A Boomer's Footprint

Tag: goals

  • 8 steps to create a new habit

    8 Sure fire ways to create a new habit:

    Are you determined to make this change in your life? The funny thing is that the word DETERMINED is what it takes to be successful.

    You must commit from your heart that you want to succeed. Some changes may require you to form a new habit.

    Our days are run by our habits – the time we wake up in the morning, the order we put on our socks and shoes, our regular driving routes,how we organize our work desk.

    This practice works for us because we don’t have to think about how to perform these regular tasks. Reaching this stage of “just doing” is the goal when starting a new habit. At first, we may have to remind, encourage and even force ourselves to do something we “say we really, really want”. But eventually you will succeed!

    1. Know your WHY. This is your desire. It includes a list of benefits you will receive from adopting the new habit. The reason must be strong and clear. The deeper the emotion associated with the desire to change, the greater the motivation, greater the opportunity for success. It will be your inspiration and motivation. Read this statement everyday to remind yourself why you are making the commitment.

    2. WHAT is your goal? Write it down. It should be detailed, measurable and include a deadline. Goals should be stated in the present tense. The brain believes that present tense statement is already true. So your brain will look for ways to make it happen.

    3. Use of powers of affirmations, visualization and meditation to keep you focused on your goal. Read your goal statement everyday to remind yourself why you are making a commitment to change.

    4. Commit to 30 days. Habits take at least 30 days to stick. By stick I mean become rote. This is a process of retraining the brain to adopt a new activity or way to do a task.

    5. Make it regular. Do your new habit the same time everyday. Consistency is the critical to make a new habit. Write it in your schedule and stick to it.

    6. Start with something simple. If you have a big goal, break it down into smaller steps. While it may take longer to accomplish the big goal, your will experience success along the way and not be overwhelmed at so big a challenge.

    7. Plan ahead. If your goal requires props, have them ready to use before the scheduled time to do the task. Don’t waste time “Getting Ready”, then run out of time to do the activity.

    8. Accept a bump in the road. Be realistic about having an immediate success. Accept it if you miss a day. Do not use it as a reason to quit. For your first goal, choose something which you have a good chance of
    accomplishing. You want to have a success right away.

    Good Luck.

  • Setting goals

    Once we have decided on our big change, it is time to set the goals to make the change happen.

    One popular method to set goals is S.M.A.R.T.

    Specific – This part focuses on the five W questions:
    • What – what exactly do I want to accomplish?
    • Why – list the specific reasons benefits of accomplishing the goal
    • Who – who is involved in the process.
    • Where – identify the location
    • Which – identify requirements and constraints

    Measurable – How will you measure the your success of reaching your goal? Use this tool to stay on track and remember it is okay to adjust your goal as you evaluate your progress.

    Attainable – What are the actions are necessary to achieve your goal? As you set your goals you may need to develop new attitudes and skills to be able to achieve them. By breaking down bigger goals into smaller steps may enable us to make progress.

    Relevant – How will my goals help me to achieve my big change? Don’t become distracted by efforts that are not aligned with your desired result.

    Time-bound – Set one or more target dates for completion. This “by when” deadlines, dates and frequency.

    Write down your goal on a device, index card, calendar – keep somewhere it is always visible and you can refer to it daily. Taking a step everyday may ensure you best success.

  • Time management

    How many times do we say and hear others say: “I am so BUSY.”

    Life can easily become overwhelming with over commitments, work schedules, household chores, and maintaining relationships.

    So we often say – I don’t have the time as an reason or excuse for not getting things done.

    There are solutions.

    (1) Learn to say NO. Be sure you want to do something before making a commitment. Is the activity one that will bring you
    Closer to your goals and dreams. It is truly how you want to spend your time.

    (2) Prioritize your tasks. We often spend the majority of our time on the more unproductive tasks. Determine what task will provide the best results.

    (3) Spend quality time every day on your priority – even 10 minutes a day can be effective. This type of commitment works well with achieving fitness goals, cleaning up messes, preparing home cooked meals, even just sitting down and reading a book.

    (4) Eliminate time wasters. To constantly check emails, texts, and Facebook messages is very distracting and unproductive. Test yourself – using a timer determine how much real time is spent on a computer or cell phone.

  • Procrastination

    One of the more common obstacles is procrastination. Procrastination can be a hard obstacle to overcome, especially if it has become a life long habit.

    Procrastination – according to Wikipedia – refers to the act of replacing more urgent actions with tasks less urgent, or doing something from which one derives enjoyment, thus putting off impending tasks to later time.

    “I am going to start putting things off starting tomorrow“.  Sam Levenson

    What do we gain by procrastinating? Unfinished tasks do not go away and if they are in our visual sight can be a constant reminder of failure.

    Procrastination can create stress, a sense of guilt and crisis, a loss of personal productivity, frustration, lack of self-confidence, or social disapproval for not meeting deadlines or responsibilities.

    So why do we procrastinate:

    We don’t love doing the activity
    FEAR – we want to avoid the unfamiliar
    We are not competent to do the task
    We underestimate the time frame the task requires
    We believe we must be in right mood to do the task
    We are unorganized
    We believe we need the task to be perfect
    We don’t see the reward by completing the task
    There is an underlying issue – eg. we must make an uncomfortable decisions, etc.

    Here is one quick tool to overcome procrastination.

    Start by doing something that gives you a sense of accomplishment.

    Take a small step, such as:

    – as a health goal –  10 minutes of stretching or walking, cooking a pot of soup

    – as a personal development goal – writing in your journal every day

    – as a personal time goal –  working in the garden, calling a friend

    – as a mess goal – straightening up a room, reading back magazine issues

    What do you need to complete?

    Choose an activity which you have enjoyed doing in the past.

    –The point is to just get started on a consistent, regular basis.

    When you complete your goal, pay attention to how you feel.  Is there an improvement in your mood?

    Reward yourself for achieving a success. Make a list of the daily accomplishments in a journal. It helps us focus on how many things we DO.  Read through it daily, smiling as you recall success.

  • Overcoming Personal Obstacles

    Beliefs, fears and doubts are not the only things standing in the way to achieving our goals and dreams.

    Our past circumstances and outcomes do not have to impact our chance of  attaining success today. We all have had experiences,
    which have challenged us. It is probable that obstacles will surface in the future.  This is the nature of life. We live, we learn and
    we move forward with a positive spirit and belief in our abilities to create the life we want and deserve.

    We do this by making small changes each and every day in our lives to minimize our action and reactions to the obstacles we face
    and by making  better choices for today.

    This next section of the program includes 10 weeks of overcoming obstacles.

    Some of the topics are:

    • cleaning up messes
    • procrastinating
    • not delegating
    • non-working relationships
    • managing time
    • work environment
    • disorganization
    • our physical environment

    Don’t freeze and panic thinking about what it will take to change our environment and work habits.  Changes do not happen overnight.  This is why throughout my program I encourage you to take small steps, making progress 10 to 15 minutes a day will get the job done.  What is crucial is to get started and stay consistent with your efforts.

    Begin today by making a numbered list of all of areas in your life which need fixing or improvement.   Be honest and complete. If your list is 100 items long, so be it.  At least now you know. Writing things down, makes them real and your list will give your a starting point.

    So far mine are:  20 unread magazines, stacks of mail, saved reference articles to read and file, a full hallway closet, unfiled folders, disorganized clothing shelves, and more.  If you have similar projects you are not alone.

    Let’s commit time this summer while enjoying the good weather and late nights to also take steps to improve our life.

  • Positive Thinking

    We are beginning the next chapter of the Kelly Coach blog and online coaching program – using positive thinking, affirmations,
    visualization to achieve our goals and dreams.

    Positive thinking is a mental attitude that looks at life on the bright side, seeing a glass as half full rather than empty. A positive mind anticipates that good things will happen with favorable results and successes.

    Positive thinking begins with self talk. Our mind is constantly processing our own thoughts as well as the deluge of media input we receive on a regular basis. Why is it harder to focus on the good ones rather than the bad?

    There are so many benefits from thinking positively:
    – Increased life span
    – Lower rate of depression
    – Better psychological and physical well-being
    – Fuller enjoyment of life
    – Ability to bounce back quicker from setbacks

    Let’s move forward to align our beliefs, thoughts and emotions so that we can attract more of what we want in life.

  • Lessons from Failures

    Our beliefs and past experiences have shaped who we are and what we do in the world.

    Some of beliefs are limiting or simply not true for us any longer. Yet we may still cling to them, acting on them, and hoping for a different outcome in the end.

    Our past experiences created results, which may not always be what we desired.

    In either case, we may have encountered failures from our beliefs and actions.

    Past failures are not an indication of what successes we can achieve now. Let’s look at our failures as learning experiences.

    We know there are lessons to be learned from failures and until we learn them we will continue to repeat the actions over and over again with the same result. Only when we get the lesson can we achieve a different outcome.

    We all have experiences we keep repeating in relationship, our spending habits, our health choices.

    Try this exercise to learn a new lesson from a failure:

    Step 1 – write down specifically what was your goal

    Step 2 – list the action steps you took to achieve the goal

    Step 3 – list the actions steps which were successful
    –what did you learn from them

    Step 4 – list the actions steps which were not successful

    Step 5 – list why these actions did not help you reach success

    Step 5 – brainstorm – write down several alternative actions you could try next time.

  • Keeping a Journal

    Journaling is a powerful tool to help you achieve your dreams. You have the right to the best possible life you can lead! When you start journaling, you begin to take charge of your life, your plans and dreams.

    Journaling is simply the act of writing. When you write down thoughts, it makes them real.

    Our mind is so cluttered, full of thoughts and outside input. How can we believe that keeping our plans and dreams in that mix will actually make them happen?

    For example, we can walk into a room and immediately forget why we went there.

    So, let’s not trust our mind to be responsible to implement the vision and goals we have. A few benefits of journaling are to:

    -1- Map out a dream
    -2- Free your mind from replaying the same tape loops
    -3- Solve problems
    -4- Gain a different perspective on a issue
    -5- Use a third party perspective to analyze a problem
    -6- Separate statements which are emotional, rational, from reality
    -7- Keep track of  progress
    -8-  Self expression
    -9- Brainstorm
    -10- Tell stories
    -11- Reveal your fears and doubts
    -12- Acknowledge your success

    To get started with your journal –

    First, choose and decorate a journal, notebook, or tablet. Make it yours. Enter your name and date in it.

    This is my binder cover for worksheets.
    This is my binder cover for worksheets.

    Second, set up a comfortable writing space where your journal lives.

    Third, Commit to a time to write.

    Fourth, remember, there is no grade, no critiquing, no correcting necessary.

    Fifth, let your words and ideas flow freely in your book.

    And finally, use your journaling experience on your path to achieving your dreams.

    Next week, we will create our biggest dream.

  • 6 Simple Steps to Make a Change

    “The only constant in life is change.”
    -Albert Einstein

    As you read this blog post, think about these simple steps to make a change.

    We are creatures of habit.  If we do not know what will happen in any given situation, we can go into a negative, fearful place.

    When we commit to change we are moving outside of our norm, our comfort level, our routine.

    The good news is change allows us to embrace about new possibilities, new blessings, open new doors, and to stay current with changes which are happening around us anyway.

    When we take time to review our life, there can end up with a long list of changes to make.  Pick one and get started. Six simple steps to make change happen are:

    -1- Stay focused – maintain a single minded focus until we reach our goal.  Choose only one item to work on at a time. Be very
    specific about what you want to change.  Write down your goal, post it where you can refer to it every day.

    -2- Be clear about your motivation – Make a list of the benefits you will receive when you complete your goal.  Write them down, posted it where to can read it every day.

    -3- Get started – Choosing one goal map out an action plan. Break this goal into smaller step.  Schedule some time each day, even 10 minutes, to work on your task.

    -4- Track you progress – This is a great use for your journal. Keep track of your actions.  Note what is working, and what is not. Both sides provide valuable insight for you.  You can create a checklist or calendar schedule with the daily tasks. Post your notes where you can see them every day.

    -5- Do not quit – It is common to run into a setback.  Do not let these obstacles derail you from reaching your goal. Think about what your goal – why did you get side tracked. Write about it in your journal for further study if necessary, and pick up where you left off from your plan.

    -6- Celebrate your victory – Plan your reward for success. Why not, you worked for it.

    Good Luck!

    In two week, we will empower ourselves to have, be and do all that we  deserve in life.