When One Door Closes...You Go Home and Cry and Then Watch Friends for 2 Days While You Reevaluate Your Life Choices

Do you remember that time when you thought your life was really starting to take a turn for the positive and then the world slammed that door shut right in your face? Yeah, me too.  Sigh.  Good times.  Gooood times.

Except you know what? I'm weirdly okay.  I mean, yeah, I did have a big cry session and got really depressed for few days. But overall, after the initial shock, I don't feel as horrible as I thought I would that I was laid off after 5 months. It's a start up company.  There are growing pains. Like budget cuts. And I was a casualty.  But I put everything I had into being successful there and I made really good friends. So, I really don't have anything to feel bad about with regard to my performance there, other than I should have stepped out of my comfort zone a little quicker to learn the job functions of other areas in the company so that I had more value. But honestly, as jobs go, I worked my butt off at this one. And it just didn't pay off this time.  What can you do?

But I wasn't prepared for the end, so I have found myself struggling to regroup in terms of next steps. Mostly because I'm not in the mood to go back to the traditional working mom role again. The one where I leave for 12 hours a day and give someone else everything I have to give so the company can make a lot of money and then come home exhausted, with nothing left to give to my family.  I don't like that kind of existence. I don't mind working.  I love using my time and talents to help a company grow! I'm just really ready to do something that's fulfilling with a company that really, truly recognizes that I can't leave every ounce of my being on the work table, because I have to have some left for my family. 

So, while I have spent the last month and a half looking for a job that's a really great fit, I am also trying really, really hard to enjoy the time I have to think about what will make me whole and happy.  I've also tried really hard to enjoy my boys and savor every unhurried moment I have with them, because they will be gone in a few short years and I won't get this time back. I'm trying to make sure we talk about exploring their options after high school and spend lots of time talking with them about dreams and ambitions.  That way when life gets hard for them after they leave home, I can recall with them our little day trips and conversations and remind them that they have a plan. I can bring back the memories we are making right now to encourage them to stay focused on goals, so they CAN create the kind of life they want. The kind of life that makes them feel whole and happy and fulfilled. The kind of life I have struggled to create for myself for the last 50 years.

And as I write this, it occurs to me that I think I have actually found a job that is the perfect fit for me right now. I get to be a tuned-in, focused mom again. Sometimes the door closes and things come to an end for a reason. Until this very second, I didn't grasp the fact that I'm where I need to be, doing exactly what I need to be doing at this moment.

Also, I have more time to binge watch FRIENDS. Because honestly...how can this not make you feel better?

via GIPHY

Goalforit Review

Well, here we are...the beginning of a New Year.  As usual, I am procrastinating having my yearly internal debate about what goals to set for myself and my family so we can feel like we are making progress.  I used to be way more goal-oriented than I am.  Something about adding kids to the equation really threw me off my game and in the 12 years since the first one was born, I haven't fully regained my footing when it comes to planning, goal-setting and achieving life dreams.  So I am grateful for the opportunity to review tools and programs that help me as I search for ways to get on more solid ground when it comes to training my children and retraining myself to set goals in order to achieve the successes we seek in life. 

Goalforit is a great new online resource that provides a variety of free solutions for personal success that are easy to use and can help bring more focus, balance and fulfillment into everyday living.  Did I say FREE?  YES!!  I did!!  Goalforit is free and the sign-up process takes about 30 seconds, so I was liking the program right from the start.  Free and Easy?  How often does that combination come up in life?!?  Okay...back to the review...

The program allows users to create personalized charts to help track their progress in various areas of their lives. For example, my oldest son has decided that he wants to work on being healthier this year.  So we sat down and made a chart that would help him see what he needs to work on each day to develop healthy habits.  It looks like this:

He can check his own progress and we set it up with a daily email reminder so that if either one of us forgets to check the chart ( with his ADD and my hormonally induced "brain fog" we need all the help we can get!) we will get a gentle cyber nudge to keep us on track. 

I also set up a Chore Chart for Little Man.  The chore charts are customizable so you can create your own chores that aren't already listed on the site and there are fun stickers the kids can use to check off the chores they've done.  Again, parents can set up email reminders or print the charts out so kids have a visual reminder. 

The Chore Chart can help teach kids, tweens & teens many important lessons, including:

• Responsibility; A Chore Chart is an ideal way to help your kids feel like they are making a contribution to their family by doing their part around the house.
• Understanding right from wrong; Setting behavior goals is an important way to help children strengthen their character and judgment.
• Healthy Habits; Teaching good habits involving nutrition and physical activity are the cornerstone of prevent obesity in children and adolescents.
• Money Matters; The optional point system teaches children three important lessons for managing money; earning, spending and saving.

A unique feature that Goalforit has incorporated into its program is the ability to include friends and family in your plans through the use of the community settings  Simply add the people you want to be able to view your progress and they can check in to see how you are doing and help cheer you on as you work toward your goals.  I can see where this would be a great tool to help  a person stay motivated with really big challenges, like weight loss or training for a marathon.  Nothing like accountability and a cheering section to help spur you on when you are feeling a little less than positive, right?!  If you're doing a group thing that includes friends and family in different locations you can all post your progress right to your Facebook pages to keep everybody updated and motivated. 

Overall I think that Goalforit is a great online tool. And since it doesn't cost anything to try, my family and I will be using it over the next few months to try to bring some order and balance to our otherwise chaotic lives.  Here's to a successful year of reaching our goals!

**Disclosure: This is a compensated post, written on behalf of GoalForIt. However, I am never under any obligation to write a positive review, and the opinions posted here are always mine and mine alone.**