by KDMiller | Jan 3, 2019 | Personal Development
“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”
~ Paul Valery
I’ve spent a few days writing about goals (not resolutions that usually get broken by February.) But our goals really start out as dreams, right?
If you’re someone who hasn’t spent much time goal-setting, or you’re someone who tries tackling too many goals and only accomplishing a few or none, then I’d like you to take a few steps back.
It’s time to dream and the start of a new year is the perfect time for it!v
Grab a notebook or blank piece of paper. We’re going to borrow Warren Buffet’s 5/25 idea, but not in its entirety. Write down 25 goals. Don’t categorize them, just write. Review your list and circle 5 that you want to focus on this year.
Now choose 1.
For that one goal, get another piece of paper, but one without lines. Draw the outcome of reaching that particular goal.
For example, if you’re a writer who wants to publish a book, you might draw yourself being interviewed by someone you admire.
Remember the details. What’s the name of your book? Is the interviewer holding it for all to see? Where are you being interviewed? When did the interview happen? Use color to make your dream come alive on the paper.
This final step is really a matter of preference. Some people like keeping their drawing somewhere they can always see it. Others tuck it away.
What’s important is doing the exercise because now the outcome is planted in your brain. It’s a seed waiting to be watered. How do you water it?
Every time you do something related to that dream, your seed becomes stronger.
Let’s look at the writer, again. Maybe you’ll take a writing class. Maybe you’ll join a critique group or attend a conference where you learn how to pitch your idea. Those actions are fertilizer and water for your seed.
All of the actions you choose to take can only be done when you wake up.
by KDMiller | Jan 2, 2019 | Happiness and Well-being
“There’s a myth that time is money. In fact, time is more precious than money. It’s a nonrenewable resource. Once you’ve spent it, and if you’ve spent it badly, it’s gone forever.”
~ Neil A. Fiore
Schedule the critically important events. What does this mean?
Simple. Schedule those things that relate to your audacious goals. If your family isn’t included, then make sure you add time for them. If you don’t have a family, but you do have friends then fill in that gap and schedule time for them. If you have both, juggle.
Why? Because we need to pursue those activities that fill our soul, and we also need positive, healthy relationships while we do it.
No one lives or succeeds in a vacuum. That would be lonely.
by KDMiller | Jan 1, 2019 | Personal Development
Never mind goal-setting for now. Let’s focus on something a little easier.
What are three things you’re looking forward to doing in 2019? These can be anything.
Are you going to attend a conference to further your learning? Will you start a business? Will you read one book every month? Spend more time with a specific person? Create a morning ritual?
A new year is all about possibilities, dreams, and visions. By February, it’s about whether or not you’ve begun to execute any of the tasks necessary to propel you toward your three things.
So, look forward. Move ahead. It’s not too late to —
Crack that whip
Give the past the slip
Step on a crack
Break your momma’s back
When a problem comes along
You must whip it
Before the cream sits out too long
You must whip it
When something’s going wrong
You must whip it
Now whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It’s not too late
To whip it
Whip it good
Devo
That’s your ear worm for New Year’s Day!
by KDMiller | Dec 31, 2018 | Happiness and Well-being
Authenticity means erasing the gap between what you firmly believe inside and what you reveal to the outside world.
Adam Grant
It’s time to welcome a new year! A new year is an exciting time filled with fireworks, parties, conversation, and hopefully, laughter.
But, why?
Why do we get so enthralled by the ushering in of the new? How different will your life be tomorrow?
Unless you’ve made some decisions to make it different today.
Have fun with family and friends. Say goodbye to the plans that didn’t work, the relationships that caused heartache, and the hand you played in all of it.
Tomorrow is a new beginning.
What are you going to do to make it great?
by KDMiller | Dec 30, 2018 | Personal Development
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.
Henry Ford
A new year is just around the corner. What resolutions are you making? Out of curiosity, what’s your success rate at keeping them? Mine was always horrible.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of resolutions and haven’t made any for years. I prefer spending the months of November and December assessing the current year, and then plotting a course for the next one.
Here’s a strategy you can borrow (’cause years ago I’m fairly certain that I borrowed it from someone else.)
- Assess the current year. What were your big wins? What didn’t you actually make time to do? Hint: Drop those. You had all year. Unless something extraordinary happened or will happen in January, whatever that was isn’t a priority in your heart.
- Choose no more than 3 big goals. Honestly, this is a random number, but having too many goals causes you to spread yourself thin. And, in the habit realm, too many changes make one change virtually impossible.
- Write your big goals down, each on its own paper. Title it something fun like, “My BIG Audacious Goal.”
- Then, and this is critical — ask yourself these questions:
- What baby steps can I take to reach my goal by the end of the year?
- Whose help will I need?
- What’s my “if, then” plan for those days when things aren’t going the way I’ve hoped?
- How will I track my goal?
- Who will help hold me accountable to reach my goal?
- How will I handle setbacks?
- How will I celebrate my small successes?
The key to achieving big goals is breaking them into bite-size pieces that you can gnaw on until they go down smooth.
References:
Mindtools (n.d.) Eight common goal-setting mistakes. Retrieved December 30, 2018, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/goal-setting-mistakes.htm
Tedx Talks (2012). Forget big change, start with a tiny habit. BJ Fogg at Tedx Fremont. Retrieved December 30, 2018, from https://youtu.be/AdKUJxjn-R8
