What I Learned About Goal Setting from “Girl, Stop Apologizing”

Grab my notes from “Girl, Stop Apologizing” and see what Rachel Hollis has to say about Goal Setting.

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SOME THOUGHTS ON THE AUTHOR

A lot of Christian circles have mixed feelings about Rachel Hollis as a Christian speaker, but if you’ve read her previous book, “Girl, Wash Your Face“, you get a glimpse into her background and the reason she has such a strong message of self-confidence.

Her childhood consisted of a lot of anger and trauma (including the suicide of her brother as a teenager). Rachel speaks out of a place of pain and hurt and wants to share the message of worthiness to any woman willing to listen.

Unfortunately, she’s been getting a lot of criticism from Christians because her focus is so much on self (since her father was a preacher and she talks about Jesus), but I personally don’t think that’s any reason to skip these books. Her message is not anti-Jesus just because it’s pro-self…it’s that you don’t need to feel guilt or shame for wanting more for your life.

Rachel challenges us to step into our lives and reclaim them. To stop going through the motions, and begin living our lives by believing the best about ourselves!

I’m not 100% on board with every book I read, so remember, you can read a book and still be allowed your own opinions. Ok, I’m getting down from my soap box—but I want to leave you with all the helpful tips Rachel offers up in her book.

“I believe we can change the world. But first, we’ve got to stop living in fear of being judged for who we are.”

-RACHEL HOLLIS

WHAT “GIRL, STOP APOLOGIZING” TAUGHT ME ABOUT GOAL SETTING

TIPS FOR SETTING PRIORITIES

Yourself: Are you taking care of yourself? Get sleep, eat well, drink water!
Marriage: Is this the most important relationship in your life?
Kids: Everyone’s parenting looks different, give yourself grace.
Work: Is it taking precedence over what’s important?

TIPS TO GET HEALTHY

Stay hydrated
Wake up early
Give up one type of food for a month
Exercise
Practice gratitude

“Here’s the one thing I believe about a goal that often annoys people: you can only focus on one at a time.”

-RACHEL HOLLIS

RACHEL HOLLIS’S 10, 10, 1 APPROACH TO GOAL PLANNING

Ten years (Who do you want to be?)
Ten dreams (What would make that a reality?)
One goal (Which dream could you turn into a goal right now?)

FIND TIME TO FOCUS ON YOUR GOALS

Look over your week. Where can you add in five hours?
Once you’ve set your new schedule, treat those five hours as sacred.
What time of day can you be most effective using those hours?
Have a weekly check-in, preferably Sundays.

HOW TO ESTABLISH A HABIT

Habits can either be good or bad. For example, a cue (feeling sad) triggers an action (binge eating) that leads to a reward (feeling better for a little while).

Instead, take the same cue (feeling sad) and change your action (going for a run) to lead to a new reward (feeling better, more energy).

A cue
An action
A reward

“You can make the time to pursue your goals, and you have to do it now. Why now? Because if not now, then when?”

-RACHEL HOLLIS

HOW TO REACH YOUR GOALS

Starting Point (start with the end in mind—how can you get there?)
Guideposts (brainstorm everything that will help you get closer to that goal, organize your list, narrow it down to three guideposts)
Mile Markers (break down all the mile markers along the way that get to each of the three guideposts)