Hello and welcome back to the blog my Dear!
This week has been BUSY BUSY for yours' truly. We've been busy with the house, social engagements, planning for a trip, and so much more. I'm trying to keep up with everything, but it's honestly becoming quite difficult. So, with all this stress, I thought it would be good to lightly discuss the topic of PLANNING!
Specifically, planning for the future, big and small.
Now, I am a firm believer that we have little control over the good or bad things that enter our lives, but I do think it's good to have a plan and a direction nevertheless. To prepare for, or, at the very least, acknowledge the immutable facts of life and perhaps, arrange our hearts and minds to be prepared for the future.
So, let's chat about planning, big AND small!
1. Plan out your outfits
Planning out your clothing could surprisingly save you a major headache in the future. It is incredibly difficult to put together a great look every morning when you're also trying to get your hair and makeup done, feet yourself, and head out the door. While we can't do our makeup the night before, we CAN plan out our outfits!
You could lay out clothing the night before, or even plan an entire week of outfits! One of my preferred methods is to have ten or twenty different outfits that I love that I just cycle through over and over. Done and done!
2. Plan your romantic life
Now, we cannot guarantee that we will cross paths with Mr. Right when we are at a certain age or stage in life, but we CAN make active plans within our relationships, or even to get ourselves towards a relationship.
Too many women complain about being single, yet they never leave their house or they spend all of their time at work or with a current tapped-out social circle! If you haven't met anyone new in awhile, it might be time to shake up your routine and plan out how you are going to increase your exposure to eligible men. I have a whole post about it HERE.
Furthermore, if you are already in a relationship, I highly encourage you to get on the same page with your partner as to where you are headed and when. You don't need specific dates, but having a mutual agreement about your relationship goals is ideal. Plan together, as a couple, when you would like to be married and engaged. If that conversation ruins the relationship, then your man might not be seeing a future with you. It may be painful, but it's better to not waste time.
3. Plan out your health goals
I know that a lot of us, myself included, tend to live our lives from a reactionary standpoint when it comes to health. It can be really helpful to have definable goals when it comes to your health, in such a way that you can at least have direction and focus.
When I decided to lose some weight, I looked towards December (it was April at the time) and decided that I wanted to lost the weight by Christmas. I planned out my goal, how I was going to reach it, and set about methodically doing it.
Planning out your health goals doesn't mean having an intense schedule or binder or journal that you are religiously using to track food groups or minutes on the treadmill. It just means putting yourself on a path towards being healthy, whatever that looks like for you. Ultimately, I have found that having a health plan is better than no plan because it will cause your conscience to keep you accountable.
4. Plan out your fertility window
Not enough people talk about the biological clock in a rational way. There are a lot of heated emotions, thoughts, and conversations around this topic, and I don't have much to add to the discussion other than a firm encouragement to remember that all women have a fertility window, including you and me.
Now, I know that we cannot choose when we get pregnant, as many of us (unfortunately) have to try for a baby for a long time before we get our little miracle. But nevertheless, I think it's an important message for women, especially single or chronically dating women to hear; we don't have forever! If you want to be a mom, you're going to need to plan your life in that direction.
If we are realistic with this, and factor in the time it takes to find, date, marry, and start a family with a good man, that is a long time! It's okay to put off dating for awhile, but if you want to be a mother someday, it's important to have your personal romantic life as a priority.
Again, I believe it's more important to have children with the RIGHT man than it is to have children before you're thirty. But at the same time, if you've gotten too comfortable, feeling like you have all the time in the world, I encourage you to remember that all women's bodies have a fertility expiration date. Plan on it.
5. Plan out your growth
I don't believe in passively living life, and therefore, I don't believe that we can grow into better people by living life in a passive or reactionary way. Instead, I think the onus is on us to step forward and to actively work towards personal growth.
Spiritually, we can meditate on God's word, learning sound doctrine, and communing with other Christians. Physically, we can work towards a tighter grooming routine, improve our style and beauty skills, and streamline our health and fitness. Relationally, we can actively work towards blessing the people in our lives, living in such a way that we put others before ourselves and seek out life-giving and healthy relationships.
There is so much we can do to grow as people, but most of the time, we need to identify what we want to grow and change and then actively push forward towards that growth. We definitely won't always know where we will end up along the way, but having a defined focus and desire to improve will absolutely aid in our journey towards personal growth. So, take some time today to define for yourself; what are your growth goals? How will you get there?
Alright! That is all I have for today's listicle! I hope you have a focused week and enjoy becoming a little more active in your story. We can be the protagonist of our own story; we just have to take action! Take action in your life today and work towards your goals. You can do it!
xoxo,
Cait