How Setting Goals can help you through tough times

I wanted to share one of the toughest transitions in my life with you.

One important life lesson my parents gave to me, which I am about to share with you is the simple idea of setting goals. I moved from Texas to Sacramento after graduating college, and it was hard. Moving was hard for several reasons. I felt lonely because I did not know anyone. I met a lot of nice people, but they were not “my people,” which made me feel disconnected with others. The job I had was soul sucking, but I was too scared to quit for fear it meant I had failed.

I would say that this transitional period in my life was one of the hardest things I’ve had to overcome. There was so much change going on, that I felt I could not keep up. I started asking myself questions like: What is the purpose of my life? Is it to live a mundane life? Why am I here? Why are any of us here?

All these questions kept floating around in my brain, and to be completely honest, they were overwhelming. I felt I had lost my true north, and I was losing purpose. After countless of hours on the phone with my mother listening to me cry, we came up with a plan to make goals. At first the goals were as simple as, walk around the neighborhood for 15 minutes. Cook a meal you like. Every time I achieved a goal I made, it made me feel good.

The key to setting goals, is to set attainable goals. You start small and work your way up.

Soon, I was past the “make your favorite meal” goals to bigger goals like “applying for new jobs.” As my list of goals grew, my confidence in myself came back. I had always wanted to start a business, and so I did. I started an online Jewelry store called Karen Sue Studios. Once I started my own business, and I was making sales, it encouraged me to continue to do things that I wanted to do. A couple years down the road, I made a goal to self-publish and illustrate a coloring book for adults. A year later, my book “life of the Wild” was born. Once I completed a goal, I would create another goal that I was passionate about. This year my goal was to start a YouTube channel, so I can share and spread my love for crafts and acroyoga. Which leads to my most recent goal, to become an active and contributing member to the Steemit community. Whether it is sharing life advice, writing funny blogs about my crafts, I really want to help grow the Steemit community. I believe in this platform and all it has to offer.

So, in conclusion, goals help make life easier to swallow and manage. If you ever feel overwhelmed like I did, start breaking it down. Make simple goals you want to achieve, and go get them. You got this! I believe in you!