Goals | April 2020
It goes without saying that March was a strange month. I had no idea when I set my goals at the start of the month that by the end of it I would be cooped up at home and feeling very differently about what my priorities are. Despite the new territory that this experience has brought, I am thankful for the opportunity to be pushed out of our sense of normal because in a way it has encouraged me to get creative with how our day looks and how I can connect with others. There is true beauty inside these opportunities and I can honestly say that realizing that has encouraged me to take on some different goals for April than I would have initially expected.
My goals this month are about connecting and creating – two things I am absolutely clinging to at this strange time.
Sew something for fun. Being “stuck” at home offers the perfect opportunity to get the creative juices flowing. I have an office full of scrap craft supplies that I need to get organized, but I was thinking that it might be a better idea to try and use them up instead of just finding a new way to store them away. I have lots of cute little scraps of fabric and almost no sewing skills, so this is the month that I will push myself to learn something new. I already have an idea swirling about what I’ll create, but I’ll just leave it at that for now. My intentions for the goal: to use up some scrap material, to improve my sewing skills, and to channel my anxious energy into something I enjoy doing.
Make a friend feel special every day. I have found myself craving connection with the people that I haven’t been able to see as often and being able to offer a hand or piece of encouragement has already been a good coping mechanism amongst the chaos of this situation. This month I want to be really intentional about building people up and finding special ways to make the people in my community feel special. I’m also thinking about starting an online book club or some sort of social that uses the technological tools available to us in a unique way to build new opportunities for connection. My intentions for the goal: to use my creative energy to make an impact, to brighten someone’s day, and to deepen my relationships with friends and family.
Upload my first Youtube video. One of my goals last month was to write the content for ten video ideas so I could finally take the steps I needed to start a Youtube channel. This one almost makes me laugh because of how silly I feel when I say that I want to start a Youtube channel. But the truth is that I do. So I’m going to. This is the month I’ll make my first video, and if I’m lucky, maybe also my second and third. My intentions for the goal: to finally commit to this (and to not take myself too seriously while I do it).
Do three crafts with Mabel. Along with the creativity and connection focus of my monthly goals, I want to get crafty with my kid. She is finally at the age where I think we could get into some light crafting. I’m keeping my expectations low and focussing on the opportunity this will create for her to explore and continue to grow over my high hopes for cute kid crafts. I think it will be a good opportunity for me to grow in the art of letting go too. My intentions for the goal: to research new ways to help Mabel develop in the skills she is learning, to foster opportunities to connect with my kid, to give her opportunities to find the things she is interested in, and to not care about mess or clean up.
How have you been doing, friend? Have you been able to find ways to cope through this strange time? I am happy to listen if you need an ear or to give some suggestions of things that may help to brighten your spirits. We are all in this together!
