Q2 Reality Check: Goal Setting, The Comparison Trap and Overcoming Uncertain Seasons

If Q1 didn’t unfold the way you hoped… this is your reminder that you are not behind — you are being prepared.

In this reflective bonus episode of Musings of a Geriatric Mama, Kedna Amey shares an honest and deeply encouraging conversation about timelines, comparison, faith, and the emotional pressure high-achieving women often place on themselves.

As ambitious women, we often enter a new year with carefully written goals, structured timelines, and clear expectations for progress. But life introduces unexpected variables — motherhood, career pivots, caregiving responsibilities, identity shifts, emotional healing, and evolving priorities.

Suddenly, the pace we expected feels out of reach.

Comparison creeps in.
 Imposter syndrome gets louder.
 And we begin questioning whether we are doing enough… fast enough.

But what if the season that feels slow is actually the season that is preparing you?

Through the metaphor of planting, pruning, and harvest, Kedna reminds listeners that growth is rarely instant. Growth is cultivated over time — with intention, patience, faith, and self-compassion.

This episode explores the balance between grace and discipline, and how high-achieving women can remain committed to their vision while allowing space for life transitions that require emotional and mental capacity.

If you have ever questioned your progress…
 If you have ever felt behind in life…
 If you have ever wondered whether your timeline is still aligned…

This episode will remind you:

You are still moving.
 You are still becoming.
 You are still building something meaningful.

And what is meant for you will not miss you.

Key Takeaways

• Feeling behind does not mean you are behind
 • Growth seasons often feel uncomfortable before they feel rewarding
 • Comparison can distort your perception of progress
 • Grace and discipline can coexist
 • Slowing down does not mean giving up
 • Sustainable success requires emotional wellness
 • Your timeline does not need to match anyone else’s
 • Purposeful pivoting allows you to adapt without abandoning your vision
 • Faith can provide clarity when circumstances feel uncertain
 • You are still progressing even when results are not visible

 sound bites

"What is for you is for you"

"Time is our most precious element"

"God has no timeline"

Chapters

00:00 Navigating Life's Seasons and Reflections

02:53 The Impact of Social Media on Self-Perception

05:17 Setting and Achieving Goals: A New Approach

07:32 The Importance of Grace and Self-Compassion

09:41 Building Tenacity and Grit in Adversity

11:56 Understanding Timing and God's Plan

13:53 Embracing the Current Season of Life

15:53 The Process of Growth and Pruning

17:58 The Promise of Harvest and Future Success

 Resources

Jeremiah 29:11 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+29%3A11

SMART Goals Framework - https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_90.htm

Feeling Overwhelmed? In a Season of transition? On the brink of burnout? Stay connected with a community of like-minded ambitious women and GRAB YOUR FREE Burnout to Balance: Reset Guide HERE!

Let's stay connected!  https://linktr.ee/K.AmeyInspires?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=0eb50dac-1e79-445d-9c1e-8a5dd2e34847

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Welcome to Musings of a Geriatric Model, where we discuss all things millennial and motherhood. This is not your average show where we romanticize being a mom, but rather a place where we keep it real while guiding you through restorative living and wealth. Mind body. Here you'll find impactful insights from high-achieving moms and mother figures. Navigating life through this exhausting yet simultaneously rewarding good. You may laugh or cry and even possibly pee yourself. So do a kegel or two and hold on to your seat. It's going to be a bumpy ride, but it doesn't have to be a bumpy one. I'm your host, Kedna Ame, and thank you for being here. Q2 is here. How is everyone feeling? I I realize that I no longer want to say that life be life in, even though it has been, and it does. But I kind of want to change the narrative to purposefully pivoting, reprioritizing, and finding stillness, newness, and comfort in seasons that feel different from the past. And I know I said a lot there, but we're gonna get into it just a little bit because it's been heavy on my mind with just everything that's been going on. And even recently, I took a hiatus from social media. And when I got back on, I felt like I was missing out on everything. And I don't know if that is because of, you know, our dopamine responses when we're on social media and just all the visual things that attract us and all the curated trips and announcements for you know babies and engagements and everything. It's just seemingly outwardly a happy place, and uh seemingly like everything just happens to be going well for everyone else, and then you find yourself in a place of doubt, in a place of questioning where you are in your current season. And of course, imposter syndrome can trickle its ugly head in, and then you find yourself down a rabbit hole of thoughts questioning your authority and position in life. What I've realized as I get closer to my fourth decade of life, this year I have a milestone birthday, and I have so many emotions inside about approaching the beautiful and ripe age of 40. And some of it is like, okay, what have I done for these past three decades into the fourth? And you find yourself just in a lot of thought. It's like this reflective spirit or like this reflective feeling where you're just evaluating where you've been and now questioning where you're going as you're stepping into this next season, um, this next decade, which for some could actually mean a new season. And for others, it could just be a continuation of where we are. But I think that with milestone birthdays, we feel that we should have already accomplished something or we should be a certain place in life. And as I am reflecting more, I realize that that's not realistic. And I had to remind myself of this what is for you is for you. And that is a theme that you'll find in the Bible and throughout verses. The word kind of just reminds you of God's promises and you know, abundance that is waiting for you, and joy, peace, you know, different things that are promised. But what I realize, even as God is giving these promises out to certain children, it's it's a matter of time. Time seems to be one of the most precious elements that we refuse to really lean into. Because for so long, especially for high achieving women, we're always racing against the clock. It's always a contest. Because remember, we have been conditioned to chase after that golden star. So it's always a race against the clock. I mean, is it our fault? We had standardized tests that were timed for ambitious, goal-driven, high-achieving women. Time can sometimes be our enemy if we allow it. So as I was scrolling and trying to catch up with what I thought I was missing, I found myself reflecting about okay, well, what have I been doing? What have I been doing? And I have an amazing sister friend that also happens to be a licensed therapist. And I try not to trauma dump and get free therapy because but you know, I was just telling her that I just feel like so out of whack, you know. When you start off the new year, the new year always brings exactly that a sense of newness, a sense of wonder, a sense of what could be ahead. Definitely, there's so many unknowns as we come into a new year, but we lead with a spirit of okay, I want to accomplish X, Y, and Z. So we write down goals. I don't do resolutions, I write down goals, overarching goals for the year. And what I've learned, especially navigating entrepreneurship and business, is that you want to make goals smart, right? So they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. So I learned that. And I also learned to break down my goals in quarters as opposed to looking at the whole year and putting myself in a bucket versus bite-sized, achievable little goals, baby step goals that get you closer to your overarching goals for the year. So I do always recommend setting goals for the year, writing them down, and then breaking them down quarter by quarter, and then from quarter by quarter, you can even break them down month to month. Right? So, of course, now we're into quarter two. Quarter one is done, and I'm going back and I'm like, okay, these goals aren't golden the way they were in January. What do I need to do? Because apparently, according to social media, everybody else is achieving their goals, and I clearly am not. That's how I initially felt, but then I really had to take a step back, and what my dear sister friend reminded me that's a licensed therapist, she's like, You gotta give yourself some grace. This year you're trying some new things, you know, on top of everything else that we're juggling in life. We're talking about motherhood, we're talking about, you know, relationships, we're talking about aging parents. Remember, we're in this sandwich generation where we're caring for younger children and as well aging parents. So we find ourselves in this tug of war of prioritizing everyone, and then still attempt at some point to drink water, go to Pilates, do a skincare routine, gouacha, and whatever else. Um, and then get your mammogram done, see your PCP, save money, pay off student loans and whatever else that we have to do and breathe. Yeah, so in between all of that, you're just balancing a million things. And she was like, You need to give yourself grace. And I found myself always giving that advice, and I found myself at the same time using grace as a crutch. And I'll explain myself. For the longest time, I had considered myself a successful slacker. I procrastinated, I got things done at the last minute, and it was just my way of just not locking in, admittedly. And I was successful, I got things done, I passed the cla I passed, you know, the test. You know, with a B plus when I if I really locked in, I could have gotten an A. But you know, I just did what I had to do because I realized over time what I was masking was anxiety and I didn't want to deal with it head on. So I kind of just waited so I wasn't overwhelmed by, you know, the things that I had to do. But I realized that in business, I could not carry that mindset at the same time with the intention of being successful and sustainable. So I had to do a lot of unlearning to figure out what I needed to do to graduate from successful slacker into what I now call a purposeful perseverer. And that has been a muscle that I've been building over the five uh past five years as an entrepreneur. And what I mean by grace became a crutch is like, okay, I'm gonna give myself grace. I'm gonna give myself grace, give yourself grace, give yourself grace. And the to-do list may be piling up, and you know, the goals are still unchecked. And yes, that could still be my programming as an overachiever, but there is a limit. So I took that, I accepted that, I reminded myself, yes, she's right, she's right. I am trying a new thing like being a podcaster, I'm trying to do that consistently, you know, marketing a new brand that is evolving into what I hope to be a brand that continues to empower women to believe in the power of purposeful pivoting. So, yes, I I am starting or have started something new this year, and navigating those spaces has become challenging. And I just found myself just leaning more into other things instead of necessarily taking these goals head on, truthfully speaking. How long does this grace period really need to last before it's like, girl, come on now, you're not getting these things done, you need to get it done. So that's life. Life is a balance, and I do still believe that we need to operate with grace and self-compassion because, as high achievers, recovering perfectionists, I think that we don't necessarily operate with grace as much as we could and should. So those reminders are beautiful to lean into every so often. However, as I'm building my tenacity and my grit, and when you're building something that will be sustainable and purposeful and profitable, you gotta get down to the nitty-gritty and really like hone in and lock in. I had one of my students just pull me aside and kind of she just needed the space to kind of vent about the challenges of school and everything. For those of you that may not know, yes, I'm a multi-passionate creative, but I'm also um a healthcare professional that has now transitioned into teaching the next generations of nurses at a local university. I was on campus and one of my students pulled me to the side and she's like, I need to talk to you. And I'm like, Okay, girl, let's talk. And she just needed the space to talk about how she's been feeling and how overwhelming school is and just some of the things that she's trying to navigate and not missing opportunities, and she wants this externship, but the same day as the interview as the externship, she has a test, so she's trying to figure out what to do, and she still wants to make it, but it's an hour and a half away. And she's like, I don't want to disappoint my future self. I had to really just breathe that in, and I saw a part of myself in her because I can imagine at her age, almost 20 years ago, being 20, 21 in nursing school, like you sacrifice so much so that you can bear these credentials, and you want to make sure that you're taking the necessary actions so that you can get to that coveted goal. And now you're faced with adversity, and now you're faced with difficult choices that you feel would change the trajectory of everything that you may have hoped and prayed for. But let me remind you again, what is for you is for you. And I told her that. I said, All your concerns are valid. I said, You have probably been someone that's achieved from the time that you could remember and you care and you want to make a difference. She's like, I want to make a difference. I don't want to, I wanna get there, I want to make a difference. And I said, You shall, you shall. Timing is everything. What is for you is for you. That interview will be waiting for you. It may not be exactly at the time that you thought, but it'll be there for you, and you'll still be the impact maker that you desire to be. But your time and God's time, for the most part, are two different timelines. But if I can encourage you, this this is a space where we talk about wellness, mind, body, and soul. So we talk about faith here. So I want to remind you this God has no timeline, He's already in the future looking at you and smiling and potentially chuckling because he's like, girl, you here, you're here, and I'm waiting for you to believe and trust me. I'm waiting for you to believe and trust me and take those necessary steps to keep moving forward wherever you are in this current season. The question that I want to ask you is are you comfortable with the current? Now, current, now current can actually be defined as a moment in time, present moment in time. A current can also be defined as a continuous directed movement of air, water, or electrical charge. Are you comfortable with the current? Are you comfortable with where you are? And are you comfortable in understanding that you're still moving? You're still moving, there's still momentum being built in a season that may feel foreign, in a season that may feel slow, in a season that may feel like everyone else around you is achieving their Q1 goals. Check them off and you're behind. Can you be comfortable with understanding that where you are is exactly where you need to be at this moment in time? And once we can move past some of the anxiety, once we can move past some of the depression that may be holding us back, once we can move past some of those intrusive thoughts that are telling you otherwise, or some of the traumas that we've gone through, living through, and are working through. Once we can move past it, and I'm not saying to not acknowledge it, not work through it, not pray through it, and to brush it under a rug. No, no, no, no, no, no. That's why time is of the essence in the sense that if it takes you longer to heal so that you can move forward, then be comfortable with that. The next person's timeline is not yours. That has to be a constant reminder. Slowing down is not failure. Pivoting is not failure. Reassessing, reprioritizing, and setting boundaries, not failure. More than anything, I think they're key indicators of someone that is building tenacity, grit, resilience, and is preparing the soil for a harvest that they've been working towards and working on. Don't please, please, please, don't undermine the season of toiling the soil. I don't know if there's any farmers out there or anybody that's in agriculture or whatever, so you can, you know, you can, you know, fact check me. But from what I understand about harvest, right? Or growing something, I have a brown thumb, but I kind of get the concept, right? All my plant mamas out there, chime in, leave a comment, let me know. But first of all, you have to prepare the soil, you have to buy the right soil, right? You have to get the right soil. Okay. Then you have to make sure that the seed is right too. This is what I'm understanding, right? Okay. Then another thing is that you have to plant the seed during the right season, right? So growth, plant growth, and we're gonna say also personal growth, spiritual growth, growth, growth, growth happens over time. There's that construct again of time and in season, right? So you're preparing the soil, you put the seeds in, and then you start watering the plant. Needs water, needs sun, needs the right conditions, needs the right climate. Um, and then you start seeing, you know, the plant sprout, okay? All right, start to sprout, and then you continue to care for the plant, it starts to bloom, okay. Yes. Then there may be like bugs you gotta take care of, and you gotta fertilize it, and maybe there's thorns and weeds, so you gotta prune those things. Let me let me pause and talk about pruning. Pruning is very uncomfortable. Imagine like literally taking shears and like cutting something from this plant. But what happens after you prune? Through the pruning process, you're cutting away things that could have harmed the plant or stopped the plant from growing. So please lean into your pruning season because baby, you're about to bloom when it feels painful, when it feels uncomfortable, when you're questioning everything, your purpose, all these things, you're being pruned. And everything that is being removed from you is exactly what needs to be removed so that you can thrive and bloom and step into the season of harvest. It doesn't happen overnight. If there's a plant that can be planted and bloom overnight, y'all let me know. But from what I understand is that it takes time. So lean into this season that feels uncomfortable. Lean into a season where all the goals are not being achieved all at once. You know why? Hey, you're prioritizing your health, your mental health. Okay, you have a couple of kids, you're prioritizing your children. Okay, maybe you're prioritizing your relationships, platonic or romantic. Fair. Maybe you're taking care of sick parents. Very reasonable to slow down. Like, there should be no shame in that. Lean into your current season without guilt or shame, with more grace and self-compassion. Because this season is exactly where you need to be now. Because during this season, you prepare for the next. And I'm declaring a harvest for you, for myself, for those I love, for the world. We're going through so much right now globally that it sometimes feels like those things that you wrote down a couple of years ago won't come to fruition. How could they possibly come to fruition in an unstable economy? How could they possibly come to fruition in um uh a world that has civil unrest? How can it, you know, come to fruition when gas prices cost your firstborn? This is how. This is a reminder. What is for you is for you. It's gonna happen. It's going to happen. I know you planned out your life when you were 12. I know you said by this age you would do this, and by this age you would be here, and by that age you would be in Saint Tropez on a yacht. And maybe you're at that age and you're not quite on the yacht yet. That is okay. Because life does life. Life does life. Curveballs come at us, financial instability waxes and wanes. Money comes, money goes. Sickness comes, sickness goes. Sadness comes, sadness goes. But it shall come to pass. Because the God I serve said it will. So I believe it. For I know the plans that I have for you never to harm you, but to prosper you and give you hope and a future. That's Jeremiah 29, 11. You gotta lean into those things because sometimes when you know things just look really bleak, the word reinforces what is already predestined for you. So, yeah, that's all I had to say. I wanted to check in. Practically speaking, go back and look at the list, look at those goals, see which ones can roll over to you to reasonably set boundaries so that you can achieve them, set those time blocks throughout the day so that you can work on your goals, habit stack, put things together so you can accomplish more as you're doing one. You can handle something else, make sure it's manageable, make sure you put a time, a time allowance for it, and get it done. Lock in. There's three more quarters left for you to get closer to your destiny. Don't give up. You got this. You were called for it, you're purposed for it. Lean into what you wrote down, understand who you're called to be. And you're done. Sometimes moment by moment, but keep progressing forward because people are waiting on the gifts that you have. No pressure, lock in. Thank you for tuning in to this bonus episode of Musings of a Geriatric Mama. That's what it is. It's musings, random thoughts that I hope encourage you and reminded you of the powerful woman that you truly are. Don't forget to like, subscribe, leave a comment, share, because someone else needs to hear this as well. All right. Take care.