My younger brother and lovely sister-in-law drove me to and from Decatur this week. I was super pumped to spend time with them, though our dogs probably won’t be BFF anytime soon, despite Tanner’s constant attempts for them to sniff butts.

We got to talking about 10 year plans. I drive Joel nuts with my lack of spontaneity on vacations (I say that I’m just insuring we get the most fun out of our time!) and I already know what “date night” on Friday will be – and what I’m going to order (hint:its usually a burger at a fancy restaurant)… But I don’t have a 10 year plan. Or a 5 year plan. Or a life plan in general.

They’re military – so they were joking about how that’s an excuse for not answering those questions. They will be where they will be. But for Joel and I – no one is telling  us what to do, instead they’re asking what our plans are.

People ask me all the time if we’re going to stay in Montgomery. I tell them we love it here, we’ve found great community and its a good central location for us, but we don’t have a clue how long we’ll be here. My excuse – We’ve got to get licensed and then we will worry about planning.

But while I don’t have a 10 year plan.. and I’m okay with that.. I’m becoming complacent. I need goals – real, obtainable-but-stretching goals. Getting Dobby to sit without having a treat in my hand is a worthy cause, but not a life changing sort of thing.

Kevin and I are too similar sometimes. #goals

I was so used to having my goals defined for me. Go to school. Get good grades. Get a job. Get married. Buy a house. I’ve checked those off the list. I haven’t reached the point in my life where the next box is “having kids” and then it becomes about your kids’ boxes. I’m in limbo. And I’ve recently realized that is causing anxiety in my life. I don’t know what people expect of me and that’s terrifying. The one societal pressure I’m feeling right now is to get licensed, and that’s more from my dad then society.

Whenever I don’t know something – there is always the internet. I went to the google machine and typed in “Life Goal Categories”.

This Dave Ramsey graphic stuck out to me  (of course right, Team Dave).

What I loved about this is the different sizes – it’s not the normal pie chart – everything isn’t equal. I’ve been struggling with wanting to do everything at once. I think this is a great graphic to prioritize myself. I can’t change my entire life in one day. So I’m going to set goals for myself but keep them prioritized in this order. I’m all about some accountability and oversharing, so I’ll share with you all my goals here:

Spiritual:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

I’ve been letting myself get bogged down and discouraged by overthinking the negative. This is goal number one. Think on the good things of God.

Career:

Get licensed. Just do it. Just study and take the tests.

Family:

Reach out more. These wonderful people in mine and Joel’s lives won’t always be here, we want to get to know our loved ones well.

Good thing that….

Financial:

Contribute the limit to my IRA this year. This will be a stretch with everything we’re doing at the house and my TJ Maxx addiction. But compound interest is a beautiful thing, so retirement savings should be a priority.

Intellectual:

Read 3 non fiction and 6 fiction books before next year. I’ve got to stop vegging out in front of the TV and put my brain to work. Studying for the A.R.E. will definitely do that, so I’m giving myself more fun reads then nonfiction – but The Millionaire Next Door states that most millionaires read one non fiction book a month. Gotta get on the millionaire status.

Physical:

I’m a blob. Before Christmas I was going to the gym twice a week (still pitiful but something) but 2016 has flown by with shopping being my major form of cardio. 3 times a week at the YMCA is the goal..

I need to edit my eating habits as well. But that’s a whole other beast to tackle. Joel is such a healthy eater… he enjoys veggies more than donuts. I’m the opposite. Our dinners sometimes feel like this:

Social:

Deepen relationships. We’re in this community for a while. We don’t know how long, but we really want to dig in. Hopefully everyone I’m currently thinking about being better friends with likes me…

But that’s where the circle starts over. I’ve got to stop worrying and overthinking and over analyzing. Philippians 4:8.  I can’t let a spirit of offensive get to me.

We’re almost halfway through 2016 – which is crazy – but I’ve got this, right!?

So I still don’t have a 10 year plan. But I’ve thought further than where Joel and I are going to eat out this weekend. It’s progress, and most importantly I’ve prioritized. I can’t make these changes all at once. Some goals will be more important than others, and realizing that (kind of obvious – but hard to reconcile) thought has brought a lot of clarity.

Does anyone else have a great way to prioritize big picture goals? Or have a category that you think needs to be in here? I’d love to hear about it!