Tag Archives: goals

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Start Your Engines….And Your Calendar

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stick_figure_holding_checkered_flag_400_clr_3917I learned several years ago that I needed to write down everything that happens – AS IT HAPPENS.

Instinctively I knew this because as an ER doc I’ve seen many people hem and haw when asked about when this symptom started or how long they’ve had something. They simply don’t know. And in medicine it gives us an idea of the seriousness of an issue or even helps with the diagnosis to know things like incubation periods etc.

In life it’s very helpful for you to journal what happens. You can see your progress and you can even see the obstacles in your way.

“But I’m so busy” you say. How to get around that? Most people use a calendar of some sort. I have an old faithful computer program that I simply love. I can put appointments (or events) in the calendar so that at a quick glance I can tell what’s coming up and what has happened.  I can also open that date and add notes to my heart’s content. There is also a section for journal entries. I can store my whole life there.  Even if I write down symptoms and never use them, that’s great. But if I have to talk to a doctor, then I know what’s going on and how long it’s been going on, etc. I can be more informed and take a greater part in my care.

Why do I care? Because at the end of the year at the very least (and usually I like to do it at least every six months if not quarterly) I can look at this calendar, see what’s happened to me and I can calculate how much progress I’ve made in my life and how the various Universal Laws have impacted my life. I can look to see if there are things I’ve done (and even emotions I’ve felt if I’ve recorded them – another good reason to use a journal) that I would have liked to do differently. I can see progress or lack thereof.

“But it’s the middle of the year and I haven’t done anything to this point. I guess I’ll just wait to start at the first of the year.” – WRONG! Start now. Get those engines going right this minute.

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What’s YOUR State of the Union?

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US CapitolI have to admit that I do NOT watch, listen to or read any political stuff and avoid discussions of such like the plague. Until they have a good news or just all news program, I will continue to simply scan one or two internet news pages to make sure I know important things happening but that’s it. All the negativity simply pollutes my mind and attitude.

But I did know that last night was the annual State of the Union address by the President of the United States. I also know that it’s a bunch of word and ideas of what the President “would like” to accomplish – remember, though, that there are both houses of the government that have to approve any action so good luck with that.

Two things struck me as useful in this whole event, though. And they both apply to you and my designation that this is the Year of You.

The first is that everyone should create their own State of the Union “address” every year – it should be a summary that includes:

  • Where were you in January last year – and I don’t mean geographically unless that’s important in your life (such as if you had a significant move later in the year). I mean look at last January and see where you were emotionally and spiritually. Were you busy making resolutions or instead, outlining your goals (like we did in our Define and Conquer program which is available online) and your plan of action. Or were you just plodding along ‘same ole, same ole’? Were you feeling excited about the upcoming year or dreading it? Look back at your calendar or journal or diary if you have any of these. Look at your emails to see what you wrote to your friends or even what purchases you made that would impact living your life for the rest of the year. When you do your taxes, use this information to take inventory of the various months.

What happened during the year – what was planned that happened, what happened that you didn’t plan? Write these things down. Did things happen that you weren’t expecting or planning for that turned out great or turned out not so great.  Did something occur that you thought was pretty horrible but when you look back on it now you can see the good things that came from it? That happens to me all the time – especially when I’m willing to look at it as an event, without being held hostage to my emotional ties to that event.

Where are you now – at the end of the year or at the beginning of this year? What’s your emotional state right now? What’s your spiritual state? What’s fulfilling in your life and what’s missing? You can add whatever you want to your own State of YOUR Union address. I encourage you to write it down – you can use bullet points or you can write it all out like a speech writer would. But put it down on paper and keep it.

  • The second thing about the presidential address that struck me as pertinent to all of you was his declaration that this should be the “Year of Action”. He said “”What I offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up iStock_000016019519Smallgrowth…..”. In order to make this The Year of YOU, you have to take action. You have to plan for action. Stop just dreaming or wishing. Stop staying that it’s not meant to be or that other people are lucky and you’re not. It’s not about luck, it’s about planning and taking action. Your next writing assignment after the State of YOUR Union should be to write down your goals and what you really want to achieve this year. What are you aiming for – and aim high – it shouldn’t just be something like “I want to be happier”. That is too vague for your subconscious to embrace. If you said that doing x, y, z (and they are specific items) would make you happy then that would be ok.   I’ll give you one example of my own that is only partially good. I am focused this year on completing the 315 mile trek across Tennessee in July. I have this dream in my mind almost constantly when I have any idle time at all. Can you figure out what’s wrong with this goal? I’ll give you a hint – it’s one event. It’s over in July and I haven’t even thought about what I’m going to do or want to do after that. That is not good. It’s what happened to me when I graduated from medical school. I had wanted to be a doctor since I was four and all I ever did was directed toward that goal and it took me a long time. But I had not really thought about the after. So the day I graduated my only feeling and thought was “what now?”, “is that all there is?” and that was NOT a good place to be emotionally. That’s why we have to build on our goals and keep them coming. We set and revise the goals as we go on. But the most important thing is to be specific about what you want to do and achieve.

Then you put down your plan of action! In order to achieve these goals you have to take action and you should plan it. What are you going to do when or by when? Write these things down!Then, of course, you have to actually take the action – you have to get rid of the fears that you’re not good enough or you can’t succeed or you don’t deserve this, etc etc. It’s time to get out of the emotional hostage situation! Get yourself a negotiator – a coach.

So, start write now and state the intention to get at least your state of the union address written by this coming Sunday. Then set yourself another goal, perhaps the following Sunday, to have put down where you want to be by December of next year and how you’re going to get there. Take 2 or 3 weeks to outline your plan of action.

If you’re interested in another live Define and Conquer type program this year, let me know either by email or by posting a comment here! Now get to work!

Terrie

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What’s Your “Nyad”?

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Figure out what’s inside of you – what’s there that you want to accomplish, what’s there that you’ve been dreaming about for years, what are you passionate about? That’s your “Nyad“.

You can adopt that phrase to represent something deep inside you that you really want to accomplish. It’s most likely something that you’re not ready to announce or even tell your significant other yet. Perhaps it’s still in the gestation period and you need to nurture it some more.

Today is the day to start ‘watering’ and nourishing your “Nyad”.  Consider using “The Passion Test” to help you with this.  It’s a great story and the test is actually pretty quick and easy – plus it’s YOURS and you can also refine it as you go along.

If you’re not happy or are feeling like something is missing in your life, this is the place to start. There is a “Nyad” buried deep in each of us. Most of us are afraid to admit it – even to ourselves. But you don’t need to be afraid to find it my dream isand cherish it and smile to yourself. Keep it to yourself because it’s still fresh and vulnerable and all those well-meaning folks around you will try to “protect” you by convincing you that your idea/dream is “really stupid” or “you can’t do that – when are you going to have the time to do that?” or “What? You’ve got to be kidding, right?”. This is a pretty normal reaction from folks around you and it’s the easiest way to set yourself up for failure or derailment. So keep it to yourself until you have firm plans in place.

If you don’t have the Passion Test and want to get started right now, start writing down exactly what your ideal life will be like. What will you be doing or being or what will you have? These are not goals, they are processes.  Take that first step today. What is it you REALLY want? Look deep inside. What’s been there nagging you all through your working to “make a living”, “raise a family”, “be a good spouse”, etc. We put off what we want for so long and for so many other reasons that it’s time we just said – “hey, this is really what I want to do with my life and I’m going to start pursuing it now”!

Do NOT allow yourself to be stopped by the fear or wonder of how on earth you’ll be able to pull this off. The Universe will provide the way and clear the obstacles for you.

Will you start making that list today? I am. Share below if you like – ideas on this topic, not necessarily your dreams (yet).  If you want to be bold, you certainly can share your goal!

Terrie

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PN (Post Nyad) Day 2 – What Did You Do Differently Yesterday?

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joshbillings130930_m-resizedThis could be “PN” or “PD” (post Nyad or post Diana) – it doesn’t really matter. I just want to continue reminding you that your dreams are yours. As one reader commented though, they don’t all have to be physical. Diana Nyad’s achievement was not so much about endurance swimming as it was about the human spirit and she knows that and has tried to get that message across to all of us with her “three messages” and “Find a Way”.

So look at your day and do something different to get you going in a different direction. “That’s easy” you say – well, it’s not so easy. We are creatures of habit and that’s a safety measure built into our survival mechanism. We have to make a conscious effort to change things up. So pick one small thing to change and then do it. From my own experience I recommend you have alternative “changes” – all of which are small. Why? Because one might not pan out and if you have other options to pick from then you are more likely to actually do something instead of staying in the same rut and then spending the rest of the day or night chastising yourself for not doing it. We create more energy and “action” by criticizing ourselves for failure instead of looking at the situation and “Finding a Way”.

I’ll give you an example from yesterday for me. I decided to change up what I did when I came home. I planned on coming home and going for a run before my coaching call instead of just going to the grocery store to get One Stands Holding Change, Others Crusheddinner, coming home, eating it while reading, doing the call etc.

But as I was driving home, the same old pattern took hold and although I debated with myself with all sorts of “excuses” (it’s too hot, I’ll do it later etc), I ended up going to the grocery store first. So I “failed”, right? Not at all. First, I had thought about the habit/pattern and decided to make a change – that was definitely a different action/reaction than before. I was not operating as an automaton.

Then I “debated” which action I was going to take and why. Sure, most of the “whys” were excuses, not reasons …but – the key here is that I was thinking about it. Then I chose to NOT beat up on myself for not doing that ONE thing I had planned. I immediately looked for a different “change” to make (it would have been better had I come up with that option/alternative in the morning so I had some to fall back on but I didn’t and I learned from it).

So what did I do? I went and got dinner. But instead of eating it reading and watching TV, I ate it while sitting at my computer (instead of the recliner) going through and cleaning out my email. Was this the best course of action. Probably not – people will say I wasn’t “present” for my meal because I was multi-tasking and others will say it was still a waste of time. I disagree. All I know is that I felt good because I had done something different and had consciously thought about it. It was such a tiny little thing that would not be noticed by others. But my subconscious being sure noticed it and in this case it felt good – most likely there was no bad reaction from within because it was such a tiny change. You can’t make major changes right away. You have to work your way up to things.

Today’s action – take a look at your daily life  and routine and see what one tiny thing you can change that has to do with your dream. If you aren’t sure, yet, what your dream is, then just change something. See how it feels. Then keep going. Decide in the a.m. what you’re going to change. Then write in your gratitude journal (also can be called your success journal) about what happened. See how you feel and go from there.

Let us know what happened.

ONWARD – Find A Way!

Terrie