des moines, iowa and beyond

workflow & systems strategist

My Vision for 2017 & Beyond

Lifestyle

Happy 2017, sweet lovelies! There is nothing magical about January being your clean slate, but for me, it is such a wonderful time of year. I adore reflection and vision casting before I dive into creating my goals for the next year. It is no secret that I have been an advocate and avid user of Lara Casey’s method and Powersheets for four years now. (!!!!) It was my first blog series, before the Powersheets or Harper Hadley Events were on the scene. (Yikes, will you look at that blog. I have come a long way!)

What works so well for me is the vision and intention behind every, single thing. This is not just resolutions or goal setting to create a checklist. This process goes deep. I cry multiple times every.single.year. It has a way of making you admit things, say things out loud, get really honest and inspire you all in an hour’s time. And it is SO REFRESHING.

Once you start getting to the heart of things and taking stock, your vision starts to form. From year to year, some things remain the same. Others shift and change. Those are sometimes my favorite things to lean into because they mean I’m growing. I have big, lofty dreams for this sweet business of mine and for the brides, grooms and creatives it will serve in years to come. We also have wonderful and big dreams for our family and future. While some of them are specific, like the Pocho Homestead (!!), others are more abstract, like exploring or using our home for hosting to love others well.

When I create my vision board every year, I want it to be an inspiration on a cloudy day. To serve as a reminder of the long term moments I want to create, the things I want to foster and share, the pieces of in-between that will make the best, most meaningful memories. This year, it includes a deeper relationship with God and Adam, creating for myself, better self-care, deep conversations with friends and strengthening those relationships, putting systems into place for HHE, helping my couples invest in their relationships and marriage, taking steps in our daily life to save up to explore and plant roots on our own land someday — all of these things make my heart soar and are not only immediate task list items. They are lifestyle changes, deeply rooted and purposeful actions, things that will outlive me. Those parts of my life vision will never change – they are fundamental.

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One of my favorite and most overwhelming parts of the process is finding a word for the year. It is usually the last thing I do before setting my goals and this year was no exception. It’s actually kind of interesting to reread my first series on goal setting and to have read this word, even then, amidst my goals and vision in 2013. My previous words have been Love, Cultivate and Surrender. This year I feel like is a culmination of all of those lessons and a return to the basics, as well. I alluded to this many times in 2016, but it was a super difficult year personally for us. I’m still not sure if I’ll share more details, but a reset this year is so necessary for my heart.

The things we walked through have forever shaped my heart, my vision and my life. As I prayed over my vision, what I truly feel called to do in this life and how I want to live it, there were a handful of words that kept popping up: joy, rooted, peace, and strength.

For so long, I have felt like a wayward soul. Looking for a true home, tethering me to something I fiercely believe in and am passionate about. Being my safe haven and happy place, if you will. While I have felt that in my faith and marriage for years, they are work that will never be done and the best kind of work, too. My word for 2017 is ROOTED.

Rooted is defined as “to establish deeply and firmly”. Yes! Just like a big oak tree grows from a tiny acorn, all of the things of value in life grow from small and humble beginnings. It is ok to grow slow, to take the time to do things the right way. After all, the tortoise won, right? I have spent the last few years running so hard toward things that I miss what is in front of me. I look for the easy way out or the quick fix and it is not lasting.

This year, in our family, we have been called to slow down, to focus on what truly matters and the life giving Truth in front of us. I want to be stronger, physically, spiritually and mentally. I want to plant good seeds that take root and grow into something amazing, long after I am here. I want to lay the groundwork for some big, earth-shaking, honest to goodness amazing things in the years to come. This is not to say that nothing will happen or that I will not be acting from a place of passion and drive. It simply means that I will take the less travelled path and enjoy the scenery along the way.

This speaks not only to my personal life, but what I dream of for my sweet HHE couples. I want to encourage them to invest in a marriage, not just a wedding, deeply rooted in truth. To build a strong foundation for a legacy, marriage and family that has power to change things. I believe that so deeply and I need to focus on planting deeper roots in all areas of my life to live out that mission.

I could go on for pages talking about this, so if you want to chat more, email me! Next week, I will share the goals that will help work toward these big picture goals and some of the action steps that will help get me/us there. As always, there will also be monthly goal posts to keep myself accountable and encourage you.

Are you working through Powersheets or goal setting? Do you have a word for 2017? No matter your goal setting, vision casting or resolution approach, I wish you all a wonderful year of exactly what you need and dream of.

xoxo, Jenn

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