DAY THIRTEEN
Goals
I write goals all the live long day in my job. I write treatment plans for each and every 26-28 kiddos I work with at any given moment. In my progress notes, I have to refer back to the goals. When I was in school, I even created a treatment plan for myself (to prove their ridiculousness if nothing else). What I’ve come to learn is that you can plan all you want; you can look at a situation and see what needs and/or should and/or could change. Putting that into action? Well, that’s a whole other can of worms.
On the same token, I’m a very goal oriented person. I set a goal, and I go for it – (be careful if you get in the way!) To this day, there is only one official goal that I set for myself that I have not achieved. That is, I did not move to Mexico and learn to speak fluent Spanish. . . .yet. I also have goals for each day. If you look in my day planner you will find a list of everything I need to get done (for each job, and personal life) that is categorized by priority. I take great pleasure in crossing things off my list (and I sometimes will write down things I’ve already done, JUST so I can cross them off my list).
So. . . to sum that up, I am familiar with goals, and goal setting. I think I really only have a few true goals left in life (I consider goals different than my “Bucket List” of things I’d like to do before I kick the bucket).
—Raise a Family: Although this is not for everyone (and I once said I didn’t want to have biological children – only to adopt), I would love to have the experience of carrying and having children. I would love to experience raising a family. However, this is a tough goal – because I can’t control it. At all. And that kills me. But I know someday (one way, or another) Casey and I will be parents. And that will be a wonderful day. I’ve picked a wonderful Dad for my children and I can’t wait for that leg of my journey.
—Travel Cross Country: Okay, this might technically be only a Bucket List item – but I’ve upgraded it to “life goal” level simply because I MUST DO THIS!!!!!!!! There is so much out there beyond New England and I want to experience it! Redwoods! Grand Canyon! Yosemite! So much beauty to explore. Someday, when we’re old/retired, we’ll be hitting the road. Wave as we pass by 😉
—Figure Out My Career: Yup. I may seem like I’ve got it all figured out, but I really don’t know where things go from here. I’ve reached the top licensure I can get in social work. I love working with kids, I loved working with adults. Do I want a private practice? Do I want to get my Ph.D. and be a professor? WHAT DO I WANNA DO WHEN I GROW UP? My goals so far have been a) get undergrad b) get masters c) get independent clinical license. . . . so that happened last September and now I’m not sure where it goes. For now, I’m just enjoying getting the experience. I’ve enjoyed doing training in the trauma work that I do. I love working with the kidlets, but I could see someday when I have kids of my own, how hard this work could be. So who knows? But, I’m just trying to RELAX in this area and enjoy the ride 🙂
So those are my major goals. I know, it’s not much. My “bucket list” is a whole other story with things such as: go skydiving, go to Iceland, go back to Mexico, own a different house, train my dog to be a therapy dog, complete a triathlon in 2 hours, and run for 1 hour straight (there are more, but you get the idea).
So. . . what are your goals?
