Now January is a distant memory, do thoughts of ” New Years Resolutions” make you cringe? Or are you in the 1/2 of 1% of Resolutioners (yes HALF of ONE PERCENT) that are achieving success ? As we settle into 2010 and get back into our daily routines, don’t be discouraged if you aren’t. There’s still time to achieve what you want – allbeit with a much better strategy. And to gain some understanding (and relief) as to why you never need set them again.
Personally, the “R word” leaves a bad taste in my mouth too. I tend to refer to the process as Subconscious Sabotage – the act of unconsciously programming ourselves for failure, leaving us feeling Defeated, Discouraged and Disempowered. All of us can admit to making plans we haven’t fully commited to. We have grand ideas, but don’t follow a process to achieve them. It’s why Goal setting (often tarred with the same negative brush) will produce more positive results. But it too needs to follow a process. Unfortunately, due to poor past experience, or mistaking resolutions as the same thing, people find themselves lax in setting Goals for themselves (and making excuses as to why they don’t work). But rather than continuing to not realise our dreams, lets look at those past failures as an opportunity. An opportunity to question the Recipe, and determine if it was in fact correct in the first place. If you cook a meal and it doesn’t taste right, what do you do need to add next time, to ensure that it does?
So take a look at yours, have you missed a few key ingredients? Once you add them in, you may just find, you’ve hit on the perfect combination.
1. MAKE YOUR GOALS YOUR OWN
It’s easy to rattle off some goals, but are they really yours? We often choose the standard, vague, Join-The-Gym-Lose-Weight-Take-A-Holiday Goals, over and over again – after little reflection of what we truly want. Or mistaking somebody elses for our own. Telling yourself you are going to give up junk food or quit smoking ( because your partner keeps nagging you), will yield little to no result. Be true to yourself, about what it is you desire. You can create what you want, but you have to own it first!
2. KNOW YOUR VALUES
It’s the common mistake, in fact the number one Goal-killer – not being clear on what your Core Values are. The hierarchy of your Values will always dictate the outcome of your goals. For example, if your goal is to improve your health by losing 10kg - but don’t value time to prepare food, exercise and sleep – expect to struggle. If you want $20k in your savings account this year – but Money isn’t high on your values – expect to struggle. First clarify what your values are, reprioritise where necessary, and align your goals accordingly.
3. CHOOSE GOALS THAT EXCITE YOU (and a few that scare the absolute crap out of you!)
On setting them, ensure there is feeling behind them! After all, it’s the reason we want what we want, in the first place – because of the feeling it gives us. Consider also, that in order to truly grow and evolve, we need to continually push those boundaries. Step outside your comfort zone! What is it that excites you? Inspires you to act? Makes you grin foolishly whenever you think about it? If fear was not an option, and you had no other outcome BUT Success, what would you choose to do?
4. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
When you place an order – whether at a restaurant, or with the universe- you need to be extra specific on what it is you want. Saying “I want to lose some weight” is like ordering a steak and just hoping it’s cooked rare, how you like it. The clearer the goal, and the more defined it is, the easier you will attract it into your life. You’ll automatically increase your chances of reaching it. Aim for nothing in particular, and you’ll be sure to hit it everytime.
5. MAKE THEM MEASURABLE
There is no harm in dreaming big. In fact, I wholeheartedly encourage it! Limiting yourself, should never be an option. That said, being realistic about what is attainable is also important. The likeliness of you losing 10 kgs in 2 weeks (and keeping it off) is setting yourself up for failure before you’ve even begun. As I said – Defeating, Discouraging and Disempowering. Exactly what you don’t want to feel. Remember – you want to feel Empowered! The path along the way will be challenging, but there is no reason it shouldn’t be fun!
6. REWARD YOURSELF
I think you can agree, we all do better with a reward system. Even as a child, it was always fun seeing those nice shiny gold stars adding up for doing well. Choosing something to look forward to along the way, will encourage you to move towards your goals more easily. Associate the milestones with a reward, something that makes you feel good.
7. WRITE YOUR GOALS IN THE PRESENT MOMENT
You’ve probably heard me say this before, ” If it’s in your head, consider it just a wish. When it’s written down, it becomes reality “. Writing your goals down randomly is a great starting point, however it’s important we not miss the next crucial step. Now lets see…Eggs, Bread, Milk, Lose 10kgs, Join the gym… doesn’t tend to create inspired action. We’ve all been guilty of writing out goals, like we’re compiling a shopping list, but lets rephrase that 10kgs. “I am so happy and grateful that I will have dropped 2 dress sizes (to size 10) and be wearing a fantastic dress to my best friends wedding on April 10th”. Feel the difference? You want to be as descriptive as possible. Remind your subconscious that these goals are happening. You are in the process of creating them right now. Attaching Happiness and the feeling of Gratitude intensifies your craving for them, by bringing you into the present moment. At the end of this process you should be feeling pretty excited at thinking of what you are in the process of creating!
8. TAKE ACTION
I’ve mentioned it throughout this post. You can’t just write goals down and expect things to happen. This is the part most people forget. You can write it down, say the affirmations, but if you don’t act on it, you wont recieve. A good thing to always keep in mind, is the Be, Do, Have. In order to BE the person you want to BE, you need to DO the things that that type of person would DO, in order to HAVE the success that you want. So what type of person do you want to be? Inspired Goals will forever be the product of inspired ACTION. (Another reason why you need to have feeling behind it!)
So what exciting things have you written down for the coming months? Do you need to add anything to the mix?
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