| January 15th, 2007 |
Focus On Goal Setting and Action Plans
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Greetings!
How are your New Years Resolutions working for you?
This months newsletter is a challenge for each
of you to stop making resolutions and start setting
BIG goals and developing action plans. There are
lots of tips in here that I guarantee will find you successful with personal
change. You simply need to apply the tips to your life.
I know that you will enjoy this newsletter.
I sure enjoyed writing about goals and actions!
Have a wonderful day.
Ann
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In this issue:
• Goal Setting or Resolutions? A BIG Difference.
• How to Write Goals and Develop Action Plans
• 10 More Ideas for Success
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Goal Setting or Resolutions? A BIG Difference.
Happy New Year!
As I look forward to the year 2007, I think about my
accomplishments from the past year and consider my
goals for the New Year. I don’t make resolutions on
New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. Instead I write
long range goals, short term goals and then develop
action plans for achieving these goals.
A Simple, but Big Difference
Resolutions usually focus on fixing something that is
not working. What motivation can be found from a
negative thought or response?
I must lose weight! This year I will lose all the
weight that I have gained over the past year.
There is nothing exciting or empowering in this
resolution. Instead it is a negative response to
something that is bothering you – what the scale is
saying, how you look in your clothes, or worries
about health, for example.
Goal Setting and Action Plans
Goals are about creating your future and then making
behavioral changes to reach those goals. They build
upon what is working right in your life and making
your life even better and better each day.
Goals
I am in good health today. My long range goal is to
maintain this good health and to live a long and
healthy life. One of my short term goals for health
this year is to eat even healthier than I am already
eating.
Actions
One of my action steps is to eat breakfast every
morning, so that I start my metabolism early. I will
also check the refrigerator and shelves each Sunday
to make sure I have the right ingredients for
breakfast and allow myself the 10 minutes it takes to
make and eat this breakfast each day.
(By the way, mom and dad, I can hear you saying
hooray as you read this).
My Challenge to You
Take the time, today, to put a few goals in writing.
They don’t have to be huge and they don’t have to
be new. Just think about what you want to do this
year, put your thoughts in writing, make a plan of
action for achieving at least a portion of one goal
and revisit your goal often. Better yet, hire a life
coach to help you think through what you want and
how you will get what you want. I love my coach’s
help and believe that you will, too.
Have a wonderful 2007.
Ann
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How to Write Goals and Develop Action Plans
Setting Goals and Action Plans
Here is a simple way to start changing behavior that
will lead to achieving a goal. Pick one area of your
life that you want to improve. Write a goal,
brainstorm a few actions to achieve that goal and
work the plan.
Step One Writing a Great Goal – 3 Simple Rules
State your goals in the positive
Don’t write what you won’t do, but what you will do.
See yourself as the person who is successful. Keep
the word "no" out of your goals.
Add specifics
General goals are a great start, but adding details
such as “when”, “where” and “with whom” gives you
a better chance of success. Consider adding “why”
achieving this goal will make a difference in your life.
Believe that you will achieve
Positive thinking and affirmations are powerful
change tools. Knowing that you are capable of
achieving your goals through positive thoughts and
reminding yourself through affirmations are great
tools for success.
Step Two Action Steps – Brainstorm and Select
Action steps are plans for success. What steps will
help you to move closer to your goal?
Select one of your goals and write it one more time,
powerfully and positively.
Write all the ways you have already thought of to
make your dream come true.
Next, write for at least 5 more minutes and write
down all the ways you have never thought of before
to achieve that goal. Be outrageous, be practical,
and just let these ideas be new ideas.
Step Three Action
Pick one action and select a date to start. Select
the action that fits best with your life, one that
sounds right to you. It could be a small action or it
could be a large action. Just pick one.
Add in an accountability plan – a checklist, a journal,
sharing daily with a friend, anything that will
motivate you to keep moving forward. Finally, decide
if it is working for you. If it is not, don’t
give up, instead try another one of the action steps
that you have already brainstormed.
My Challenge to You!
I challenge each to set one goal this week, write an
action plan and start working. I would love to hear
about your goals and action plans. Please share
them with me at Ann.
Happy Goal Setting!
Goal Setting and Action Plans: A Workbook for Life Design
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10 More Ideas for Success
1. Review your plan each day. What are your
big goals? What actions will you take today to reach
those goals?
2. Create a Visioning Board. Find visuals that
represent your goals. Post this in a place where you
will see it each and every day.
3. Share your goals with other people. Let
people know what it is you want. You will find most
people will cheer for you and your dreams.
4. Post your goals. Put post-it notes on the
mirror in your bathroom. Tape a card on your
computer top. Just post them somewhere that you
will see them everyday.
5. Commit to at least one action every day.
This will guarantee that you take at least 365 action
steps every year.
6. Find yourself a goal partner. I use my Life
Coach to share my goals with and this really helps
keep me on track.
7. Set a timeline for accomplishing a goal. Do
the same for your action steps.
8. Celebrate along the way. Every time that
you complete an action, congratulate yourself and be
grateful for that one action.
9. Be patient with yourself and remain
positive. Never kick yourself for what you have
not done; instead remind yourself of your goal and
keep moving forward.
10. Start small or start big. If it feels
overwhelming, go smaller. If it feels too easy, go
bigger. Any step you take is big. Everyday you
accomplish an action you are one step closer to
achieving your goal.
I KNOW that you will have success with goals and
action plans. Just go for it!
Once again, Happy New Year!
Read about Celebrations and Gratitudes In My December, 2006 Newsletter |
