Desires - Dates - Deadlines

8 skills I learned about setting Goals.

WHAT YOU GET BY ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT YOU BECOME BY ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS - Zig Ziglar

As December rolls on by once again, it seems that it gives us that urge to think of the new year and setting new year's resolutions, that let's face it most of us never keep to for more than a week or two at best. If like me you no longer call them resolutions, now we've become super sophisticated and we call them goals, which pretty much equates to the same thing, just as hard to comprehend and just as easy to give up on by the first week if we don't plan them correctly.

Over the years I have read more books than I would care to admit to on the subject, I have watched even more youtube videos on the subject from teens to seniors and everyone in-between, Creative spreads, financial gurus,spirituality monks, inspirational leaders, they all inspire us to set goals and make plans, but for me they all seem to miss that one ingredient - how. How the heck do we actually set goals? what is the recipe for setting a goal and completing the task in hand?

I am what we call in the second half of my life and I had never set any goals in life up until now, so you can imagine my confusion that this was even a 'thing". Up until my teens I was focused on doing what my parents guided me to do. Mid teens to early twenties I was working out what married life was all about, Mid twenties to early thirties working out motherhood and taking care of three energetic daughters, thirties to forties dealing with teenage drama and then the big bang occured and I awoke and suddenly realised that holy cow half of my life had been spent living the dreams and desires of other individuals that I was sharing my life with.

What of mine? Did I even have dreams and desires? Where did those years go? Was I even a part of those years or had I just been swept away with a rolling snowball that we call life? Enter goals, dreams, desires, resolutions - label them as you chose but apparently we should be creating and using them to plan our lives since we were conceived in the womb, so I'm a little late to the game - or am I?

And so the journey began. I have read the manuals, bought specific journals, enrolled on courses, surfed pinterest, got square eyes from watching instagram posts and yes joined the facebook groups all in an effort to find out what this goal setting thing is all about, however I still struggled until I finally put all of that away and worked out my own strategy for goal setting, maybe my findings might just help you to discover an easier way to set and achieve your goals , dreams and desires.

1. The first skill that I learned was from Mr Jim Rohn. Very simple but it works. Clear the room of clutter. Light a scented candle if that's your thing, play soothing music, meditate if necessary, do what you need to do to calm your mind. Clear your desk, kitchen table or wherever you are going to write. Grab a notebook or a scrap of paper and a pen, no other distractions are necessary. Write a list of every dream, wish or desire that comes to your mind. Set a timer for 30 mins, keep writing until that timer ends. Write about relationship desires, business goals, spirituality, health, finance, family, travel , hobbies. purchases. The list can be endless or short if you prefer there are no rules just write, let your mind empty onto your paper.

2. With your list complete, beside each item on your list write the number 1,3,5 or 10. These numbers are significant, this is the time frame you expect to complete each goal, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years or 10 years from today. I can hear you shouting already, you have too many goals to complete all at once which is great. We are not going to do every dream on your list right now. This is your master list . We only work on a small portion of the list at any given time. As a rule of thumb I chose one goal from each area of my life that I want to work on, once I achieve that then I look to my master list for inspiration for the next period of goal setting.

3. Re write the goals that you plan to work on for this year. A separate page for each goal. Use your goal as the title for that particular page, for example "READ 20 PAGES OF A BOOK EVERY DAY."

4. Below your title - create an action plan. Not a complex method and risk assessment, a few short lines no more than ten outlining how you plan to read those 20 pages in this example. So perhaps - Light a scented candle - set a timer for 30 minutes - chose a book- set aside time for reading every day - turn all mobile devices off for reading time- tell family not to disturb me for 30 minutes daily.

5. Create a to do list for each goal. This is a list of anything that you might need to enable you to carry out this challenge. It could be purchasing the book, it might be creating a space where you can read without distraction, anything that is required to make this goal a success and prevent you from creating excuses as to why you can't complete it.

6. Set reminders everywhere possible, on your phone, a sticky note on your PC screen, kitchen notice boards, work stations, wherever necessary to remind yourself that you must complete a task today.

7. Set yourself mini achievable tasks that get you one step closer to your main goal. This may sound like too much effort but it will be worth it in the long run. Each of these mini tasks once completed will give you a sense of accomplishment and motivate you to follow through to complete your goal and take you another step closer to the best version of yourself.

8. S.M.A.R.T - Specific- measurable- achievable - relevant - time bound. Please do not set goals that are impossible to achieve right now. If we set goals too far outside our current abilities we set ourselves up for failure. That is not to say the dream house on the beach can not be achieved, of course it can but we have to work up to that point. Be specific of what you are aiming for, set a time frame, make sure it is achievable within that given time frame and believe in yourself, you will be amazed at how much you will actually achieve by following the path to your dreams.

xx Lei

A GOAL PROPERLY SET IS HALF WAY REACHED - Zig Ziglar