In the Short Term

If what you’re doing isn’t helping to propel you into your future, you may want to do something else.


I posted this on FB a month or so ago. I don’t remember where I saw it but it shook me. I’ve known for quite some time that I needed to do something else but because I didn’t have all the details of what that ‘something else’ was I chose to do nothing. Which caused all kinds of frustration in my life. So while I was on vacation in beautiful Chicago I took some time to reevaluate and just think. (Sidenote: I also had plenty of good food, drinks and entertainment – check out the videos if you haven’t already.)

What I came up with was that I don’t have to know the final destination all I have to really know is that I need to start moving. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. So I started thinking about my short-term (within 5 years) goals and I have three things that I’m focusing on right now:

My money: I won’t get into specifics but the ultimate goal here is to decrease spending and increase savings. I’ve increased my monthly allotments to my personal savings and my retirement account. I’ve also put myself on a 60-day shopping fast. I do not need any more hair products, makeup or shoes. It’s funny, I never used to be a fan of shopping but over the past couple of years, I allowed it to get out of control. After the next 60 days I will take another look and determine if the fast should continue or if I will allow myself a small monthly budget for shopping. I have plans and getting my money right is essential to having this plan succeed.

My mind: I want to finish my formal higher education through MBA in less than 5 years. I’m on track to finish my Bachelors by my 50th birthday. These classes are challenging and require a lot more time than I had anticipated. The other night I started my Accounting homework at 9:00 pm and was up until 1:00 am. I need to budget my time better because I don’t operate well with little sleep. The classes also require a lot of writing, which I rather enjoy but it can still be challenging. Don’t get it twisted, I enjoy a good challenge and anything worth having is worth working for.

My body: I have been whining about wanting a better body for years. I want to be healthy and strong. Emphasis on strong. I will not be a frail old lady that my children have to take care of. Eff that. So I finally hired a personal trainer. I have a woman that meets me twice a week and a guy that meets me once a week. So far, the woman is kicking my butt. Seriously, she has brought me to tears in the gym. But I’m not giving up. I have never worked my body like this before – I never thought I had to – but here I am, sweating and crying three times a week. I figure I can do anything for a short period of time. It won’t be painful forever and the benefits are immeasurable.

I’ve been working ya’ll. I feel good about it too. I think about what I’ve done in the last 5 years and I don’t want to say that it was a complete waste but I did waste a lot of time. Time that I will never be able to get back. I will not let the next 5 years go to waste. In 5 years when I’m 53 I don’t want to be having this same conversation. I stopped blogging in October because I was sick of recounting my blah blahs – really, who cares? Or at least that’s how I felt. I probably won’t go back to blogging regularly for a while. I’ll more than likely be posting updates on my goals via video so if you’re interested head on over to YT and subscribe to my channel.

Thanks for reading.