My 5 Ultimate Life Goals (2-Minute Mommy Peptalk)
Defining and defending my top priorities.
One day last week I did one of my favorite Elul exercises (instructions below) which, in 15 minutes, enables us to get right to the core of our ultimate lifetime goals and dreams.
And here, I discovered, are mine: To have a close, supportive family (immediate and extended) and marriage.
To live a deeply Jewish life full of the Torah’s inspiring wisdom, personal growth, holiness, prayer, and faithTo discover new interests and passions.
To be a force of goodness in the world, especially for Jewish mothers.
To marry off my children to spouses משורש נשמתם, זיווגים הגונים מן השמים (roughly translated: to spouses who are their true, Divinely ordained soulmates.)
When I came up with this list, I was surprised by just how simple and clear my goals are. And I was equally struck by just how easy it is for me to get distracted from my own simple, clear goals. When I see other mothers with different goals and gifts than my own. The most valuable thing a person can have, Rabbi Nivin explains, is consciousness. Remaining conscious, no matter what, of our own personal beliefs, values, priorities. So please bless me, and I will bless you, that this coming year all of us should merit to live in accordance with our own dreams and not somebody else’s.Have a great week!
The 15-Minute Utimate Life Goals Exercise
1. Take a piece of paper, and spend 2 minutes writing down your goals for 5 years from now. 2. Take another 2 minutes cleaning up/editing what you’ve written.3. Take another piece of paper and spend 2 minutes writing down what goals you would like to accomplish by the end of your life.4. Take 2 minutes to clean up/edit what you’ve written.5. Take another piece of paper and write for 2 minutes how you would spend your time if you knew (God forbid) you would be struck by lightning 6 months from now. 6. Take 2 minutes to clean up/edit what you’ve written 7. Spend 3 minutes choosing the top 3 goals from each piece of paper and cleaning up/ editing those 9 goals. Sometimes you can combine them (as I did). And there you have a list of your ultimate life goals for the new year in 15 minutes!
*It’s not too late to sign up for Rabbi Nivin’s new “Plug Into the Power of Elul” program–for just $1!
May you succeed in working consistently on those worthy goals reaching higher and higher, and may you continue to be a source of inspiration (but not perfection, lol) for myriads of Jewish Moms.
כתיבה וחתימה טובה !!
amen, thank you! to you to!