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Article by Jo Della Penna
We are all familiar with the tradition of setting annual resolutions as we enter in a fresh New Year. As the past year closes, we look forward with hope that this year is somehow different, where it happens and we get the results we desire.
However, setting goals should be a regular exercise throughout the year, not just at the New Year.
I never quite understood why people wait until New Year's to begin to move towards their goals. All we have is today, so if there is something that you desire, start working towards getting it now - don't wait!
No matter if you are setting the typical New Year's Resolution or setting goals at some other time of the year, here are a few basics that have helped me not only achieve my goals, but often times surpass them.
Deciding what you really want is the first crucial step to achieving anything.
What is a stumbling block for many entrepreneurs I coach is they feel overwhelmed with all the things that they want. They feel like they have to find a way to fit it all in their already overly busy schedules.
Follow these simple steps and you will learn to set resolutions that get results, without being overwhelmed.
Pick the Top One:
After you have listed all the things you desire, pick the top one that is most important to you, the one that you want more than any other. This should be the one that will have the most positive impact for you, when it's achieved.
When we try to accomplish many things at the same time, we end up getting nowhere fast. We run around in circles, often accomplish little or nothing at all and we exhaust ourselves in the process.
Pick one, once you accomplish that, you will pick the next - and so on - so don't worry.
Write that one goal on a separate piece of paper and paint the picture of it already accomplished. Describe how you feel, what your surroundings are like, what does it smell like when you see yourself having reached your goal. List as much detail as possible. If it helps, find a photo or words that represent your goal.
Make sure you write it in the positive state and in present tense as already accomplished. Put it on a card so you can have it with you everywhere.
I often state, "I am so happy and grateful now that...," before describing my goal.
Daily Review:
Now, this is a very simple and extremely powerful, yet often an under-utilized step.
At minimum, take a moment each morning and each evening to review your goal. Read the card aloud and as you read it, visualize yourself having reached it. Feel the feelings, smell the smells, hear the sounds.
Do NOT think about the "how" it will happen. The "how" will present itself as you progress forward. The fact that you desire to have your goal is indication enough that the way to achieve it exists.
To speed up the process, take a moment several times during the day to review your goal.
As W. Clement Stone stated, "What the mind of a man can conceive - and believe - it can achieve."
Setting your sights on your goal and reviewing them daily, you are programming your mind to conceive and believe, which will ultimately lead you to achieving!
Follow your Promptings:
After you have decided on what you want to achieve and now you are reviewing them daily, there is a final step that many miss in the process.
Following your promptings requires less logic and more listening. Listening to your intuition, your gut, or as I often call it, your "divine guidance."
I found it most difficult for me, because I tend to think too much. I would be caught up in analyzing all the reasons I should or should not act, all the "what-ifs" and many times, talk myself out of stepping forward.
Over the years, I have sharpened this skill with the help of my coaches and mentors. Getting help to overcome your negative mind-chatter is one of the biggest benefits of hiring a coach or mentor.
As a result, amazing things have shown up to help leap me forward towards my goals. Many times, they would be unforeseen and unexpected scenarios.
It may show up in thinking about someone you feel compelled to call, that turns into a fabulous business opportunity.
It may be an associate calls you last minutes to attend a business function that you end up being introduced to someone you have been wanting to interview for your next book.
Or, and this happens to me often, you get an email from someone needing a speaker for their organization whose previous speaker canceled, where you end up picking up more speaking engagements and a new client or two.
So, this year, instead of writing a laundry list of goals you want to achieve, pick one - the most important to accomplish first.
Focus on that one goal, review it daily and follow the promptings along the way. You will be astounded at how quickly you see results and what you will be able to accomplish by the end of this year!
© 2008-2010 The Business Of You, Inc.
Jo Della Penna
We are all familiar with the tradition of setting annual resolutions as we enter in a fresh New Year. As the past year closes, we look forward with hope that this year is somehow different, where it happens and we get the results we desire.
However, setting goals should be a regular exercise throughout the year, not just at the New Year.
I never quite understood why people wait until New Year's to begin to move towards their goals. All we have is today, so if there is something that you desire, start working towards getting it now - don't wait!
No matter if you are setting the typical New Year's Resolution or setting goals at some other time of the year, here are a few basics that have helped me not only achieve my goals, but often times surpass them.
Deciding what you really want is the first crucial step to achieving anything.
What is a stumbling block for many entrepreneurs I coach is they feel overwhelmed with all the things that they want. They feel like they have to find a way to fit it all in their already overly busy schedules.
Follow these simple steps and you will learn to set resolutions that get results, without being overwhelmed.
Pick the Top One:
After you have listed all the things you desire, pick the top one that is most important to you, the one that you want more than any other. This should be the one that will have the most positive impact for you, when it's achieved.
When we try to accomplish many things at the same time, we end up getting nowhere fast. We run around in circles, often accomplish little or nothing at all and we exhaust ourselves in the process.
Pick one, once you accomplish that, you will pick the next - and so on - so don't worry.
Write that one goal on a separate piece of paper and paint the picture of it already accomplished. Describe how you feel, what your surroundings are like, what does it smell like when you see yourself having reached your goal. List as much detail as possible. If it helps, find a photo or words that represent your goal.
Make sure you write it in the positive state and in present tense as already accomplished. Put it on a card so you can have it with you everywhere.
I often state, "I am so happy and grateful now that...," before describing my goal.
Daily Review:
Now, this is a very simple and extremely powerful, yet often an under-utilized step.
At minimum, take a moment each morning and each evening to review your goal. Read the card aloud and as you read it, visualize yourself having reached it. Feel the feelings, smell the smells, hear the sounds.
Do NOT think about the "how" it will happen. The "how" will present itself as you progress forward. The fact that you desire to have your goal is indication enough that the way to achieve it exists.
To speed up the process, take a moment several times during the day to review your goal.
As W. Clement Stone stated, "What the mind of a man can conceive - and believe - it can achieve."
Setting your sights on your goal and reviewing them daily, you are programming your mind to conceive and believe, which will ultimately lead you to achieving!
Follow your Promptings:
After you have decided on what you want to achieve and now you are reviewing them daily, there is a final step that many miss in the process.
Following your promptings requires less logic and more listening. Listening to your intuition, your gut, or as I often call it, your "divine guidance."
I found it most difficult for me, because I tend to think too much. I would be caught up in analyzing all the reasons I should or should not act, all the "what-ifs" and many times, talk myself out of stepping forward.
Over the years, I have sharpened this skill with the help of my coaches and mentors. Getting help to overcome your negative mind-chatter is one of the biggest benefits of hiring a coach or mentor.
As a result, amazing things have shown up to help leap me forward towards my goals. Many times, they would be unforeseen and unexpected scenarios.
It may show up in thinking about someone you feel compelled to call, that turns into a fabulous business opportunity.
It may be an associate calls you last minutes to attend a business function that you end up being introduced to someone you have been wanting to interview for your next book.
Or, and this happens to me often, you get an email from someone needing a speaker for their organization whose previous speaker canceled, where you end up picking up more speaking engagements and a new client or two.
So, this year, instead of writing a laundry list of goals you want to achieve, pick one - the most important to accomplish first.
Focus on that one goal, review it daily and follow the promptings along the way. You will be astounded at how quickly you see results and what you will be able to accomplish by the end of this year!
© 2008-2010 The Business Of You, Inc.
Jo Della Penna
Entrepreneur, Coach, National Speaker and Author, Jo Della Penna publishes The Business of You E-Zine with over 1,500+ subscribers. If you're ready to jump-start your business, make more money, and have more joy and excitement in your life, get your FREE tips now at www.TheBusinessofYou.com.
