Setting Goals

I am and always have been a goal-setter. My poor kids haven’t had a chance to be otherwise even though they’ve tried hard at times to do the opposite, but when your mother is an A-type, it really comes down to a coin toss as to which offspring will inherit that gene and which ones will not. At this point I have raised 3 A-types and 3 B’s

Goal setting keeps me striving, motivated and alert to new possibilities. It really helps me to enjoy living as I am always trying to achieve something, however small. I find satisfaction in climbing life’s mountains and peace in reaching the crest, only to see another peak that challenges me to master it. Not that every goal is something sizeable. The vast majority are now small, as I no longer work in the community, but continually setting the goals is part of what keeps me young.

This week, my goal has been to write a bit, prepare for a garage sale, scour my extensive cookbook collection for some summer recipes and to do one physical activity per day. It is the sense of satisfaction that I find addicting. I live for To-Do lists with items scratched off, and a list without a scratch makes me a bit anxious.

But it’s sometimes difficult to get things done when your children rely too heavily on you to help them with theirs! I often find myself making lists and not crossing off items that should take no time at all, because I am intercepted by ” Mom, can you help me with…”

Seems like I play a major role in assisting the goals of others. But isn’t that the job of a parent; putting your own life on hold so you can give others a boost?