***** Positive Thinking, Happy Living

How is your year so far? After good momentum from New Year's resolutions, and 4 months of hard work, it's a great time for a healthy review of action steps and results. This renewal process will help you curb tendencies towards burn out, and help you refocus on the path to success.

But First, Ban the Inner Critic!

In order to have fun while you conduct an effective review and renewal of your goals, first silence the Inner Critic - that negative inner voice that dishes out guilt for all the things you should have done, could have done, or forgot to do.

An article by the Editor

I asked a friend, “whose year is this”? “I don’t know” was his innocent reply.

This year belongs to no one but every one. 2012 is a great year for those who have decided to make it great for them. They have great hopes, great goals, great enthusiasm and great motivational power to make this year the greatest year of their success.

While each person is different, and each goal is different, still one principle is applicable to any goal you are trying to accomplish, from losing weight, to starting your own business, to cleaning out the clutter, to writing a best seller.

*This principle is GOAL - STRATEGY - ACTION.* (Those of you in management will recognize this as a version of Strategic Goals, Tactical Goals, and Operational Goals).

For our purposes, Goal is a broadly defined target such as 'buy a house'. No particular house or market value, etc. is established at this point.

You’ve been talking about pursuing your dream since high school. You’ve been stuffing a file with places you’d like to travel since you got your first job. You’ve envisioned what your boutique store would look like for years, even driving around searching for the perfect location, yet you’ve never taken that next step.

So, what’s stopping you?

In my coaching with clients they regularly share the obstacles that are stopping them from moving forward. At least fifty percent of the time, these items are perceived, not real.

"A goal is nothing more than a dream with a time limit," says Joe L. Griffith. Great idea! Does having a deadline improve your work habits? Many folks get so much more done when they are clear about when it has to be completed. Why not do this with the things you want most in life?

When you set the bar, you know you can move it. The trick, then, is to make the commitments you make to yourself as important. or, even, more important. than the ones you make to others. For some, that's a revolutionary idea!

"The Best way to predict the future is to create it"

Possibly your most valuable resource in achieving all you set out to do in life is time. Without an effective and reliable means of managing your time and making the best use of it you will struggle to get what you want. There are many techniques for effective time management and so knowing what will work for you is important.

When it comes to your plan and the goals outlined within it, setting yourself up for success is important right from the start. Having the best intentions is not what is going to get you to your final destination. The only way you will get to where you want to go is to take action.

Developing some good daily habits can be very beneficial when it comes to keeping you on track with your plans and following through.

The Secret to Achieving Your Goals

I heard an interview a few days before writing this 'tip of the week' where the man being interviewed said "There are three kinds of people "thinkers, walkers, and talkers..."

It made me stop and think and I believe the reflections are worth sharing.

In reality, there are probably more like a billion kinds of people on this planet. I've never been a fan of
categorisation and black and white questions about "what kind of person are you".

However...

The vast majority of us have been raised with a couple of important "truths" etched into our subconscious mind: that you have to get yourself a good education to be a success and that you have to work hard to be a success. These are myths that enslave the normal person. Then again, even a cursory glance at the abundance of psychological evidence stretching back over many decades will enlighten you are to just how enslaved the normal mind actually is. Our minds are crammed with "truths" that, on closer examination, turn out to be utter nonsense.