Are Your Goals Failing You?

For the past 5 years, one of my grandiose new years' resolutions is to run a 5k in less than 30 minutes.  I have walked/run three 5k's in my life, and my time is nowhere near 30 minutes.  So it seemed like a great goal to really push myself.  But the reality is that in 5 years I have made zero progress on this goal!  ZERO!!!

So in November of this past year I decided it was time to get serious about this goal.  I challenged myself to do a really tough (non-cardio) workout for 10 days in a row.  I completed that challenge and was feeling strong and confident.  So with all this momentum behind me, I decided it was time to re-introduce the treadmill.  I set a new 10-day challenge to do a 10-minute (yes - you read that right -- only 10 minutes) workout on the treadmill!  By the third morning, I couldn't even talk myself into doing 5 minutes on the treadmill.  The first challenge was a harder challenge to complete, but I had no trouble motivating myself to do it!  That's when I realized that I wasn't failing my goal, my goal was failing me!!!  I just needed to set a completely different goal!

About that time a friend invited me to go to a Jazzercise class with her.  I had never been to a Jazzercise class before, and I was pretty much hooked from the first session!  So what was my 1 new years' resolution this year?  To do Jazzercise at least 3 times/week.  Do I have any trouble motivating myself to go to Jazzercise?  No!  I am having a great time; I love how I feel all day after doing the workout (one week I even did a few extra workouts!).  My favorite part of doing Jazzercise is walking past the treadmill in my Family Room with ZERO guilt!

Two months into the new year, I am still going strong on my new years' resolution!!!

Is there a new years' resolution (or any other type of goal) that has been failing you all these years?  Maybe it's time to set a better goal for you!

Your Next Step is... Take Action!!!

"The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It's as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today.
The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer." ~Nolan Bushnell, Founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's

Right after my mother's death I was having a hard time being motivated.  So I started asking God in my prayers to "Show me the next step and help me have the courage to take it."  Most of us know what that next step is, but for whatever reason we don't have the courage to take the step.  I asked for them to be baby steps that I could easily manage.  Guess what?  If you take enough baby steps, then you still make progress!  In fact you make more progress taking baby steps in the right direction, then you do going full speed in the wrong direction!  You don't have to take massive action, just take that small action you feel inspired to take.

It may seem random and unrelated like cleaning out a certain closet.  But while cleaning out that closet you may find something that helps you figure out the next step, or a thought may come to you while you clean out the closet, or having the closet cleaned out may take something off your mind and open up space for something else.

Don't waste your time and energy questioning the action step -- just do it!  And then ask what the next step is!  One of my husband's favorite sayings is:  "God can't steer a parked car."  So get moving and then let God guide you where you can be the most effective.

So ask yourself:  "What is one thing I can do in the next 2-5 days that will bring me a step closer to my dream/goal?"  Then go and DO IT!!!

The Best Expert on You is... YOU!!!

This week we are going to be focusing on how you are your own best expert!

Nobody knows your goals and dreams like you do.  Nobody knows what motivates you like you do!  No one else even knows what it's like to be you!  No one knows you like you know yourself.

You may not feel comfortable hearing that.  You may be thinking right now that if you really are your own best expert, then you are in big trouble!  Because you may be feeling a lot of confusion about who you are and what your dreams, goals, and aspirations really are!

Our mind plays tricks on us.  Its job is to make sure we stay safe, and the way that it keeps us "safe" is to keep us from changing.  So it works really hard to convince us that everything should stay exactly how it is!

So if you want to find out who you really are, don't try to process it through your mind.  Instead take out a pen and piece of paper and ask yourself questions such as:  What do I really want in life?  If I could do anything I wanted for a whole day, what would it be?  What are my three greatest dreams?  Would I rather:  1) learn and teach knowledge; 2) live and promote a peaceful life; 3) fill the world with as much love as possible?  (Or in other words, which motivates me more:  knowledge, peace, or love?)  If I were to live my dream life, what would my next step be?  What could I accomplish in the next 3-5 days that would take me a step closer to discovering who I really am?

Write the answers to these questions - or any other questions you think of.  Keep writing until you have nothing else left to write.  If you are having a hard time coming up with something to write, then ask yourself the question "If I did know the answer to this question, what might it be?"  If you still can't think of anything, then go on to a different question.  You may be surprised at some of the answers you write!

Come back here and share your experience with this exercise!

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify!!!

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo da Vinci

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." ~Confucius

Simplicity is my theme for 2011!  There are so many areas of my life that have become cumbersome and weighed down. I have repeatedly taken 5-year plans in various areas of my life and attempted to achieve them in 6 months or less!  Besides feeling like a complete failure, it is very tiring to live your life like this!  So this year I am simplifying and congratulating myself and celebrating every achievement -- no matter how small it may seem!

Sometimes the very act of simplifying can seem overwhelming.  So I have been doing it in bite-sized chunks -- very small bite-sized chunks!  I found this great 21-day challenge through a friend, and it really helped me tackle a little at a time.  I'm not through the 21-day challenge yet, but I am making progress!  Every time I purge a closet, I can feel myself breathing more freely.  Go here for the 21-day challenge

Another obvious place where I have simplified is with my new years' resolutions.  Usually I make grand resolutions -- extremely impressive!  I'm pretty sure that if I ever were able to accomplish all my new years' resolutions in any given year, I would unanimously be crowned Queen of the World.  In other words, it is not even humanly possible to achieve some of my grandiose goals in a single year!  Now I follow the motto:  Better to succeed incrementally than to fail impressively!

I chose one new years' resolution this year.  Today is January 25 and do you think I have abandoned my resolution?  Oh, no!  I am jamming on it!  I feel like a rock star!!!  Now that this new years' resolution has become a habit, I am ready to add in another resolution.

Actions and Reactions

To every action there is an EQUAL and OPPOSITE reaction!!! Even though I know this, I have often forgotten it! So when I have taken an action -- and the equal and opposite reaction pops up -- I end up putting my energy into trying to stop the reaction, and I lose all progress in my action. It's really important that we keep our energy and focus on the ACTION (what we're trying to create) instead of in the opposition that pops up.

I am reminded of Nehemiah in the Old Testament. Nehemiah was an Israelite who lived in exile in Babylon and served as cupbearer to the king.   At Nehemiah's request, the King gave Nehemiah the authority to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city. However, not everyone was happy with this plan.

Fearless, Nehemiah did not allow the opposition to distract him. Instead, he organized his resources and manpower and moved forward rebuilding the city.  But as the walls of the city began to rise, opposition intensified. Nehemiah’s enemies threatened, conspired, and ridiculed. Their threats were very real, and they grew so intimidating that Nehemiah confessed, “They all made us afraid.” (Nehemiah 6:9) In spite of the danger and the ever-present threat of invasion, the work progressed.

As the work continued, Nehemiah’s enemies became more desperate. Four times they entreated him to leave the safety of the city and meet with them under the pretense of resolving the conflict, but Nehemiah knew that their intent was to do him harm. Each time they approached him, he responded with the same answer: “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down.” (Nehemiah 6:3)

What an amazing response! With that clear and unchanging purpose of heart and mind, with that great resolve, the walls of Jerusalem rose until they were rebuilt in an astonishing 52 days.

If we are not facing any opposition, then it means we need to start taking action!  As we face opposition we need to do as Nehemiah and "do our great work, and not come down" to engage the opposition. It's important that we keep our energy moving forward in our ACTION so that we can keep progressing and so we can do our part to create miracles in our lives!

Excitement Trumps Fear -- Every Time!!!

This summer I had an amazing opportunity open up for me.  I had put a major goal in my Life Vision statement, and I knew that the right teacher would show up at the right time to help me with this goal.  The right teacher showed up at the right time, but when it came time to make the decision to work with her, I was scared!!!  My fears were blocking me big time!  I wasn't afraid of the monetary investment or the time I would need to put into this goal... I was afraid of the inevitable success that will follow!  This new teacher told me my life would be completely different 12 months from now, and I knew she was absolutely correct!

But part of me was very excited about this opportunity.  After all, I had set the goal and expected this very thing to happen.  It will take me so much closer to living my life 100% on purpose -- in short, it's everything I want!

So why the fear?  Because our minds like to play tricks on us!  Our minds like to keep us away from change and to keep us "safe."

So I immediately went to work clearing out the fear and really, really building up the excitement in my mind!  The more excited I got, the less fearful I became.  Every time I felt the fears creeping back in, I would focus on all the great things that would come out of this opportunity, and I got really excited again!  And the fears disappeared again!

Is there a fear keeping you back from something you know will be really, really good for you?  As you get closer to the goal, do you feel the fear become almost paralyzing?  Then get really clear about your motive -- why did you want this goal in the first place?  Get excited about your goal and watch the fears disappear!

Power of Intention

I set a goal for myself this summer.  I was really excited about it, and I spent a lot of time mentally preparing for it.  But now that it's time to do the work that will lead me to my goal I find myself waffling and wondering how committed I actually am to the goal.  I should probably mention that this is the third or fourth time this year I have set the same goal, and each time I have abandoned the goal because of my lack of commitment.

So I found myself a bit frustrated that I was running into the same wall I've been running into all year.  I was on the verge of abandoning my goal when I said to myself, "If I were my own client, what would I tell myself?"  That's when I realized that my first question as a coach would be, "What exactly is your goal?  What are you really trying to accomplish?"

I had been changing my goal depending on my mood and how much effort I wanted to expend towards achieving the goal.  I had broken the very first rule of goal-setting:  Write it down!!! This is not a new concept to me, and it probably isn't a new concept to you either.  But I still try to cut corners sometimes...

So I took a bright yellow piece of paper (so I couldn't possible miss it) and I wrote:  "My intention is:  to _________ by August 2, 2010" and I promptly taped it to my bathroom mirror.  I now have a very clearly defined goal that I can't just change because I don't feel like sticking to my plan for the day.

Intention is defined as an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions; an aim that guides action; a course of action one intends to follow.  It's the seed you plant so you can water it, nourish it, and harvest it.  Without a clear intention to guide your actions, there really isn't anything to act on, or nourish, or eventually to manifest.

I am happy to say that instead of abandoning my goal once again, I am now on track to reach my goal on or before August 2, 2010.

What goals are you currently working on?  Have you defined your intention and written it down and posted it where you can easily see it?