I am excited to see what 2012 holds for me and my family! There is so much that could happen this year! As I sit and think about the things I want to accomplish this year, my mind starts spinning and my shoulders get tense. Not a good sign that I get stressed out, but when I try to look to far ahead thats what happens to me. The funny part is God already knows my future and He has great plans for me, which is always refreshing! There are so many things I want to accomplish in my life, but I have to remember to take one day at a time and be thankful for everyday God blesses me with. I haven’t officially written my New Years resolutions down, but I have been writing them in my head the past week. I would like to take this time to publicly write down a few of my goals for 2012.
I am a very lucky girl to have such amazing friends and family. These past couples days I have been humbled by my best friend and husband. They know how to put me in check and get down to the nitty gritty of my heart. They aren’t distracted by my accomplishments, but rather they know who I am and the desires I have and thankfully I have them to help guide me towards my future goals. The first day of the New Year offers a lot of promise and hope; it is a fresh start and with every year you feel like you have been given a clean slate. However, New Year’s resolutions fail more often than they succeed, and can often leave you feeling a sense of loss or discouragement. I want to encourage you to really think about what is important to you and what you want out of life. You need to sit down and think through your life values and decide what it is you really want. As human beings we have been given the powerful ability to dream. We can look deep within our hearts and dream of a better situation for ourselves and our families; dream of better finances and better emotional or physical lives; certainly dream of better spiritual lives. But the key to all of this is the power we have been given to pursue our dreams! The simple truth of this all is the major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get (thanks Jim Rohn for that insight). I love that we have two decisions in our lives – we can make a living or a design a life! My goal this year is to design my life and stop doing everything the way other people see fit. I don’t think life should be done the same way by everyone, it would make everyone lose their uniqueness. Our world needs change and people to step up and do things differently than normal. I don’t want to be normal, my goal is to be extrodinary and I can only achieve that if I put others before myself! I wish you all a bright and promising New Year! Think bigger and dream bigger than you ever have! “Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.” —Danny Kaye
XO,
Rachel Ashley
