I decided not to do a December 2008 Hot Topic of the Month because I wanted us to start the 2009 New Year with a new beginning and focus. This year is all about the positive! It's about setting and realizing goals. It's about balancing your life, improving your life, being happy and celebrating you and your accomplishments!
Every New Year people set goals and make resolutions. They even try to work at them as best that they could but why do they fail? The reason why is because most are unrealistic. Or because they take on too many big ones at one time. Also, some do not understand the difference between a goal and a resolution. A resolution is defined as a decision of future action. A goal is defined as an object or end that one strives through action to attain.
Each of the following 11 months we will tackle different goals on the site to help you realize a better you by the end of the year. This will take place in 4 different plans of action as follows...
1. Building Sound Financial Practices
- Getting Out of Debt - February 2009
- Saving - March 2009
- Giving Back Through Charity - April 2009
2. Balancing Your life
- Spiritual - May 2009
- Family - June 2009
- Vacation/Free Time - July 2009
3. Improving Your Life
- With Better Health - August 2009
- With Education - September 2009
- With Your Career - October 2009
4. A Happier You
- Being Happy With Yourself and Your Life - November 2009
- Celebrating The New You! - December 2009
Hopefully by the end of 2009 all of us will have met at least a couple of our goals and will be in a better place mentally, emotionally and financially.
On this site you will find a link to 43 Things. It is a site about goals. I personnally used this site often and I have shared it with my friends and co-workers. Take a look and give it a try.
Throughout this month the site will be updated with information on setting and realizing goals. Information will be added on suggestions of steps to be successful at meeting your goals. In the meantime look over the 11 month schedule for 2009.
Again, Happy New Year!
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To realize your goals you need to be realistic about what goals you are setting. These are steps to help you accomplish the goals you have made for 2009 and the future.
Turning Goals into Reality
Tips and Tricks of Successful People
Figuring out what makes you happy and setting goals is the first step towards reaching them.
The next set of instructions are tips to success!
These are the actual steps that separate the talkers from the achievers. Following these strategies will help keep you energized and focused on completing your goals.
Pick out one of your short term goals and ask yourself the following questions:
How can I motivate myself?
How can I break this goal into smaller steps or mini-goals?
What would be a realistic deadline for each step?
How can I reward myself for accomplishing each step?
How can I remind myself everyday to stay on track?
Now go and look at the suggestions below and compare your answers. You may find similar ideas or new suggestions to help you complete your goals.
Tips and Tricks for each step:
1. MOTIVATE YOURSELF
The power of your mind is your most powerful tool. We are constantly talking to ourselves. By sending ourselves positive messages we can eliminate negative ones. Positive SELF-TALK is a very important skill in goal setting.
Be your biggest cheerleader by giving yourself hope and confidence!
People who are successful at setting and achieving goals learn how to build their self-confidence with positive messages. They encourage themselves the same way they would encourage a best friend.
Here are some positive messages:
"I CAN DO THIS!"
"This is SO EASY!"
"I always come through in the end"
"I can survive this, I can survive anything."
"I am made of Metal."
"This is an opportunity to become a stronger person and I will take advantage of it."
"I know I can make it."
"I amaze myself when I ..."
"I am so good at.."
To erase any old negative messages rephrase it in a positive way and repeat it for at least 18 days.
For example instead of telling yourself, "I will never lose weight."
Rephrase it to, "Everyday, little by little, my actions are helping me reach my goal of losing weight."
When you hear or feel yourself being negative repeat your daily positive message.
Eventually with practice you will form a new habit of providing yourself with positive messages.
Remember if you would never give those types of messages to your best friend then you should definitely not be giving them to yourself.
Do not spend any energy on fears or doubts. You need all your energy to replace any negative self talk with positive images and messages. We control the way we feel and act through our "self talk".
2. Divide Goal into Mini-goals
A goal can be overwhelming if you think about each and every action all at once. By dividing the goal into mini-goals you can focus on one action at a time. Breaking a goal down into smaller steps is a skill that you need to practice.
Begin by writing out all the steps needed to accomplish the goal in a logical order. It's just like writing a recipe for your success.
Now do one of the easiest mini-goals and check it off! Your on your way!
Remember you once thought a past goal was impossible and now looking back...its a piece of cake.
3. Set Realistic Deadlines
All goals require time limits or they will never be accomplished.
Managing time is a skill that requires you to be both flexible and creative. When creating deadlines it's a good idea to allow for more time then what is actually needed. Then if you finish the task early it is a bonus. Chances are the "unexpected" will occur and its always a good idea to be ahead of schedule.
Ask yourself the following questions:
"How can I kill two birds with one stone? OR How can I do two mini-goals with one action?"
"If I keep putting this off what will happen?"
"What reward will I give myself if I get this done ahead of schedule?"
Try following the motto of the U.S. Marines, "The difficult, we do right away. The impossible takes a little longer."
Remember be realistic, we often don't see the years of training and hard work that people put into achieving their goals.
4. Reward Yourself
What could be better than enjoying a little reward?
Make sure you have little rewards for yourself as you check off each mini-goal. Remember how happy you were to get little stickers in school or from the dentist. Or the times when you were surprised by a treat for your good behaviour?
These little things add enjoyment to your progress and celebrate each mini-accomplishment. Often the act of checking off the mini-goal is a reward in itself. Successful people know the importance of balancing hard work with "play time." Remember you are never too old to treat yourself.
Here is a little reward you can use from time to time applause just for you
5. Daily Reminders
Concentrating on a clear vision of your goal everyday keeps it real and focused. One way to do this is by daydreaming about how it will feel the day you accomplish this goal. At the beginning of each day ask yourself "What progress can I make towards my goals today?"
Another powerful tool is to hang up colorful pictures of your goals and look at them everyday. Telling others about your goal can give you extra encouragement and support.
Finally surrounding yourself with motivated goal-oriented people will encourage you to succeed.
http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/skills21/goals/4goalselftalk.htm
Positivity breeds Positivity.... and yes we all have problems, but no reason to worry and dwell on them. Every day do a little something to get out of your bad situation and continue to plan to meet your goals whatever they are. I plan to start a business this year and have did research and some sort of set up every day. It is taking baby steps doing a little at a time and before you know it you've reached your goal!!
Deb
Below you will find some quotes on goals that hopefully will give you encouragement to start on your own until you are successful in obtaining them!
Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals. - Aristotle
Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals. Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want. - Marsha Sinetar
Goals are dreams with deadlines. -
Diana Scharf Hunt
You can't hit a home run unless you step up to the plate. You can't catch a fish unless you put your line in the water. You can't reach your goals if you don't try. - Kathy Seligman
If you have a goal in life that takes a lot of energy, that requires a lot of work, that incurs a great deal of interest and that is a challenge to you, you will always look forward to waking up to see what the new day brings. - Susan Polis Schultz
Goals help focus you on areas in both your personal and professional life that are important and meaningful, rather than being guided by what other people want you to be, do, or accomplish. - Catherine Pulsifer
Do it now. You become successful the moment you start moving toward a worthwhile goal. - Unknown
Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land amongst the stars.. - Les Brown
Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there. - Bo Jackson
http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/quote-goal.html
What are realistic goals? Goals that are obtainable? Look at this information om S.M.A.R.T. Goals to help with the first step of setting goals which are writing them down.
SMART Goal Setting: Learn how To Set Goals The S.M.A.R.T. Way!
I encourage you to pick up a pen and a piece of paper and jot down the goals you want to reach. Look at each goal and evaluate it. Make any changes necessary to ensure it meets the criteria for a SMART goals:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timely
Specific
Goals should be straightforward and emphasize what you want to happen. Specifics help us to focus our efforts and clearly define what we are going to do.
Specific is the What, Why, and How of the SMART model.
WHAT are you going to do? Use action words such as direct, organize, coordinate, lead, develop, plan, build etc.
WHY is this important to do at this time? What do you want to ultimately accomplish?
HOW are you going to do it? (By...)
Ensure the goals you set is very specific, clear and easy. Instead of setting a goal to lose weight or be healthier, set a specific goal to lose 2cm off your waistline or to walk 5 miles at an aerobically challenging pace.
Measurable
If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. In the broadest sense, the whole goal statement is a measure for the project; if the goal is accomplished, the is a success. However, there are usually several short-term or small measurements that can be built into the goal.
Choose a goal with measurable progress, so you can see the change occur. How will you see when you reach your goal? Be specific! "I want to read 3 chapter books of 100 pages on my own before my birthday" shows the specific target to be measure. "I want to be a good reader" is not as measurable.
Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set. When you measure your progress, you stay on track, reach your target dates, and experience the exhilaration of achievement that spurs you on to continued effort required to reach your goals.
Attainable
When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop that attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them. Your begin seeing previously overlooked opportunities to bring yourself closer to the achievement of your goals.
Goals you set which are too far out of your reach, you probably won't commit to doing. Although you may start with the best of intentions, the knowledge that it's too much for you means your subconscious will keep reminding you of this fact and will stop you from even giving it your best.
A goal needs to stretch you slightly so you feel you can do it and it will need a real commitment from you. For instance, if you aim to lose 20lbs in one week, we all know that isn't achievable. But setting a goal to loose 1lb and when you've achieved that, aiming to lose a further 1lb, will keep it achievable for you.
The feeling of success which this brings helps you to remain motivated.
Realistic
This is not a synonym for "easy." Realistic, in this case, means "do-able." It means that the learning curve is not a vertical slope; that the skills needed to do the work are available; that the project fits with the overall strategy and goals of the organization. A realistic project may push the skills and knowledge of the people working on it but it shouldn't break them.
Devise a plan or a way of getting there which makes the goal realistic. The goal needs to be realistic for you and where you are at the moment. A goal of never again eating sweets, cakes, crisps and chocolate may not be realistic for someone who really enjoys these foods.
For instance, it may be more realistic to set a goal of eating a piece of fruit each day instead of one sweet item. You can then choose to work towards reducing the amount of sweet products gradually as and when this feels realistic for you.
Be sure to set goals that you can attain with some effort! Too difficult and you set the stage for failure, but too low sends the message that you aren't very capable. Set the bar high enough for a satisfying achievement!
Timely
Set a timeframe for the goal: for next week, in three months, by fifth grade. Putting an end point on your goal gives you a clear target to work towards.
If you don't set a time, the commitment is too vague. It tends not to happen because you feel you can start at any time. Without a time limit, there's no urgency to start taking action now.
Time must be measurable, attainable and realistic.
Everyone will benefit from goals and objectives if they are SMART. SMART, is the instrument to apply in setting your goals and objectives.
Written by Arina Nikitina
Saturday, 05 July 2008 14:01
http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/smart-goal-setting.html
I realize everyone do not like the same format or way of doing things so besides 43 Things as a online goal setting link I also like Goal For It! Both are 100% free and are located as a link from this site.
Also, the internet has a lot of free forms and charts that you can use to track your progress. I find that the easier one make things the better. So I would not load myself down with a lot of bells and whistles in tracking your progress where it takes away from the most important thing which is working at achieving your goal(s).
The vital thing is that you get started and work at making your life happier and better!
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