last month, I wrote about goal setting and how it was important to keep you goal setting 'SMART'. Can you remember what the five main point where?
You need to keep you goals:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Realistic
- Timing
If you haven't set any goals yet and you want to, then you may want to return to Newsletter for November and continue on from there.
I've set out a few tips that will help keep you motivated during moments where you need a little booster, when you feel that you are procrastinating, you have fear over some aspect of your goal or you are near giving up.
Understand the costs of taking action or not taking action - People set goals without clearly thinking about the obstacles that could pop up. Therefore, once any obstacle appears they fall at the first hurdle and give up. If you are finding that you are meeting obstacles, take a moment to focus on your goal. Consider what obstacles could appear along your journey and what options are available to you to overcome these challenges or obstacles. Remember your core reasons for setting the goal for yourself.
For example, if you want to lose weight but find that you are procrastinating visualise what your life would be like in 6 months, 1 year, 3 years etc if you continued along your current path (i.e. not exercising or eating healthy), then visualise what your life would be like if you continue working towards your goal. How does this visualisation make you feel - chances are that life looks much better when you are working towards your goal. Use this positive feeling and visualisation to keep you focused on the results of your goal.
If you slip up along the way, start tomorrow with a clean slate - Life may throw you some challenges along the way and you may have bad days. This doesn't mean that you have to give up. If you slip up then you dust yourself down and start afresh the next day. Don't feed into the blame or shame or be hard on yourself. Any challenge is an opportunity to learn something. Ask yourself what did the challenge mean to you, what triggered your reaction or what could you do differently next time?
Share your goals with your friends and family - People you care about you will help support your goals, tell people what you are doing. You may even find that they have set goals too - you could provide support to each other and share your successes with each other also.
Mark the small success/achievements you have along the way - Keep a diary or mark down your achievements along the way. This way you can see how far you have come. You can compare where you are at from one month to the previous month - see how much you have achieved. Mark these achievements with a treat - a bath, a cd, some flowers, candles or your favourite coffee.
Think positive. Squash those negative thoughts. Monitor your thoughts. We have over 60,000 thoughts per day and we are not aware of most of them. Start listening. If you hear negative thoughts, stop them and replace them with positive one.
Commitment - Make a commitment to yourself in relation to your goal. Write down 'I make a commitment to ______________ and I believe I can _________________.
Give yourself time and be patient - I know this is easier said than done. We live in a culture where many people expect quick results. You see the ads for losing 2 stone in a week or flat stomach in 4 weeks. The current culture is looking for instant gratification. If you plan to run a marathon you are unlikely to start training 2 weeks before the event. It is better to build up slowly and steady. In relation to your goals it is better to think long term because you can always be happy with the progress you have made to date.
Visualisation is a great NLP tool. For this exercise you will use it as a technique to create what you want from life i.e. your goal. The brain doesn't know the difference between what is real and that which is imagined. So by using this technique you are helping yourself to establish new neural pathways in your brain. The exercise only takes 10-15 minutes and you will notice the difference if you continue to do this every day.
Find a place that is comfortable for you to sit. Relax and close your eyes. Imagine that there is another you in 'front of you'.
The other you has achieved your goal.
Imagine what you'd look like, feel like, sound like, having achieved that goal. Look at the other you see what she/he is wearing, how you stand, talk, breathe, how you feel, what has changed, what have you achieved, notice any actions you took to get there and how you handled any challenges.
If it isn't quite how you want it, make any adjustments necessary that will make achieving that goal feel absolutely magnificent!
When you are satisfied with the other you, I want you to step into that other you, looking through your eyes, hearing through your ears. Notice how it feels to achieve your goal and feel so good to live the life you dreamed. Notice your new perspective of having achieved your goal. How are things going to be so much better now? Take a minute to daydream about how your life will be difference as you achieve more and more of your goal(s).
For the next few weeks act as if the other you is really you - and notice the difference.
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