Make a list and check it twice! This is not just for Christmas; it is for every day of my life. To do lists and accomplishing goals give me a direction and a sense of purpose for each day. I grew up writing every school assignment down in my assignment notebook and crossing it off my list when I had completed it. As I started to take on more responsibilities in college through work, volunteering, my participation in organizations, and my classes every meeting, deadline, and thing I wanted to accomplish was written down. This system kept me organized and on task so I could use my time to be as productive as possible.
I love setting goals and achieving what I set out to accomplish. I had my World Race team set personal goals each month and I would check in on everyone about once a week and see how they were doing. Sometimes people just need a reminder that they wanted to do those crunches every day 🙂 I was never mad if they didn’t achieve what they had said they wanted to do and it was always ok to add or take away goals. Since on the World Race we only had one month in each country to do everything we want to do we had to be proactive to make those things happen or they just seem to never happen.
This past week I had my Passport team set goals for themselves as well. Not everyone was as excited about this idea as I was, but I know how it can really help motivate people to actually DO the thing they keep saying they want to do. On Saturday my whole team ran a 5K to raise support for Burmese refugees, it was so cool to participate in this event with my team. Some girls on the team had never completed a 5K (that is 3.1 miles) and I loved being able to be there to support them in this personal achievement.
One of my goals is to start writing the book God has put on my heart for over a year. I seem to put off doing things that I find difficult or am not exactly sure how to do. This week, God so clearly spoke to me that I needed to start writing and that the period of “waiting to be inspired” is over. Also, this week I achieved a goal that I have desired and worked towards for 6 years. I have worked countless hours, spent hundreds of dollars, and dreamt about going to graduate school since freshman year of college. I received my first acceptance letter from the University of Miami into their program for a Masters in Public Health. If you have ever wanted something really bad, worked extremely hard, put in every possible effort to make it happen, and then one day it becomes a reality you may be able to begin to understand the emotions I was experiencing. I start to get choked up just thinking about it.
Setting goals for yourself is good practice, and achieving those goals is inspiring not only to you but to people around you. So strive for the things you have on your heart to accomplish, train for that 5K, finish that project that is half done in your basement, send that letter to the friend you keep putting off until tomorrow.
Carpe Diem
**I am still in need of raising about $700 to be fully funded if you would like to be a part of supporting my trip please take a moment to donate through my blog: kelliverhoeven.theworldrace.org click on “support me” in the upper left corner**
