In our office safety meeting last month, I gave a presentation that included the following information:
Recognizing your sphere of control, your sphere of influence, and those things outside of both that you can do nothing about. Once you realize the only person you can truly control is yourself - and that is where you should put your energy, and you can make the distinctions of control and influence, you can let go of that which you can't control and focus on that which you can.
This will help with setting intentions and being able to achieve your goals.
Another thing that helps with doing this is being able to set realistic goals. Realistic goals follow the SMART model:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Results-Focused
Time-Bound
Examples I gave included losing weight, saving money, posting to this blog, and publishing a book or several books based on the my posts from 2012 to 2017. Each of those is broad enough to be considered an intention, until you apply the SMART model to it. We'll use losing weight as an example:
Intention: Lose Weight
Specific - how much weight? 20 pounds
Measurable - Did you meet your goal at the end? Are there milestones you can set/track?
Achievable - is this achievable during the timeframe set?
Results-Focused - Are you making progress toward your goal in the timeframe set? If not, what do you need to do to get back on track and move forward? Or, do you need to readjust your target?
Time-Bound - By when? December 2018
Once you've laid out your intention, and turned it into a goal (or goals, depending), then you can focus on the actions you need to take in order to work toward the desired result. Those are the concrete, measurable steps you can take and track in order to meet your goals. One foot in front of the other, as the saying goes!
Also, in order to reach your goals, you want to focus on reward, not punishment. You want to recognize your milestones along the way, and celebrate those successes. And, if you fall behind, you want to simply start again by getting back up and taking it one day at a time. If need be, reassess your goals and adjust them.
I will close this post with something I found on Twitter today, posted by Mindfulness Wellness (@HealingMB):
S - see your goal
U - understand the obstacles
C - create a positive mental picture
C - clear your mind of self-doubt
E - embrace all challenges
S - sacrifice free time
S - show the world you can do it
F - feed your focus
U - utilize all opportunities
L - learn from all failures
Coming up in future posts, we will talk about Manifesting Your Vision!
Until next time, Namaste!
Showing posts with label SMART. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SMART. Show all posts
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Sunday, April 27, 2014
MaXIMIze - Finances - Recap
This month we discussed examining our relationship with money - are we coming from a place of abundance or a place of lack in this area of our lives? Do we think money is a dirty word? We also discussed finances, like charity, begin at home - covering the basic needs first before going after the nice-to-haves. Finally, we discussed setting and achieving financial goals, touching on our previous discussions on commitment and follow through, Personal Prose, Values, Goal Setting, and the Five Whys, the Manifestation Board exercise, identifying and assessing roadblocks, and looking at what you want to harvest in the future.
Take-aways include:
Always come from a place of abundance.
Money - More Opulent Natural Energy, Yeah!
We have to take care of ourselves financially. If you need help in this area, get it!
Money is a tool, not a true goal.
Bless those who have wealth rather than cursing them; for in cursing those who are blessed, you curse yourself. ~ Financial Karma
Know the difference between want and need. Pare back to what you really need and then you'll be able to get what you really want.
It took time to get where we're at, so it stands to reason that it'll take time to get where we really want to be. By being diligent, persistent, and patient, we will get where we need to be in life.
By setting SMART goals and working diligently, persistently, and patiently toward them, we will make great strides down the path of MaXIMIzing this area of our lives!
Next week begins a new month and a new area of our lives to discuss - Physical Health.
As always, feel free to let me know what you think of this blog.
Until next time, namaste!
Take-aways include:
Always come from a place of abundance.
Money - More Opulent Natural Energy, Yeah!
We have to take care of ourselves financially. If you need help in this area, get it!
Money is a tool, not a true goal.
Bless those who have wealth rather than cursing them; for in cursing those who are blessed, you curse yourself. ~ Financial Karma
Know the difference between want and need. Pare back to what you really need and then you'll be able to get what you really want.
It took time to get where we're at, so it stands to reason that it'll take time to get where we really want to be. By being diligent, persistent, and patient, we will get where we need to be in life.
By setting SMART goals and working diligently, persistently, and patiently toward them, we will make great strides down the path of MaXIMIzing this area of our lives!
Next week begins a new month and a new area of our lives to discuss - Physical Health.
As always, feel free to let me know what you think of this blog.
Until next time, namaste!
Sunday, April 20, 2014
MaXIMIze - Setting and Achieving Financial Goals
Setting and achieving goals in the financial area of our lives is the same as setting and achieving them in the rest of the areas of our lives.
If faced with a mountain of debt, paying that debt down, let alone off completely, can seem overwhelming. It can be done though, one step, one payment, at a time, particularly if you've done the work I've challenged us with in the last two blog posts.
You may look at that mountain of debt and say, "I can't."
One of my mother's favorite phrases when I was growing up was, "Can't never did nothing."
I'm here to tell you Yes You Can!
It took time to get where you are financially, therefore it will take time to recover and get to where you want to be financially. If you are willing to truly commit and follow through, you can achieve financial stability and freedom.
Remember our discussion on Personal Prose? How are you talking to yourself about money and how you deal with your finances? Is it positive self talk or are you letting your inner critic run the show and shower you with negativity? Are you using your power words when you think about or talk about your financial situation?
Remember our discussion on Values, Goal Setting, and the Five Whys? Did you do the exercise of determining your core values and principles? How does the way you currently deal with your finances align with those values and principles? If the alignment is not there, what needs to be done in order to get in alignment with those values and principles in this area of your life?
Have you set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) goals in this area of your life, and if so, are you working diligently and persistently toward those goals? And - are you being patient in and celebrating the small victories along the way to reaching those goals?
If you did the Manifestation Board exercise, are your financial goals envisioned there? Can you clearly see where it is you want to be to attain a satisfaction rating of 8 or more in this area of your life?
Have you identified and assessed the roadblocks that may lie in your way to achieving your goals in this area? This includes the fears that you may have regarding this area - remember, we need to bring our fears out into the light and shake hands with them. By recognizing and acknowledging them, we can work through them and move toward MaXIMIzing our lives in all areas, not just this one.
And last but not least, what are you sowing in your financial garden right now? What do you want to harvest here in the future?
By really looking at and working through all these questions and developing and working toward SMART goals, you can move down the path toward MaXIMIzing this area in your life.
Next week, we'll recap what we've discussed in this area and look at the topics for next month's discussion - until then, namaste!
If faced with a mountain of debt, paying that debt down, let alone off completely, can seem overwhelming. It can be done though, one step, one payment, at a time, particularly if you've done the work I've challenged us with in the last two blog posts.
You may look at that mountain of debt and say, "I can't."
One of my mother's favorite phrases when I was growing up was, "Can't never did nothing."
I'm here to tell you Yes You Can!
It took time to get where you are financially, therefore it will take time to recover and get to where you want to be financially. If you are willing to truly commit and follow through, you can achieve financial stability and freedom.
Remember our discussion on Personal Prose? How are you talking to yourself about money and how you deal with your finances? Is it positive self talk or are you letting your inner critic run the show and shower you with negativity? Are you using your power words when you think about or talk about your financial situation?
Remember our discussion on Values, Goal Setting, and the Five Whys? Did you do the exercise of determining your core values and principles? How does the way you currently deal with your finances align with those values and principles? If the alignment is not there, what needs to be done in order to get in alignment with those values and principles in this area of your life?
Have you set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) goals in this area of your life, and if so, are you working diligently and persistently toward those goals? And - are you being patient in and celebrating the small victories along the way to reaching those goals?
If you did the Manifestation Board exercise, are your financial goals envisioned there? Can you clearly see where it is you want to be to attain a satisfaction rating of 8 or more in this area of your life?
Have you identified and assessed the roadblocks that may lie in your way to achieving your goals in this area? This includes the fears that you may have regarding this area - remember, we need to bring our fears out into the light and shake hands with them. By recognizing and acknowledging them, we can work through them and move toward MaXIMIzing our lives in all areas, not just this one.
And last but not least, what are you sowing in your financial garden right now? What do you want to harvest here in the future?
By really looking at and working through all these questions and developing and working toward SMART goals, you can move down the path toward MaXIMIzing this area in your life.
Next week, we'll recap what we've discussed in this area and look at the topics for next month's discussion - until then, namaste!
Sunday, January 26, 2014
MaXIMIze - Values, Goal Setting, and the Five Whys
Last week we worked through the Circle of Perception, and now we are ready to do the work to move forward with MaXIMIzing our lives! Yes, we are going to talk about setting and achieving goals. First though, we are going to talk a little bit about values and principles.
Each of us has a set of core values and principles that guide our lives. We know when we drift away from these core items because we feel "wrong" when we do - something feels off, we may even go so far as to feel sick to our stomachs or have other physical manifestations, depending on how far we have drifted.
Why is this germane to goal setting, you ask? In order for us to be successful at attaining our goals, those goals need to be in alignment with our core values and principles.
In order to determine your core values and principles, think of ten ideals that you aspire to and/or that are important to you - things like honesty, integrity, faithfulness, honor, love, peace, just to name a few. You can Google values and principles if need be to find others.
Then, take that list of ten ideals and pick the top five that are most important to you. Now, narrow that list to three. You can even go a step further and narrow those down to the one value or principle that is most important to you, but that is not necessary for what we are doing today.
Now that you have your top three core values and principles, you can vet the goals you develop against them to see if the goals you come up with are truly in alignment with your core values.
And how you vet them is by asking the five whys - this is a deceptively simple method to get to the deepest reasons for wanting to achieve your goals. Here is an example of how this method works, as show by a comedy bit I wrote:
"Excuse me, but you're sitting on my hat."
"That's a hat. Oh, now I see...very cool. Can you tell me where I can get a hat like that?"
"Why?" (first one)
"If you tell me where, I'll tell you why I want a hat like that."
"Why?" (second one)
"The ladies like the look of a well-fitting lid."
"Why?" (third one)
"I don't know, Herby, now where'd you get that derby?"
"Why?" (fourth one)
"Because old chap, I need me a new cap."
"Why?" (fifth/last one)
"Because, some young cat took off with my hat, and that's that."
Yes, even when you are asking yourself the hard questions, and sometimes because it is you asking the question instead of someone else, there can be some evasion, however, if you keep asking why, you will get to the root of the issue and see if why you've set a particular goal fits with your core values.
Okay, on to the science of setting goals that are achievable!
Some of you may recognize the following acronym from the business world - yes, many of the tools used in the business world can be used in our personal lives as well (like the five whys).
S - Specific - answer the five Ws - who, what, where, when, which (how), and why.
M - Measurable - how many/much, when; be concrete, make it tangible.
A - Attainable - one step at a time; break goals down to the smallest steps.
R - Realistic - aim for something just out of current reach, but doable. Goals should not be low-hanging, easy to reach fruit, but rather the fruit in the higher branches - reaching for them will make you stretch and grow.
T - Timely- a saying I came across recently is: "Someday is not on my calendar." Set reasonable timelines - Rome was not built in a day, and neither was your life to this point.
By using the tools I've shared above, you'll be able to achieve the goals you set for yourself because they will be in alignment with your personal core values and principles and you will ask the questions and do the work to make them SMART goals as well!
Next week we will address manifestation boards as a tool to keep your goals visible. You may know them better as vision boards - I'll explain the difference!
Until then, Namaste!
Each of us has a set of core values and principles that guide our lives. We know when we drift away from these core items because we feel "wrong" when we do - something feels off, we may even go so far as to feel sick to our stomachs or have other physical manifestations, depending on how far we have drifted.
Why is this germane to goal setting, you ask? In order for us to be successful at attaining our goals, those goals need to be in alignment with our core values and principles.
In order to determine your core values and principles, think of ten ideals that you aspire to and/or that are important to you - things like honesty, integrity, faithfulness, honor, love, peace, just to name a few. You can Google values and principles if need be to find others.
Then, take that list of ten ideals and pick the top five that are most important to you. Now, narrow that list to three. You can even go a step further and narrow those down to the one value or principle that is most important to you, but that is not necessary for what we are doing today.
Now that you have your top three core values and principles, you can vet the goals you develop against them to see if the goals you come up with are truly in alignment with your core values.
And how you vet them is by asking the five whys - this is a deceptively simple method to get to the deepest reasons for wanting to achieve your goals. Here is an example of how this method works, as show by a comedy bit I wrote:
"Excuse me, but you're sitting on my hat."
"That's a hat. Oh, now I see...very cool. Can you tell me where I can get a hat like that?"
"Why?" (first one)
"If you tell me where, I'll tell you why I want a hat like that."
"Why?" (second one)
"The ladies like the look of a well-fitting lid."
"Why?" (third one)
"I don't know, Herby, now where'd you get that derby?"
"Why?" (fourth one)
"Because old chap, I need me a new cap."
"Why?" (fifth/last one)
"Because, some young cat took off with my hat, and that's that."
Yes, even when you are asking yourself the hard questions, and sometimes because it is you asking the question instead of someone else, there can be some evasion, however, if you keep asking why, you will get to the root of the issue and see if why you've set a particular goal fits with your core values.
Okay, on to the science of setting goals that are achievable!
Some of you may recognize the following acronym from the business world - yes, many of the tools used in the business world can be used in our personal lives as well (like the five whys).
S - Specific - answer the five Ws - who, what, where, when, which (how), and why.
M - Measurable - how many/much, when; be concrete, make it tangible.
A - Attainable - one step at a time; break goals down to the smallest steps.
R - Realistic - aim for something just out of current reach, but doable. Goals should not be low-hanging, easy to reach fruit, but rather the fruit in the higher branches - reaching for them will make you stretch and grow.
T - Timely- a saying I came across recently is: "Someday is not on my calendar." Set reasonable timelines - Rome was not built in a day, and neither was your life to this point.
By using the tools I've shared above, you'll be able to achieve the goals you set for yourself because they will be in alignment with your personal core values and principles and you will ask the questions and do the work to make them SMART goals as well!
Next week we will address manifestation boards as a tool to keep your goals visible. You may know them better as vision boards - I'll explain the difference!
Until then, Namaste!
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