2019 Year End Review

Each year I like to take a moment and type up a blog post on my yearly goals and how things have gone in the last year. It is now that time, to pause and look back over 2019 and all the amazing things that were accomplished. I went back to my blog post from this time, last year and pulled my goals. I was curious to see how things went and if I accomplished what I set out to do at the beginning of 2019.

Goals from 2019

• Continue with weekly blogging. Well this didn’t go perfectly. There were several weeks that I didn’t get a blog post put together. I also decided this year that I wanted to make sure I had quality posts put together, with minimal spelling errors and that takes more time. So I didn’t hit my goal of 52 blog posts in the last year, but that is ok. I managed to type up 37 blog posts in the last year. That is not too shabby.

• Continue to serve as a media contact for St Vincent and do TV, Radio or Newspaper interviews as needed. I ended up doing a couple of TV interviews and a couple of radio interviews for Ascension St Vincent in the last year. I didn’t do as many as years past, but that is ok. I was still busy and I was available, when asked to provide media pitches and maintained a good, working relationship with our PR department.

• Continue to grow my contracting outpatient nutrition counseling business with Mini Minds in Carmel, IN. I was able to see a hand full of clients during 2019 through Mini Minds in the last year. That has been an amazing experience and I have learned SO much about outpatient, pediatric counseling. I hope to be able to see some more clients in 2020 and help more families with nutrition questions they might have.

• Work to complete additional hours towards a Lactation Counselor certification and renew the Certified Specialist in Pediatrics Exam. I took a court to become a Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC) and I passed. So that was accomplished and I am so excited. I am going to work towards renewing that CSP certification in 2020.

• Run as a national candidate for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Ballot as a At Large House of Delegate in the category of 30 years and younger. I did this! I ran for a national ballot position. I wasn’t elected, but I am so proud that I put myself out there and I went for it. It is hard thing to do and I am happy with taking the time and making the effort. I will definitely run again, for another position and hopefully I will get elected in the future.

Goals for 2020

• Work to publish > 30 blog posts in the next year. I am wanting to do some more specific blog posts on various pediatric nutrition topics. If you have any questions or have suggestions, let me know!

• Renew my Certified Specialist in Pediatrics certification. I have been a CSP for 5 years and that means that I need to get this certification renewed in 2020. I will get to study some more and sit for another exam!

• Advance my knowledge in neonatal nutrition and work on some research projects. I am not sure quite yet how this will unfold, but I am excited for some neat opportunities this year!

New Year, New You!

Setting goals for the New Year is always a tradition. You look at your life, decide what you want to work on in the new year and then come February you are find yourself back in your old habits. Nothing ends up changing and maybe you are wondering if you should even make resolutions this year. 

Well I have some tips for you as you plan for setting goals for 2018. I think you should set goals for yourself. What do you want to accomplish this year? Where do you want to be at the end of 2018? Hopefully this suggestions will set you up for success and help you reach those personal goals! 

Writing Goals for 2018

1. Write down your goals.
   • May sound so simple, but posting your goals and looking at them frequently will help keep you focused on what you want to accomplish.
   •  Some people make “vision boards” and what I love about these is that it shows pictures of your goals. Either write down your goals or create a vision board with what you want to accomplish and post this in a post where you will see it on a routine basis.
2. Set SMART goals. 
   • Specific - Avoid anything too broad. Write your goal to clearly state your goal. “I want to increase the number of days a week that I exercise.”
   •  Measurable - After you decide on your specific goal, you need a time frame associated with that goal. “I want to go to the gym 3 days during the work week.”
   •  Attainable – Whatever goal you set for yourself, make it something realistic. If exercising 3 days during the week isn’t possible, adjust that goal and set it at 2 days a week. Start with something realistic that you know you can accomplish.
   •  Relevant – Make this goal for yourself that is something you really want to accomplish. If a goal about fitness isn’t really important for you, then set your New Year’s Resolutions around things that you feel passionate about.
   •  Time-based – Give yourself time limits for your goals. “I want to go to the gym 3 days during the week for the next month.” That way at the end of the month you can evaluate if you met your goal or not. If not, then change around your goal and try again.
3. Hold yourself accountable.
   • In this say of social media, it is totally possible to post about your goals and that can serve as a way to help hold you accountable.
   • Have a support group that can follow up with you and help keep you on track. Going to the gym with a friend or planning on running a race with a friend can help keep you focused on your goals.
4. List out your obstacles/challenges. 
   • Just like you write out your goals with what you want to accomplish, write out what challenges you might face.
   •  If you know what might keep you from accomplishing your goals that will help you in successfully meeting your goals.
5. Plan a time to re-evaluate.
   • Lots of times people make goals in January and totally forget about them in February. Put a reminder in your phone/calendar to look back through your goals and see if you accomplished.
   • Take this time in February to revamp your goals to help set yourself up to be successful going into the rest of the year.
   •  Plan to check back in each month to see how you are doing and if you are meeting those goals you set for yourself.

Welcoming in the New Year

The New Year is upon us. 2017 is just about here! That means time to think about your goals for the New Year. What are you wanting to accomplish in 2017? What did you struggle with in 2016 and want to work to improve? 

To set yourself up for success it is helpful to make sure that the goals you have for yourself are able to be accomplished. Being able to take the time for write "SMART" goals can help ensure that you are successful. 

SMART Goals 

• Specific - Set a goal that is specific. Avoid something vague or too broad. How else will you be able to tell if you have accomplished your goal, unless it is specific? For example, if you want to work on being more active then make your goal specific by saying what type of activity you want to do. "I want to be increase the number of days per week that I run." 
• Measurable - After you have determined your specific goal, then plan a time line. Take a moment to figure out over what duration in time you want to work on accomplishing this goal. For example, determine the time you want to meet this goal. "I want to plan on running for 3 days each week for the next 3 months." 
• Attainable  - Whatever goal you have in mind, make sure that is able to be accomplished. Don't set too lofty of a goal or you won't be able to accomplish it. For example, make sure that you are able to meet your goal parameters. Running for 3 days a week is possible for me, because I have done this before, but if I had never run before this might be too much. "I will plan on running 3 days a week for the next 3 months." 
• Relevant  - Make whatever goal you are aiming for to be relevant to what you want to accomplish. This may seem like a no brainer, but if you don't care about your goal, then you will for sure not accomplish it. My goal is about running, now if I didn't like running, then I would make sure that my fitness goal was about something else. That goal should be relevant to what you are interested in and care about. "I will plan on running (outside or at the gym) 3 days a week for the next 3 months."
• Time-Based - Make sure that your goal is time-bound. This means that you are able to put a start/stop time on the goal and that will be allow you to re-evaluate your goal and see if was accomplished. For my example the end of the goal is at 3 months from when the goal was set. That gives me 3 months to try to accomplish this goal and then if at the end of the 3 months, I can re-evaluate and determine if I met the goal.  "I will plan on running (outside or at the gym) 3 days a week for the next 3 months."

Hopefully some of these tips and tricks are helpful to you as you look forward to the New Year and set some goals for yourself. I am not the biggest fan of New Year's Resolutions, because most of the time they don't stick, but that is often due to the fact they are not SMART goals.

What goals do you have for yourself? How do you want to change and be more healthy this next year?