “teacher life”, I chose inspire. So this blog I wanted to show my customers my authentic side as well as hopefully inspire you to set an achievable goal for the start of a new decade!
Hack #1 “Word of the Year”
Setting a resolution to lose 50 pounds or the exercise more can be great goals but how many times do you fall off the wagon! I read a blog once about how they chose a word of the year. All year they would evaluate, do their actions reflect their intention for the year. It is much more attainable when you are setting a focus word.
My focus this year in my photography business is to be more authentic. This means that I want to do less “posing” and more whispers and play during sessions. I want to focus on the authentic moments of your family rather than, “everyone look at mom”! This is going to mean that we are going to let the kids run and play, making raspberries, or saying silly words to get real authentic smiles! It’s going to be taking the stress out of the dreaded family pictures!
Hack #2 SMART Goals
Setting goals are an important part of life but not setting “smart” goals will never get you where you need to be! As a special education teacher, I am constantly writing educational goals for kids for their individual education plans. When writing a goal I use the acronym S.M.A.R.T.
S= Specific- Target a very specific area that you want to improve upon
M= Measurable- Give yourself a number to reach! If you just say lose weight it is not measurable. You are never going to have that satisfying feeling when you reach that goal. If you have a larger goal of losing 50 pounds, break that goal into measurable benchmarks! 50 pounds can be a lot but the first 5 and 20 are super exciting benchmarks in your journey.
A= Attainable! This is the hardest part of writing a goal. What my brain wants and what my body can do are two very different things. I may WANT to run a full marathon but as of right now I can’t even run a 1/4 mile. A full marathon is not going going to be an attainable goal for me right now; I want to start smaller like a 5k! Challenging but achievable!
R= Relevant– You need to make sure that your goal is actually relevant to your lifestyle. If you are focusing on something like your photography business, you’re going to want to make sure that the goal is relevant to the focus and direction of your life. It would be counterproductive if you’re not heading down a focused path.
T= TIMELY- You want to make sure that your goal is going to be able to be achieved in a timely manner. This is going to be something that is a personal preference! If you are not good at sticking to a goal, you want to have your goal “expire” by the end of the month? Make a monthly benchmark. If I am going from couch to full marathon, my goal is not going to be a one year mark. For me, that is going to take a lot more training, effort, and albuterol. If I am going to be writing a smart goal it would be that I would be able to run a 3k under 20 minutes. That is something that is achievable and I would be able to achieve that in a few months with the right amount of training and focus.
#3 WRITE IT DOWN
Write down your goals and post them in an area where you look frequently! You are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Writing your goals down not only forces you to get clear on what, exactly, it is that you want to accomplish, but doing so plays a part in motivating you to complete the tasks necessary for your success.
Hack #4 Celebrate
CELEBRATE YOURSELF! I cannot say this enough! My favorite memes are the “clap for your own damn self”! We are stuck in a world of comparison (which is so easy with everyone’s perfect social feeds). Turn your sense of accomplishment inward! You need to celebrate the wins that you have without expectations of a grand parade and celebration in public!
2020 is going to be the best year ever and I hope that you and your families enjoy this time together. Be kind, be bold, love to the fullest, and go on adventures.
Put family photos on your list of things to accomplish this year to show your beautiful family in 2020
