What are your 2020 Goals?

When I first came up with this idea for a blog post, I framed it out as one of those typical beginning-of-the-year style of messages. You know; the ones that talk about New Year’s resolutions. What do you want to achieve in 2020? What are your personal goals? That sort of thing. But what I ended up with is something incredibly more rich that I expected.

I started by posing a request to our team in the hopes that I would be able to tell you (the reader) more about who we are as individuals working for this company that you may or may not know. I asked them to send me 3 or 4 things that they are hoping to accomplish or improve upon in 2020. It was their choice as to how they wanted to respond. The gamut ran from personal projects to professional goals.

As I expected, responses came back pretty much in bullet-point fashion. Nope; not enough for me to write about. So I went through each response and developed probing questions about the items on their lists and the responses I received were very rich.

More Time

It’s no surprise that there is a common thread in what people want… more time! But don’t we all? How many creative and ingenious people do you know who ever say, “I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.” There’s certainly none in this camp, that’s for sure.

Quality Lifestyle

There was a common thread among the responses, though, and it wasn’t about time or money. It was about a quality lifestyle that always seemed just out of reach for one reason or another.

Enriching Experiences

What struck me most is how people would use the time if they had it. It wasn’t so much about losing weight, building a fence or running a race. It was more about having time for quietness… for things that creatively matter and are intrinsic to the human psyche and soul. Elements necessary to feed the core elements of our humanity. The desire for enriching experiences from food to hugs to unique means of living.

Go Deeper

David and Jason spoke about their desire to go deeper in their spiritual nature. To seek deeper levels of their beliefs through reading and involvement in their church communities. To reach for the wisdom of the ancients and bring it forward into practice in their personal lives. Both cherish their roles as fathers and look for quality time to spend with their families.

Essence of Self Care

Christy and Sara’s goals intend to find ways in which to focus more on their well being… the essence of self care. More walking, more exercise, more gardening, more social time, more effort put into what they need as individuals to balance the demands of the job. Not only do they want to make an impact with the creative work they do, they want that impact to carry into their relationships with their families and extended families. They want to know they’ve done their very best!

Soulful Food

Healthy food was another central theme, from prepping it to serving it to feeling comforted by old family recipes. When I asked Kristan what she would cook if she was locked in her kitchen for a full day, her answer was making her mother’s most comforting recipe. Ali’s desire is to return to writing the food blog she discontinued on the day her beloved elderly dog died. Tina and Nickie would like to make healthier food choices for their families, and Becca would cook vegetables more often if she didn’t need to clean up afterwards! And Matthew’s appreciation for the culinary arts reaches back to his younger years when he considered becoming a chef instead of our most illustrious web designer. Food and love and memories are all wrapped up together in our hearts… and the desire to continue touching those places that bring us peace.

Vacating

Time for travel and “vacating” the daily routine is important to many. Nickie hopes to spend time in Disneyworld, Becca plans to revisit Austria, Scott and Ali are thinking about Norway, David has Disneyland on his radar, and I see myself spending many more days hiking and camping in the mountains both near and far with my little Scamp trailer.

The study of humanities can be described as the study of how people process and document the human experience. With desires and dreams of tap dancing lessons, composing music, practicing yoga, and earning Google Ads certification, our humanity is felt every day here at The Get Smart Group, as we engage in the worlds of our clients together, share our human joys and sorrows, and look to the future of this year and the years ahead to reach our personal goals.

Linda Emerson

I love to organize! I know‚ call me crazy but it is one of those endearing qualities that every business needs. Being the firstborn in my family gave me lots of practice at herding details. As a child, I loved to fly kites guiding them here and there and swooping them around making beautiful patterns in the sky. What I do best today reminds me of those early days‚ holding the string, keeping everything in place, and watching the pieces transform themselves into harmony. After years of corporate management with American Express, I longed for a more creative life so I left the Big City and moved to the Sierra Foothills. Never once did I look back! Opening a coffeehouse in the mountains became my dream. After five years of retail management, I realized that I had a clear picture of the ups and downs of business ownership and knew what my next step would be. I pooled my experiences in finance, retail and marketing and began working with other startups in the area providing them with the guidance needed to create successful businesses. Fifteen years later, here I am working with The Get Smart Group doing everything I love; supporting a business filled with creative people who are like kites in the sky. And on those days of leisure, you might find me kayaking on one of the local lakes, skiing down a mountain or just putzing around in my garden. It's all good.