bench·mark
1. A standard by which something can be measured or judged
Although I didn’t make resolutions for 2013, I did choose my three words. They are generosity, faithfulness and openness. Last year taught me their importance in this carousel of life. I also thought back to an interview that I was listening to last year. (I don’t remember who gave it or I would link to it.) In the conversation, the person doing the interview asked the interviewee, “What are your personal benchmarks of success?” I like that question, so I thought about what my personal benchmarks of success would be for this year. On December 31, 2103, when I look back on this year, I will consider it a success if I…
Spiritually
-Love God and people more. God is the easy part! In sum, that means that I will need to give even more in my relationships…a challenging but good goal.
-Train the women’s group that I lead to take my place, so that I can work in a more “shepherding” role. My husband and I lead/serve the Singles ministry in our church and I work directly with 8 AMAZING women who lead small groups. I love, love, love working with younger people – their energy is contagious. However, as Michael gets older, Reggie and I want to play a more active role in the family ministry of our church so that he has some great relationships with kids his age…although he enjoys being an “honorary” Single!
-Complete our family’s two generosity projects for 2013. There are certain things that I want to teach my kids about generosity. I don’t want them to (only) be reactionary in their giving. I want it to be deliberate and planned out…a part of their lifestyle. The best way to teach that is by example. (That’s how my mom taught me!) We had several different ideas of what we could do. “My guys” vetoed my top pick, but I like what we ended up with – a pampering event for Single moms and a holiday party for financially poor or sick kids. It will be great.
Personal Relationships
-Help my husband to enjoy himself. With everything that is going on with his parents, this has the potential to be a very “heavy” time in life. It is my intention to keep him smiling and laughing as much as possible.
-Be a fun, happy mom for my kids. Right now, Michael and Sean wake up happy practically every day and at the end of the day, they say that “everything” was their favorite part of the day. I want to imitate that! (Of course, I am their mom first so that will be coupled with discipline as needed!)
-Connect more with my extended family and friends. I am lucky in that I really enjoy my family and friends. They make me laugh. What I have noticed though is that I am not as consistent with some of them as I would like to be. I realize that (just like with most things), I have to write it down/schedule when I’m going to call, visit and such…or it’s just not going to happen as often as I like. It is what it is.
This post is getting long, so I’ll write about my other six benchmarks (career, physical, entertainment and such) tomorrow. Meanwhile, have you thought about your personal benchmarks of success for 2013?