At the beginning of the summer I let my kids choose a goal. I helped them brainstorm possibilities like reading an entire book, learning how to make their favorite dinner or being able to run a full mile . They picked learning to blow a bubble gum bubble. Ok I’ll take it. When we set this goal neither of them could even come close to bubble blowing and while I do have a Master’s Degree in Training, I must have skipped class the day we covered how to teach this skill. I am happy to report though, that school begins in only TWO weeks and these kids can blow bubbles like nobody’s business.
I love seeing them feel accomplished. They learned to do something that they weren’t positive they could do. They worked hard and didn’t give up and now they get to feel proud of themselves. They get to feel confident not only in their bubble gum tricks, but in their ability to learn a new skill and to accomplish a goal. That is an amazing feeling! I think it’s one of the BEST feelings you can give yourself! I LOVE that feeling and I love this reminder that I want to continue to feel that throughout my life. As kids we are figuring so many things out that these opportunities come up frequently but as adults I believe we should be creating them a lot more than we do.
I recently set some very big, scary goals for myself. They will defiantly push me outside my comfort zone. When I first set these goals I wanted to curl up in the corner and hide. That’s how I knew they were good ones. After going through this process I am so excited about them and making great progress already. I KNOW I will reach these goals because when some of the things I try don’t work, I’ll just keep trying new things until I get there and I’m not afraid of that. I know to succeed I’ll need to do a lot of failing along the way. This 6-STEP process has completely changed the way I set and tackle goals and it’s so simple!
If YOU want to set some goals for yourself please join me! Follow this process and get ready to rock your goals.
6-step Rock Your Goal Plan
1. Make sure your goal is SPECIFIC with regards to things like quantities, frequencies, and timelines.
For example: I will have an entire first draft of my book written by noon on December 1, 2014.
Then write it down and post it someplace where you will see it every day. Writing it down takes it from an imaginary dream state into reality. It’s really very powerful You’ve probably been taught to write down your goals before and I’m giving it an amen. Do it. Right now.
2. Consider how the goal makes you feel.
If you have little to no emotion about it, you should choose a bigger goal. If you feel super excited about it you’re ready to move to step 3. If you feel nervous, scared or any other negative emotion that’s ok! Totally normal in fact. Do a thought download. A thought download is when you write down all your thoughts on a piece of paper. Anything that comes to mind is appropriate…just write it all down. You may find thoughts like:
What am I thinking? I’ll never be able to do it. I don’t even know where to begin. Who will ever want to read it? What if people read it and think I’m a total loser? What if I embarrass my family members by writing about them? Or worse what if they get really mad at me? Also I’m not a good writer. Where will I find the time? But this is always something I’ve wanted to do and I know I NEED to tell my story. I know it will help people. I should just do it. If I don’t do it now I might never do it. But…seriously I just don’t know how. I wonder who could help me? I wonder if you can just Google that? I should go do more laundry.
You get the idea right… Do a thought download and you’ll find out very quickly why you’re feeling anxious about your goal. Now comes the fun part. Look over what you wrote and notice the thoughts you have that are shutting down your mind and causing you to hide from taking action. Instead, choose thoughts that EMPOWER you. Choose ones that make you feel capable and strong and excited about your goal. This idea of choosing the right thought sounds so simple but can be very challenging because not just any great quote from Pinterest will do. It has to be a thought that you believe. This is what my clients and I spend a lot of time figuring out. But it’s also totally do-able and will change everything when you find the right one. My FAVORITE one that helps me get excited about my goals is: Everything is figure-out-able.
Everything really is. I totally believe this. I tell it to myself anytime I catch myself thinking “This is hard,” or “I don’t know.”
3. If your goal is long term you will want to set some smaller benchmark goals.
4. Write down all the obstacles you have to reaching your goal.
For example:
– Time Management
– I don’t know a lot about proper writing style, or grammar. Do I just use Microsoft Word? I have knowledge gaps
– Etc… (you would keep going here!)
5. Once you have a list of obstacles write a strategy for each one.
This strategy is now your action plan. For example:
Obstacle: Time Management. Strategy: I will block out 2 hours every Tuesday and Thursday for writing. I will hire a babysitter for those two hours and go to Starbucks to write to be sure I get uninterrupted time.
Obstacle: Lack of knowledge. Strategy: Every Monday and Friday are learning days. I will set aside 1 hour each morning during the baby’s nap to do research on how to write a book. Each Monday I’ll brainstorm people to talk to, books, websites etc… and begin reaching out. Fridays are all about doing the reading or work of the learning process. As I learn more I may need to set some benchmark goals around what I need to learn and strategize how to learn it.
6. Get busy taking action toward your goal.
This is the part where you do it. If you find yourself avoiding taking action or not following through on your strategies, go back to step 2. Step 2 is the most important and it is the ONLY reason you aren’t taking action. It really is.
As you progress you will come upon new obstacles for which you’ll need to write new strategies. Some of your strategies will not work. Not at all. If you’re expecting it then it won’t throw you off track and when this happens, you’ll simply create new strategies. Remember that any goal that is truly worth it requires a great deal of work. The more you fail, the closer you are to succeeding.
OK Rock Star. This is your time. Please let me know what amazing goals you’re tackling this year and what happens when you try this process. Hearing from you would totally make my day.
Love your guts…
Jody
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