We are one month in to 2017, and I just finished my prep work for my 2017 Goal Setting in my Powersheets.  You may be thinking, “umm Tara, you are a month late”.  Actually, I’m not!  February 1st is going to be my January 1st and guess what…. THAT’S OK! We are only 8% into the year and it’s never too late to start working on what matters! There is nothing special about January 1st and to be honest, I was making progress on some of my goals in January anyway even though they weren’t on paper yet, so high fives to that!  Little by little the progress will add up and before I know it, I will be that much closer to achieving my goals!  

A look back to the end of 2015:

I would have been the first person to stand up and say “I am a hot mess” when it came to managing the demands of life and running a creative business. By the end of 2015, I stared at my computer screen with a to-do list a mile long, little sleep, and no idea what “emergency” to tackle first.  I thought everything was important.  I sat there wondering how on earth did an entire go by and I felt like I missed it?  Sure, I was present. I remember some things – I got to see several of my daughter’s major milestones (others happened at daycare), we took our first family vacation to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I grew in my Faith, and I had the best year on record for Tara Nicole Weddings – expanding my team to 5, a complete overhaul of our website and brand (thank you Paired Inc.) and having one of the best summer interns God could give me.

So how on earth did I do all these great things and get to the end of the year feeling like I was missing something? And then I found the ever-encouraging Lara Casey and it hit me – I had been sucked in to society’s version of how I should be living my life.  This idea of “perfect”.  This is not how I wanted to live my life – constantly too busy for friends, my husband, missing precious time with my daughter, and lying in bed mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for 1.5 hours to keep up with what everyone else was doing – all because society forces us to think the only way to success is through the constant hustle. If we aren’t busy, then something is wrong, your business must not be doing well, or you are just lazy. WHO MADE UP THESE RULES?!?! I certainly did not quit my stable retail job to work 24/7 for society’s standards.

My progress through 2016:

Between Lara Casey, Lysa Terkeurst, and several life-changing conferences/webinars, I realized there is so much more to this life than work and the title we hold within our company.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my business. But by changing my outlook on life, and shifting my mindset within my business, I was able to run my business more efficiently and from a clear sense of purpose.  It was one of the most freeing things I have ever experienced!  This DID NOT happen overnight.  This process took a good 10 months to come full circle after digging deep and answering some really hard questions.  I purchased my first set of Powersheets and went through all of the prep work to lay out some good goals in 2016.

I did not cross everything off my list in 2016, but looking back – I made some awesome progress!  I had a better work/life balance, attended some life changing business conferences, grew in my faith, took our first family vacation to the beach, and watched our little girl transition into one of the sassiest toddlers I have ever known! HAHA! And I was there for it! My wedding planning business continued to grow: we served some amazing clients, were featured on several national blogs, covers of magazines, and awarded Couple’s Choice award for the third year in a row!

Looking ahead to 2017:

While 2016 was such an improvement over 2015, I have to say I really think 2017 is going to be the best year yet!  This year I am making an intentional effort to live on purpose, not by accident (we’ve all been there – feeling like we are stretched WAY too thin). We were placed here for a reason.  Wouldn’t it be great if you could discover what that reason is?  After peeling back the layers of what really matters to me, asking myself where do I want to be when I am 80, and implementing a new decision check point system of “is this really the best use of my time? Is this a “Best Yes ?”, my purpose is becoming ever more clear!  I can’t wait to dive into my goals and see how I grow this year.

Some of my 2017 goals:

• Growing deeper in my faith by living out God’s Truth with my actions
• More intentional time with my husband – welcoming our second little girl in May 🙂
• More play-dates/fun activities with my oldest daughter Ali – would love any advice here! She is currently 2.5 years old
• Growing my business, letting go of fear and trying new things – this is a big one!
• Cultivating meaningful relationships with friends and vendors – making an effort to be a better friend/vendor partner

If you need to get your set of PowerSheets, you can pre-order a 6 month set here – they just brought them back after selling out so quickly. Or you can still do all of the same exercises on your own paper.  It doesn’t need to be perfect or pretty – you just need to get it down on paper and start!  I will update you all on my progress next week!!  What are some of your 2017 goals?   Comment below so I can help cheer you on the rest of 2017!

I would love to stay connected by having you sign up for our monthly newsletter here!

Let’s make 2017 the best year yet!

All blog photo credits: Cultivate What Matters and Lara Casey