The Journey of Parenthood…

Goals for 2021

Our personal, family and professional goals for 2021.

I think the entire world was eager to put 2020 in the past and get rolling to 2021. But I also think all of us set ourselves up for disappointment as 2021 hasn’t been a true FRESH START in the way we’d all been hoping. We’re all still very much dealing with the events in 2020 and it’ll be awhile before that true “refresh” can happen.

That is the case with the world and with my personal life too. I started 2021 still feeling very stuck in the middle with several things. So many of the changes of 2020 have yet to settle so as we ease into 2021 I’m cautiously optimistic that it’ll be a year of fruition and settling for our family!

Every year I like to write out my goals for the year and I enjoy going back over them when the year comes to a close to see how I did in achieving them. This list is in totally random order and this post is for myself more than for anything, or anyone, else!

  • Invest blog/IG earnings INTO the blog/IG in order to help grow and, most importantly, find the JOY in it again as a HOBBY
  • Set true work hours for me and stick to them – ENJOY weekends that we are at home without feeling that pull to be working every free minute.
  • Pay down our house as much as possible and Invest 15% of gross income for retirement
  • Continue being intentional in our marriage – communicating clearly, connecting, doing a check-in with our therapist too!
  • Enjoy the moments with the kids. Be present in the present and enjoy the gift of being their mom!
  • Find our church home and new church family
  • IG Goals: Get over my fears and reach out for more hosted opportunities for our family. Know and ASK my worth regarding campaign opportunities. Be okay with saying NO more often!
  • House Goals: Repaint exterior of the house, finish treehouse, finish homework hangout room, Britt’s room revamp, bathroom renovations, start on the master renovation
  • Find JOY in travel and travel planning again and take some dang TRIPS!
  • Additional blog goals: Optimize all old posts for SEO, complete site organization, have landing pages set up, get and stay caught up to real-time on personal content, set up email, earn $5,000 more than last year and enough for expenses to pay for themselves.
  • Disney house goals: Have it pay for itself again (fingers crossed)
  • Really focus on filling MY cup this year. Take care of ME through getting enough sleep, healthy eating, regular exercise, gratitude journal, daily Bible reading, plenty of prayer, and seeking out activities and friendships that bring me joy.

Out of all of my goals I really, really want the overall theme of 2021 to be “the year of EMILY” haha I have spent the last few years really focusing on healing deep wounds and doing HARD WORK for inner growth. And I am now free from so many of those hurts that kept me from being able to be my true, best self.

So I want to really make myself a priority this year. I know that may sound weird seeing as going to therapy and putting in all that personal growth work WAS focusing on myself. But it’s almost like all that work allowed me to have a clean slate. A total reset.

And now I want to figure out who EMILY is. The majority of my life I saw myself through a lens of pain and I now have to figure out who I am apart from the hurts that defined me for so long. I want that to be my main focus this year as a whole.

Figuring out what I truly enjoy JUST for me. Coming to a place where I live loved because I truly love myself and who I am.

As a family overall we are continuing to focus on speaking in love and finding the GOOD in all things and all circumstances (a big lesson from 2020 for sure!).

We are also focusing on spending individual time with EACH child doing things that they enjoy and fostering our one on one relationships.

On New Year’s Eve we all go around and share some of our goals:

Kye: He wants to continue to work on his competitive responses and had the goal to score a 260 in archery (which he’s already surpassed and his best score so far is 271!)

Britt: Read all of the Harry Potter books, master riding her new bike, make an arial on the trampoline, bond with the family, focus on God better during worship services.

Tess: Ride a bike without training wheels, read all of the books in her bedroom library

Spear: Be poop nap and night trained (truly DONE with diapers), stop sucking thumb, transition into big boy bed

Zach: Continue working on being that fun Disney Dad, ball out and kill it with work 😉

I’m excited about 2021 and all it will bring. I’m writing this already a good bit into the year and I have already been setting so many of my goals into motion!

Emily Parker
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