goals Archives - My Inner Shakti

The Promise of a New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I’m one of those walking cliches who loves the New Year. I’m all about January 1. If nothing else, it’s the promise it brings that excites me. January is also my birthday month, and there’s something about turning a year older at the start of the year that puts you in a ‘get my shit together’ mode!

If I’m being honest, I also love Mondays and the 1st of any month. The whole idea of a clean slate gets me every time!

I shared on Instagram a few posts back that my intention for 2019 is to take care of myself better, chose myself every day, and ultimately, ‘come home.’

In terms of the how, I plan to be better about managing my time so I have more time for me – to read, to write, to cook more complicated meals, to connect with Vishnu and friends/family, etc. I’ve lacked focus in the last year or so, and I plan to work on that so I can do the things that bring me joy. I’ll share more as I refocus (lol!) myself.

In terms of goals (because, yes, I set those too!), I have a few that I want to work on throughout the year (see below). These are more so focused on daily habits and intentions. And then for bigger projects, I’m setting monthly goals. For example, in January, I’d like to tackle our file folder box thingy. It’s overflowing and filled with very old files and paperwork. Need to get that thing in order!

Ok, so as far as my daily goals/habits are concerned, here they are…

Drink ~80 oz of water every day.
No technology 30 minutes before bed and within 30 minutes of waking.
Go to bed by 10 pm every night and wake up before Kaiden (weekends are the exception).
Decrease sugar and dairy consumption (consider ‘worth it’ moments). More to come on this one very soon!
Speak and think as positively as possible. Good things are happening (even when you can’t ‘see’ them) and challenges are temporary. Look for the silver lining.

I think all of these are pretty doable. I’ll share more throughout the year on my progress.

And finally, I have a few goals in terms of this blog and my MIS Instagram page. Honestly, the biggest thing I want to accomplish is sharing other people’s stories. I’m one person with a limited view, and there are so many other inspiring and amazing people out there with meaningful life stories. And I want to share those! Be on the lookout.

Other than that, I plan to continue to share with as much authenticity as possible. I love following and connecting with others who are raw and open, so in 2019, I want to bring more of that to my platforms. Life’s too short to only share the pretty slices of pie!

From the very bottom of my heart, thank you for reading and following MIS! Let’s make 2019 a great year!

February 2016 Goals

written by Parita 18 Comments

I have to say. I’ve never had this much fun setting goals. Usually I set my goals at the beginning of the year, keep up with them for a few weeks maybe a month at best, and then forget about them. But with these monthly goals, I love the short-term challenge and knowing that new goals are ahead.

With that, here’s how I did with my two January goals…

1. Log 70k steps or more a week.

I didn’t quite hit the 70k mark. I made it to at least 65k every week though. It’s no excuse but with our global conference coming up at work, this month has been a little nuts. I managed to work out 5-6 days a week, but that didn’t equate to tons of steps.

While this won’t be an explicit goal going forward, I’m going to continue to strive for at least 70k steps every week. Wish me luck!

2. Learn to make a Vishnu approved chicken curry.

So I would say I accomplished this goal but not the way I intended to. Before I left for Atlanta earlier this month, I made enchiladas and crock pot chicken tikka masala for Vishnu. The chicken tikka was essentially a curry, but I can’t claim credit for the recipe. I loosely followed this one and changed up the spices based on what I had.

I still need to master my own recipe…something to focus on next month!

Now on to my February goals…

1. Respond to blog comments in a 48 hour time frame.

While I read and appreciate every single comment left on MIS, I’m not always the best about responding. I love it when a blogger takes the time to answer my question or responds every now and then. There’s really no excuse for me. I don’t get so many comments that responding to each one would take days. So in the month of February, I’m going to do my best to respond to all blog comments in a 48 hour time frame!

2. Turn off all technology by 9:30 p.m.

I’m not the best when it comes to shutting down at night. And I’m sporadically (at best) good at having a night time wind down routine. However, I feel so much better when I do, so that’s why I’m making it a goal to shut down in the technology department by 9:30 every night. Hopefully this will make room for a calming bedtime regimen. Fingers crossed!

And that’s about it! WISH ME LUCK!

Tell me – what are your February goals?

January 2016 Goals

written by Parita 9 Comments

HAPPY 2016, my friends!!! I have a feeling this is going to be a pretty amazing year. But more than anything I wish you LOTS of love and happiness.

* * * * *

Now before I share more about my January goals, I have to talk about a realization I recently had.

Setting very specific goals in December is a bit of a futile effort. At least in my experience. Let’s review my December 2015 goals so I can better illustrate what I mean.

A review of my December 2015 goals

Given that I was only home 50% of the time, I did ok.

1. Drink at least 56 ounces of water a day (~7 glasses) – Even though I probably didn’t hit this goal every single day of the month, I was definitely more aware of my water intake. Let’s just say that this is going to be an ongoing effort for the rest of the year!

2. Log 10k steps a day – I did not log 10k steps a day, BUT I did average over 70k steps most of the weeks. Like with my water goal, I’m definitely more aware of my inactivity and plan to continue moving more in 2016.

3. Keep the weekly grocery spend to $75 (or less) – I only went grocery shopping twice in December. The first trip was definitely under $75. The second one…not so much. Just a note – Vishnu accompanied me on the second trip…just saying!

4. Limit mindless phone time to 30 minutes a day – I can’t say I was good about this the entire month. I did, however, make a more conscious effort the week my sister came to Florida and this past week at home. Definitely a win in my book!

5. Read for 15-20 minutes a day – I read a lot in December, but I’m not sure if I achieved this goal. Really looking forward to making reading a priority in 2016.

So yeah…I did ok. While I can’t completely tick the box for any of these five goals, it did feel good to have set things to work on over the course of the month. For someone like me, it felt like a game!

Now on to my January 2016 goals.

1. Log 70k steps or more a week.

While all of my December goals will remain focus areas in January, I want this one to remain front and center. There’s no room for excuses either – WE LIVE IN THE SUNSHINE STATE!

2. Learn to make a Vishnu approved chicken curry.

One of Vishnu’s favorite foods is chicken curry and plain white rice. While I could’ve made this a “cook more Indian food” kind of goal, I’m going to start with this dish and go from there. If it turns out as good as I hope, I’ll definitely share on MIS!

And that’s it. It looks like January is going to be filled with a bit of travel and craziness at work, so I’m limiting this month’s specific goals.

Wish me luck!

Tell me – what are your January goals?

The Four Tendencies Quiz – Take It Before Making Your 2016 Resolutions

written by Parita 8 Comments

I took an online personality quiz, and it changed my life.

Said no one ever.

Not even me – the girl who loves discovering and taking new quizzes. And I’ll admit that when the results page pops up on my screen, I sit and read every word. I may even reflect for a few minutes. But after that, it’s basically in one ear and out the other. Hardly ever do I use what I learn from these “revealing” quizzes.

Of course, there are a couple of exceptions.

The first one is The 5 Love Languages quiz I took, made Vishnu take, and then blogged about a year or so ago. I still think about this one because it’s so spot on. The second quiz that really opened my eyes is Gretchen Rubin’s Four Tendencies quiz. Going into it, I knew exactly which bucket I would fall under (I’m an Upholder through and through). So that wasn’t exactly revealing. The “results page” though, that was what got me thinking. Not that it was super detailed…however, it was simple enough to understand and the concepts can easily be thought about in terms of real life situations/experiences.

I liked the Four Tendencies quiz enough to make Vishnu sit down and take it too. If you know my husband, you know this is no easy feat. Anyways, while I knew exactly which tendency I fell under, I had no clue with Vishnu. All I knew was that an Upholder he is not! Turns out Vishnu’s an Obliger.

What benefit did I get from taking this quiz and making my husband take it too?

Well for one, it made me feel better about my semi-neurotic ways. Upholders, by definition, respond to both inner and outer rules and expectations. This is why I live by my to do lists, am motivated by execution and getting things done, and feel horrible when I make mistakes or fail to follow through. Even when it’s MY own expectation or rule. My Upholder tendency is why setting goals (and blogging about them) works so well for me. Also (this isn’t a good thing), I personally think being an Upholder blindly leads me to hold everyone else up to the same standards, which is why it was so great that Vishnu took the quiz!

Vishnu’s an Obliger, which means that he responds to outer rules and expectations but not inner ones. He thinks more in terms of the things he must get done and is motivated by accountability and not letting other people down. The quiz results plus the Happier podcast episode that talks more about Obligers really helped me understand Vishnu in a way that I hadn’t been able to up to this point. In the podcast, Elizabeth, Grechen’s sister, said that her husband who is also an Obliger doesn’t seem to think of her as an outsider or someone he can’t let down. This means she’s not a source of motivation for him because she’s “too close.” Her expectations for him are not part of the outer world…they feel like they’re coming from the inside. I kid you not, when I heard her say this, I almost fell over. This is 110% Vishnu! And up until that point, it would leave me feeling so frustrated. But now I get that the best thing I can do to help him achieve goals or meet inner expectations is help him figure out a system of outer accountability that doesn’t include me!

Side note: all of this will make sense after you take the quiz and listen to the podcast. It’s really fascinating and worth the time if you ask me!

Anyways, I tell you all this because I think this is one online quiz everyone should take before setting new goals/habits/resolutions in 2016. It’ll help you understand how you handle both inner and outer expectations. This is crucial when sticking to new habits or achieving goals. For example, an Upholder like me will do whatever her to do list tells her to do because I have to meet the expectations I set for myself. However, an Obliger like Vishnu is more likely to stay accountable if the expectations come from someone else (other than me!) and not a list he created.

Maybe I’m just a sucker for these kinds of things, but this quiz really made sense to me. I mean, it wasn’t life changing, but it did help me understand my husband (and myself) a little bit better. And that’s a HUGE win!

If you love this kind of stuff as much as I do, I highly recommend you check out Gretchen Rubin’s books – The Happiness Project (read this a few years ago) and Better Than Before (this one is on my list).

Have you taken this quiz before? If so, what tendency are you? If you take this quiz as a result of my post, come back and tell me what tendency you are!

No portion of this post is sponsored. However, there are Amazon affiliate links included. There is no extra cost to you, but I do receive a small commission on anything you buy through my links. Thank you for reading and supporting My Inner Shakti!

Dear 2012

written by Parita Leave a Comment

2012,

I wasn’t expecting you to come so quickly, but now that you’re almost here, I’m excited to greet you with open arms!

2011 was a wonderful year, but I have a feeling you’re going to be even better. I’m so excited to see what you have in store for me.

In all honesty, I’ve been thinking a lot about your arrival. With others in the past, I really tried to think through what I wanted to accomplish. I would even write down my goals with a sense of excitement. However, after about a month or so, that list of goals would end up in the bottom of some drawer or basket in my house. Don’t worry though – it’s going to be different with us! I promise.

For one thing, I have a blog now. This means that when I make public declarations, I do my best to stick them. I think it’s called blogger responsibility or something like that. Another huge thing that’s really going to help our relationship is my upcoming wedding. This means that we’re going to have to work harder then ever the first six months of the year…I hope you’re up to that! And don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging the last half of the year. No one can keep us apart, not even Vishnu!

So with all that, 2012, I present to you our detailed daily plan of attack.

FOOD
– Drink at least 48 ounces of water every day. No excuses.
– Eat at least 3 servings of both fruits and vegetables every day. And remember, variety is key.
– Incorporate protein into every single meal and snack. Again, variety is the spice of life.
– Try to make one new-to-me meal a week (this will help a lot after the wedding).

EXERCISE
– Go to at least two spin classes a week.
– Continue running two times a week
– Strength train 2-3 times a week (DVDs, classes at the gym, etc.)

MISC.
– Take 15-20 minutes every night to prepare for the next day – make lunch, prep breakfast if needed, iron clothes, etc.
– Turn off the TV and laptop by 9:15 pm every night and read for at least 15 minutes before bed.
– Try to blog at least 4 times a week, as it’s a creative outlet and stress reliever.
– Make a conscious effort to eat slower (keep the Slow Down Challenge in mind).

I think this list covers all the major things I want to focus on daily. I know you span an entire 365 days, but I am a big believer at taking things a day at a time. I know I’m a little ambitious and sometimes even a little stubborn, but I think we’ll get along just fine!

See you VERY soon!!
Parita

The Promise of a New Year

February 2016 Goals

January 2016 Goals

The Four Tendencies Quiz – Take It Before Making Your 2016 Resolutions

Dear 2012

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