Let's. DO. This.
Photo by: Jessica Burke / Hair + MU: Melissa Hoffman
Today I'm so honored to be featured on Scarlet + Gold Shop's Inspire Me Monday. I'm talking about: creating vision, chasing your dreams, getting specific + making 2015 your breakout year!
Read the full article HERE + check out some of my thoughts below.
Love y'all,
K...
My vision for myself and for the world is that young women would know their infinite value, worth, and beauty in Christ. I want to live in a world where women of all ages, sizes, ethnicities, and social backgrounds know that they matter because of whose they are.
My identity, your identity, OUR identity is not defined by our careers, our relationship status, how many instagram followers we do or do not have, or if we finally fit into those pair of jeans that fit us 5 years ago (Lord knows I’d love to fit in those jeans!).
No, my identity is grounded in the reality that I was created by an infinitely creative, imaginative, and good God that loves me, chooses me, wants me, and says I am enough.(Phew…can you tell this is something I am passionate about? I’m about to start preachin’ here ladies!)
My vehicles for my vision are my wedding + lifestyle photography business, The Refined Woman, and sharing my story with as many people as I can. With January being over, 2015 is already in full swing. I love the New Year, and I love creating some space in my life to step back and reevaluate where I am headed.
Truly I believe this 2015 to be a breakout, breakthrough, and life changing year not only for myself, but for so many of the people in my love that I love and for you too! The best is yet to come, and it is a new day friends ripe and ready for us to go out!
So Let’s Do This!
Now, what are some of my 2015 goals? Well, I’m glad you asked:
Finish my first book: Real Sex in the City | Confessions of a 29 year old, Single, Virgin in NYC by May 1st. (You can read more about that HERE.)
Speak at a Women’s Conference about Identity, Worth, + Purity.
Travel to Buenos Aires.
Date an amazing Godly man (hey…just trying to be real here ladies :)
Book 15 weddings.
Successfully do the splits to incorporate into my yoga practice.
(If you have 4 more hours, I could go on, and on, and on, and on, but for times sake I’ll stop here!) For some people making goals is defeating as we think we can just think up goals, and they’ll magically unfold into our lives. Or if we just pray about it hard enough, God will drop my edited book in my life, with a speaking contract, and my hot new Jesus lovin’ boyfriend right into my lap.
And here’s the reality, God is able. He can totally do that, and I pray for that, but what I’m coming to learn is that God is a God of process and he works through our movement and obedience.If we want to see specific, and big things happen in our lives then we get to live a life that reflects an intentional routine that will lead us to those hopes and desires.
Here are a few things I do:
Create a Vision: Simon Sinek says people buy why you do what you do, not what you do. Meaning there has to be a deeper sense of purpose in our lives as to why we are doing the things we are doing. Be clear on that vision, and then from that space create goals that reflect your purpose. Know why you’re doing what you’re doing, and head there on purpose. Greatness never happens on accident.
Get Specific with your goals: A huge reason why we don’t attain our goals is because they feel so far away from us, like they’re floating around in outer space. Don’t just say I want to run a marathon this year, when you haven’t ran more than a mile in the last 5 years. Sign up for one in 6 months. Give yourself a deadline, and work your way back week by week, and day by day plan, and get specific:
Tuesday by 9:00am: Research 10 marathon plans + choose one.
Wednesday by 5:00p.m. run 2 miles.
Wednesday by 7:00p.m. eat well balanced dinner.
This may seem tedious, but when we break down our goals into everyday manageable tasks it actually sets us up for attainable success.
Do it Afraid. This year choose to say no to fear. How many things in your life have you not done because you were scared of the failure, hurting yourself, others, what will people think, do I have what it takes? Or we want God to make it 100% crystal clear that beyond a shadow of a doubt this is our next step. Again, God is able, and he can do this, but there is something that happens when we acknowledge the fear of failure that it is there, and then choose not to let it stop us from the visions, dreams, and goals God is inviting us into.
To wrap up, last Fall I hosted my first event at New York Fashion Week for 30 influential designers, bloggers, and leaders in the Fashion Industry. It was on my heart for the better part of a year, but I was riddled with insecurities about it. My blog isn’t big enough, who will come, what if no one comes, I’m not “cool” enough to pull something like this off, how am I going to pay for this, and the list went on and on. The fear was so real, but then I got to a point where I said you know what this is something on my heart that I am passionate about and I am just going to do it; it doesn’t matter if one person comes it just matters that I do this thing that God put on my heart to do.
And you know what? I did it. With a ton of prayer, planning, and a community of warrior women in 2.5 weeks we pulled off an amazing event at Fashion Week; it was better than I could have hoped or dreamed of and I did it even though I was scared. I still get emails from women that attended the event asking when the next one will be (this February at Fashion Week!)
Now looking back I can’t imagine not having done it; it doesn’t even seem scary anymore, but it just took that initial step of faith to just do it!
Yesterday’s ceiling is today’s floor friends! So ladies we have choice, and power to make movement in our lives, to step out boldly in our faith and in the calls that God has put into our lives. And guess what? It’s probably going to be scary, but that’s ok!
Create Your Vision.
Be Specific.
Do it Afraid.
Ladies I truly believe God has plans for our lives that our more epic, creative, imaginative than we could ever hope or dream for. The invitation awaits. Let’s. Do. This. I love y’all.
XO,
Kat
