Goal Setting with The Happy Hour Ladies
Today is the last Friday of the month and my regular listeners know that on the last Friday of the month, I host the happy hour on the podcast where I gather great friends with me to drink cheap drinks and talk about money topics. This is our first happy hour of the new year and I wanted to talk to my friends about goal setting, but why this year may be harder than ever to do it and how can we manage our goals and expectations despite the fact that we’re personally feeling worn out and mentally exhausted with the world around us.
What are we drinking?
Melanie from The Mental Health and Wealth Show - Peppermint Tea
Kassandra from kassandradasent.com - Ginger with Lemon
Joy, Head of Trainer Academy at The Gym - Glass of Carmenere Red Wine
Shannon - Nighthawk Blackbox
Podcast Notes
Shannon talks about how this will be year three of living through a global pandemic and it’s hard to know where to begin. She asks how everyone is feeling and how they move forward when everything feels exhausting.
Melanie has been thinking about how discouraging it is to feel like you’re doing everything you personally can and cases are still rising. It’s hard to see the numbers and hear the stories. She found herself doom scrolling, which created negative feedback loops.
To move forward, she set hard boundaries and time limits with social media. She’s also set a number of very specific daily action steps to keep her focused on what’s important and creating a positive feedback loop.
Joy talks about how people pay her to be their trainer and motivator so they can achieve more than they can solo. Right now, most people are in survival mode, and should be celebrated. There will be seasons of thriving, but right now, drawing attention to the wins and reevaluating the goals to make them fit this current life season is her focus. Perspective is key. Joy asks her clients, “What do you have the bandwidth for?” Let’s honor that and set goals from there.
Shannon mentions she’s had to remind a lot of clients to have grace and forgiveness for themselves this year.
Kassandra has been thinking a lot about where she is in life. In addition to the never-ending pandemic, she is grieving the loss of her mom. The one-year anniversary is on the 29th of this month. Last year, she delayed grief by being busy but hit a low point the last few months.
She’s using this as an opportunity to really dig deep, be still, and pull apart all of the layers in discovering who she truly is. She wants to give herself whatever time she needs to fully feel all of the feelings.
Listen to Kassandra’s song, Be Still
Shannon shares about being in a particularly dark place last September. Her mindset really started to shift when she realized she was in control of the narrative. She tries to be thankful for the struggle while in it, rather than waiting for it to come to an end. Things have started to shift and she can find gratitude for the things she gets done each day, rather than focusing on what did not happen.
The Covid experience has been drastically different for everyone depending on where you are globally and in life. So much has changed in the last few years.
Realign yourself with what really matters to you. Define what success really looks like. Unpack that.
It’s about trying to find your self-worth outside of your job, productivity, hustle culture, or money in the bank. As long as you feel good about what you’re doing, that is what’s important.
If you are doing well during this time, don’t feel guilty about that. You have the right to celebrate your accomplishments. Be considerate of the world, but there’s no shame if you are thriving right now.
Go with your energy flow. If it’s pumping, lean in. Everyone is in a different space and doing the best they can. Take it one step at a time.
My biggest takeaway is to always remember the phrase, “progress over perfection” and understand that progress comes in shapes and sizes. Even just a few baby steps forward will make a huge difference in the long run, so don’t be afraid to manage your goals accordingly this year.
If you have any topics you would like me to cover on this podcast, or if you’d like to get in the financially naked hot seat, I encourage you to email me at Shannon@fingyms.com, or join the private Martinis and Your Money Facebook group, and let me know what you want to hear.
The Financial Gym has so many ways that you can work with us in 2022. If you’re looking for a career shift, maybe you want to become certified as a Financial Trainer and start one of the greatest careers ever. Maybe you need one-on-one training to help with your finances or want to check in with a trainer every so often. Maybe you want to do online courses to brush up on some personal finance topics, OR maybe you’re in the market for a new credit card or high yield savings account and you’re wondering what’s the best choice for you.
If you fit into any of those categories, you need to head over to financialgym.com and find out more. And remember that Martinis and Your Money listeners get 15% off of one on one financial training at The Gym.