Adult life is made of what? 10 or 15 big life moments. For example, in no specific or set in stone order, graduate high school, go to college, graduate college, find a job, buy a house, get married, have kids, watch your kids grow & experience their own big life moments, have grandkids, retire, etc. These big life moments are well, big. Huge even. They are so big that there is often some big time frames between most of them. Lots & lots of time. And without the little moments to fill the time between the big moments, time would move so incredibly slow. I’m not saying I like how quickly time moves or want it to move any quicker than it already does, but since time flying by is inevitable you might as well take advantage of it. Use the little moments to your advantage. And I find the best way to do that is with little goals. The little goals that we can make and have intertwine with those little moments. Now that’s what makes the time that already goes extra fast, extra worthwhile.

As many of you know, my first goal post amp was to make it home for my sons first birthday. And I hit that goal by one week. Next goal, make my son his first birthday cake. It didn’t have to be anything magnificent (I knew it wouldn’t be and it wasn’t) but I did want it to be made by me (which it was, whoop whoop!). Next goal was to make a few meals by myself, followed by being able to do my hair in a ponytail and I didn’t care if it happened one or two handed. The goal after that was going to my sisters bachelorette party, followed by getting on the floor with my kid, followed by changing a diaper every once in awhile. Then came one of my favorite little goals which was hopping down the aisle to watch my last sister get married. And the list goes on up to today. As you can tell, none of these goals were PT/OT or amp related. Yes. They most definitely helped me achieve them but they weren’t setting them. I was. On my own. These little goals were getting by life back related. They were turning more into the Josie I knew and less like the sickly girl that was staring back at me in the mirror related. And those little moments that I used to create little goals turned into little victories. The little victories turned into happier moods. Happier moods, even if they only lasted an hour or two, turned into happier day. Happier days turned into a happier life. And a happier life turns into setting your next big goal. For me it was more kids. But it could’ve been anything. A new house. New job. New city. Whatever. But little by little, win by win I was getting MY life back. Having happy little victories between the big moments and amongst the speeding concept of time helps you get when you are between who you were and who you are/want to be. And I know we always want time to slow down because it moves so incredibly quickly, but you can’t tell me you regret how quickly you allowed yourself to become the person you want(ed) to be. And it may have actually taken years to achieve that goal, but hitting those little goals made those years go much quicker than it could have ever went without them. And when you look at it that way, the little moments kind of were the big ones.

When you hear the word goal, it doesn’t have to be a huge goal. It doesn’t have to be grand slam in the last game of the World Series big (though that’s a pretty cool goal). You don’t have to shoot for the moon every single time you set a goal. This goal might just have to hit just above the grass. I mean that’s a pretty low goal, but a goal nonetheless. It could just be as simple as remembering to set the meat out you plan to use for supper tonight before heading to work. Just hitting that one simple goal can literally set you up for a pretty good evening. Any adult that cooks supper can attest to that. Pretty soon, hitting that simple goal a couple times in a week sets you up for a good week. And if you don’t hit that goal, you’re not out much because the consequences you give yourself to face is minimal. And the less hard you are on yourself, the better off you are. Because the stress we are already under from everyone else is enough. So know how ok it is to shoot low. Shoot low and shoot often. And I promise you’ll aim higher as you become more confident in your ability and the goals you set for yourself and knowing their purpose. One day you’ll find that the moon is the lowest you aim for anymore. You’ll come to find that missing is just as good as hitting sometimes, because even as cliche as it sound, you know that even if you miss, landing among the stars isn’t all that bad. So cheers to the little moments, little goals & little victories. May we discover them, know them, set them, hit them & miss them. And most importantly, may we enjoy them.

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