Self Care September Day Two: Set your goals, start now steps.
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” —Andrew Carnegie
I could literally write an entire book on effective goal setting and strategies and it’s importance on your success and overall wellbeing. This is a pivotal step in self care. Andrew Carnegie sums it up entirely with the quote above.
There are so many tools and steps to effectively setting goals. Whether its a goal for the next five years or the next fifteen minutes of your life. You have to know where you are going in order to travel there. Not all of life however is black and white.. you will find that even the best of goal setting and planning can get derailed. This is where you as a beautiful, unique being get to enjoy the moment, learn from it, and move on.
I digress. Check out these simple steps to goal setting so that you can get started right NOW!
Write it down.
Having your goals written down helps clarify, solidify, and prompt action. This act of doing by simply writing out your goals will combine your thoughts and intentions into tangible actions. They become strengthened and powerful. One of my all time favorites, JK Rowling, is a HUGE advocate of this step. Can you say Accio Success!
A great addition to this step is to put the written goals in a place you see it frequently. This will be a constant reminder and tool to allow you to focus and avoid distractions.
Simplify into Do-able Tasks.
This means breaking them down into easy, simple, and manageable tasks that can be done without too much headache each day. Consistently chiseling away at the mundane will slowly but surely help you create and accomplish that goal. This also allows you to really analyze and approach any hurdles with more ease and a more effective mindset.Be your own accountability partner.
These are your goals, and no one else can accomplish them for you. You are in charge of staying focused and disciplined. This simply goes back to.. how much do you really want it?
It’s okay to treat yourself. Pavlov’s in practice.
A reward system can be a really beneficial tool when used effectively. It can be built on the purpose of recognizing that you did a good job and have done what is necessary to reach a certain point in your plan. Second purpose it setting you up to accomplish more and more knowing there is something positive in the work done. Pavlov’s practicality.
Develop methods that work for YOU.
Setting and accomplishing goals is easier if you have habits and practices in place that are built around your strengths. This means having a method to your madness, I especially like to say this and use it in my own practice. Everyone is different and in some cases it might take a little while to figure it out. But as the old saying goes.. doing the same thing over and over and expecting results is insanity. Make your own madness work for you, not against you in accomplishing your goals.
