Tag Archives | Goal

Where am I going? Way forward

By on December 17, 2012 in Holistic Wellness

Dorking 7You’ve set your SMART goals. Are you ready to plan your path to achieving them? It’s easy once you break each goal down into smaller chunks, or small steps that you can take. There are many different paths to a single goal, so remember that you have a number of options available to you.

I found this goal-setting process to be very useful when I first started training in coaching. Goal setting and planning how to achieve our goals are two of the most important ways to ensure that we’re happy with our lives, yet they’re something we never learn in school. Such a foundation skill, however so many people never learn how to do it. And then they wonder why they’re so unhappy in life.

Keep your mind open for this activity. I know that I often remind you of this, but this is especially important for this exercise. Don’t filter your ideas from the beginning: simply write down everything that comes to mind as you answer each question. If something seems challenging or scary, write it down anyway. Remember that sometimes the scary things are simply those that take us outside our comfort zone…which is a very good thing!

If you feel you get stuck on any one goal, you may find it useful to move onto another one to get the process flowing. Once you get used to the process, you’ll find it easier. Ready? Let’s get started: Continue Reading →

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Where am I going? Setting goals

By on December 10, 2012 in Holistic Wellness

I know you’ve had a lot to look at every day: vision board, affirmations, and your list of how you would live your life differently. What changes have you noticed in your life in the past few days or weeks? Be sure to make note of everything that has changed, as becoming aware of differences can help us pave the road for more changes.

Now it’s time to plan concrete actions to help you achieve the life of your dreams. Sound like a daunting task? It’s easy, when you break it down into steps. This is what we’ve spent weeks and months on: answering the Three Happiness Questions so that we can get clear on who we are, where we are in life, and start planning where we want to be headed for the future.

Ready? I’m seriously excited as I write this. I hope you are, too. Continue Reading →

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Get clear on your dreams with a vision list…then turn them into goals

By on May 3, 2011 in Goals, Holistic Wellness, Success

Thanks to Rebecca for this path photo! Please click on the path to visit her blog.

I’ve been so focused on working toward achieving my specific goals lately, that I’d completely forgotten my vision list. I just revisited it this afternoon and spent a few minutes updating it, because all goals start with a vision.

Get started: clear your mind with a quick session of task meditation. Get all the practical to-do things out of your mind and into your time management system. Now you’re ready to start.

Put on some music, whatever you feel will get you into a creative mood: it could be something relaxing, or it could be energising. Light a candle or incense. Whatever creates that sense of “you time.”

Remember the three good questions: Who are you? Where are you? Where are you going? Stop and think about where you want to be heading in your life. What do you want to be experiencing:

Continue Reading →

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6 Quick guidelines for goal setting

By on February 10, 2011 in Goals, Growth, Holistic Wellness, Success

Thanks to Ali for this amazing path photo! Click on the photo to visit her blog.

Still stuck on Someday Isle? Do you want to get serious about transforming your dreams into goals, but don’t know where to get started?

Remember: a dream is a goal without a deadline. I can’t tell you how many times in my life I’ve realized I need to make a major change and just kept putting it off until I sat down and set a clear, reasonable, achievable deadline to what I wanted to do. And not until then did that dream of a change actually become a part of my everyday thoughts and plans, as I worked toward achieving that goal and making the change I wanted so badly in my life.

Does this sound familiar to you?

First off, choose one of your goals and write it down, either on paper or on your computer. Get it out of your head and into writing so you can clearly see it.

Now think about these guidelines:

  • Is your goal specific and highly detailed?
  • Is it expressed in the present tense, as if it is already a reality?
  • Is it a positive goal, or a negative goal? Meaning, does the statement describe what you do want, or what you don’t want?
  • Does your goal have a precise timescale for achievement?
  • Does it have a clear destination or a measurable outcome? Where is it that you want to be when you’ve accomplished it?
  • Does it have a verifiable outcome? How will you know when you’ve accomplished it?

Did that help you clarify things?

Let’s take one of our Someday Isle dreams: “Someday I’ll lose weight.” Is that specific? No. Is there a timescale or deadline? No. How do you measure the outcome? Who knows. Is losing one pound or one kilo enough to say you’ve reached your goal? Good question.

Not clear at all, is it?

How does this alternative sound? “By June 1st of this year, I weigh 60 kg.” Is this goal specific? Yes. Is it expressed in the present tense? Yes.  Is it a positive goal? Yes. A negative goal in this case would be “By June 1st of this year, I will have lost 5 kg.” Focus on what you do want, which is the target weight of 60 kg., and not what you don’t want, which are those 5 kg. you want to lose.

Does this goal have a precise timescale or deadline? Yes: June 1st, 2011. Does it have a clear destination? Yes: the target weight of 60 kg. Does it have a verifiable outcome? Yes: all the person has to do is to stand on a reliable scale on June 1st and check their weight to verify whether or not they have achieved their goal.

That’s easy, isn’t it? Take that goal you wrote down and rewrite it according to these six guidelines. Does that make it look easier to achieve?

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How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions?

By on January 22, 2011 in Coaching, Goals, Growth, Holistic Wellness, Purpose, Success

Life is a path, and the only way to go down it is by taking one step at a time.

We’re nearing the end of January…how are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions?

We all know what a New Year’s resolution is: a commitment that a person makes to work toward a personal goal, project, or lifestyle change throughout the year. New Year’s resolutions can work toward improving attitudes, habits, health, finances, career, education… pretty much anything that’s related to personal or professional development.

A 2007 survey conducted by the British psychologist Richard Wiseman showed that 88% of all resolutions end in failure. Why is this? It seems that the part of the brain which is largely responsible for willpower is also that part that takes care of keeping us focused, managing short-term memory, and working out abstract problems. Adding a long list of additional tasks to its current responsibilities may be asking a bit too much.

A more effective way of going about things might be to take resolutions and goals little by little. Life is a path, and the only way to go down it is by taking one step at a time. Rather than overwhelming yourself with a long list of things you want to accomplish without setting priorities or dates for each one, you might want to take that list and prioritise it.

Continue Reading →

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