Final Quarter Finish
Remember back at the beginning of the year when you pondered about where your life would head this year? How’s that working out for you? Often, as the days and months roll by, we find ourselves caught up in the “busyness” of everyday life, often causing us to lose sight of the hopes, dreams, and plans we set out to accomplish! I have good news for you! You are still here and you still have time to revisit and resurrect those goals!
It’s not too late to begin again. Here are 5 easy steps you can take to help breathe life back into your dreams.
Put pen to paper. Either adjust your original plan to fit your lifestyle, tweaking the schedule the parts that don’t drive you to action or scrap the whole plan in favor of one that is workable right now. Whichever way you choose to go, you must write it down. There are scores of human behavior studies that show time and time again the merits of writing down your vision and your goals. My last point on this particular best practice is to post your vision or goals in a place you will see it daily. Just seeing the agreement you made with yourself will help keep you accountable to it.
Take small steps. You may have set out to achieve a huge goal. Now go break that down into manageable pieces that you can tackle more easily. For example, perhaps you have a fitness goal to decrease your waistline by a couple of sizes. I don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty big goal. Keep the goal, but break it into smaller steps that you can visualize yourself taking and achieving. A couple of those smaller sub-goals could be, cutting out sugary drinks from your diet, and taking a brisk walk in the evenings after dinner. A huge contributor to your success is for you to see yourself actually achieving your goal; small milestones will help you get there.
Phone a friend. Create your Dream Team. Call on someone you trust and who will support you in doing what you say you want to do. You may also consider a small team of trusted partners to call upon during your journey. A support network is vital especially during those times you want to give up. These people can remind you of your greatness and ability to achieve your goals.
Celebrate. When you engage in the ritual of celebration, it impacts the feel-good endorphins in your brain. That feeling gives you an extra boost to keep going down the path to your ultimate goal. You should be celebrating each milestone achievement because it’s a big deal! Give yourself the credit you deserve for making it this far on your plan. Do something small for yourself to commemorate your achievement, like treating yourself to a movie date with a friend, heading to the golf course or lake for a little r & r, or losing yourself for an hour on Facebook.
Just Do It! Now get up, and go do and be who you say you want to be. The best-laid plans only happen by YOU taking action. Sometimes that just means getting out of bed and starting to move on your plan. Even the smallest of steps count. And before you know it 5 minutes turns into an hour. You will be amazed by the newfound energy and excitement you feel just by taking that first step.
You’ve got this! Now go out and be that rockstar you know you are!
For more insight like this and to get on our mailing list, contact Carrie Reed at carrie@mchalegroup.us. Visit our website at mchalegroup.us to get an accountability partner to help make your goals a reality.