fbpx
Category

Goals

Jan 24
Love0

Goals and Choices

By Blogpost, Goals, habits

Images

 



Every single action you take, and every single action you don’t take, is a choice. So when you get down to it, the process of achieving your goals is just a series of choices.
 

We often think that we don’t have choices about certain things that are out of our control. Well, sure we do. We can choose how to react. We can choose how the situation is going to make us feel. We can choose to be the victim, or we can choose to learn and become stronger.
 

Take a look at your goals all the way from top to bottom: from the moment of achievement to where you are right now. And right now, based on the time line you’ve set for yourself, based on the intermediate goals and the sometimes mundane and boring-as-hell things you have to do along the way, realize that you have choices. You can choose a happy, enthusiastic attitude that makes even boring, repetitive tasks enjoyable. Or, you can choose to view them as drudgery. Which attitude is going to move you toward your goal? You can choose to do the things that make you shake in your boots with fear. Or, you can choose to take the easy route and give up. These are obvious choices.
 

But keep in mind, we do a lot of things by habit. They’re the actions (or thoughts!) that we’ve done or thought a zillion times. They’re so much a part of us that we don’t use any conscious thought at all and we still manage to get them done, the same way as always, while our brain is engaged with other things. Seriously – think about how you towel off when you get out of the shower. It’s exactly the same order of body parts, every time! Or when you sit down to work: you have a little ritual, and you probably don’t even know it. Do you start working without checking your email? Can you start working without that hot cup of coffee in front of you? When you think about something that worries you, your thoughts also follow very predictable, tried-and-true patterns. The thing is, even though these actions and thoughts are so habitual they’re subconscious now, they are still choices.
 

So it’s a good idea to examine just how you do things, and how you think, for a day or two. You may find that certain habits are actually counterproductive. And even though you do them without even thinking about them, you have the choice to take control and do things (or think) according to the best interests of your goals! Try towelling off a totally different way tomorrow. Try mixing up the order in which you do things at work. Bring awareness to what you do.
 

If you *have* to check your email before you start work, tell yourself, “I’ll check my email in one hour.” And then dive in and get to work. One hour isn’t critical, in the grand scheme of things and you can accomplish a LOT if you focus for an hour. Of course if your goal requires time-sensitive actions based on critical information you receive via email, then this example doesn’t apply to you – unless you also spend time on personal emails while you could be working on your goal!
 

One great trick to become aware of how you do things is pretend you’re observing yourself – as if you are an alien beamed down here from a far-away galaxy – and become fascinated with what this strange creature (you) is doing. The observer you (the alien) might say, “Wow, he always sips his coffee three times before he puts the cup down! How interesting that she always puts her left shoe on first! I wonder why he has to completely organize his desk every single day – what’s he looking for so urgently, every single morning? Why does she always do the easy stuff first and leave the hard stuff for later in the day when she’s tired?” I know, this seems like a silly game, but the more aware you are of your habits, the more you can change them if they interfere with your goal-achieving.
 

You have a choice – as with everything. The blue socks, or the black socks? The 10-minute phone call to a potential client, or 10 minutes on Facebook? The cheesecake or the sorbet? Ask yourself if your choices are getting you to where you want to go.
 

Inspired by a blog by Frank Purdy at www.goal-setting-for-success.com.

Jan 12
Love0

Are you ready for a 30 day weight loss challenge?

By Blogpost, Goals

Did you eat too much over the break?

Still carrying those few extra kilo’s?

Is shedding some pounds part of your New Year Resolutions?

 

Health & fitness is one of the most common goals people set, especially as a New Year’s Resolution.

The most popular health & fitness goal is “weight loss”. From the Biggest Loser TV show, to countless “Latest Diets”, Fat Pills, you name it – the weight loss industry is huge.

The information that is at one’s finger tips is endless. But that is all it is – information. What you do with this information is another thing. As we have mentioned before, setting goals is fantastic, but ACTIONING them is even better!

So – would you be interested in doing a 30day challenge to see if you can shed some extra pudding, burn those love handles, or blast the backside. But, not by yourself – no way – with 19 other motivated, focused, energized, ready to go people like yourself. People who are just like you – wanting to get started, or have started already – but looking for an “A” team to inspire, motivate, celebrate wins, learn from, plus loads more!

Excited yet?

Here is the challenge – jump on to the page http://goalstribe.com/join/loseweight and register your interest. You will then receive our ebook “Getting started – A quick guide in turning dreams into reality” Then once we hit 20 we will launch the tribe and get you going on the road to shedding the kilo’s. Yes, there is an investment – but it’s only $10. Small investment to have the support and motivation of 19 other motivated people.

Who’s in?

If you are one that likes all the details – that’s cool – drop us a line at info@goalstribe.com

Let’s start 2012 healthy, fit, and a few kilo’s lighter…

Jan 03
Love0

A great start in setting goals for 2012

By Blogpost, Goals

Do you want to know why less than 3% of the people in the world set goals and actually achieve them? “I don’t  know how.”

Yes, there is an art to setting goals and it’s not taught until we’re adults! But learning the art of goal setting will change your life. I know, that sounds like a tired old cliche, but it’s simple – if you don’t know what you want, how can you ever get it?

Here’s a short lesson on the art of goal-setting:

1. DREAM BIG. You know, deep inside, what your ideal life looks like. Your dream is there, probably buried under a whole mountain of “reality.” Take some time to write down everything you want to have – everything you want to be – and everything you want to do. Go wild with this! If you don’t plant the seed of possibility, you can be guaranteed that you’ll never reap the fruits. And who’s to say that a tiny seed you plant won’t grow?

2. SLEEP ON IT. Let your list lie dormant for a day, or two, or a week. But think about the things you’ve written. When you come back to the list  it’s with a simple question, the same question for each goal: Why? Why do I want this? If you can’t come up with a reason that makes sense to YOU, cross it off.

3. On the goals that are still left on your list, dig deeper to identify the real reason you want it:

  • Is it really MY goal? Don’t want something just because your neighbors have it. Or because some celebrity is it. Or because your family wants you to do it. Want it because YOU want it.
  • Is it in alignment with the higher good? In other words, is it the right thing to do?
  • Is it consistent with my other goals? Are they all taking you in the same general direction, or are they pulling you in opposite directions?
  • Can I commit to finishing this goal? Can I see it through to success?
  • Can I visualize myself having reached this goal?

If you can answer “yes” to all of these, it’s a worthy goal. Otherwise, cross it off the list.

You’ve narrowed your list to a few important goals. Now narrow it further, to identify the chosen few, the golden goals that really make your heart sing.

4. Dig even deeper for each goal. Will this goal improve your life, the lives of others, and will it make a difference in the world? Don’t feel bad if the Wave Runner isn’t something “that makes a difference in the world” – you’re allowed to have goals that are purely for pleasure (because in purchasing a “toy” you are benefiting the people who sold it, who manufactured it, who designed it, etc.). Essentially, does the goal make you feel good on many levels?

5. Take your goals, no matter their size or scope, and MAKE THEM SPECIFIC. Get down to the little details. Are you still passionate about them? It’s better to have a few detailed, exquisitely thought-out goals than a brain-full of fuzzy dreams.

6. Prioritize your goals in terms of short-range, mid-range and long-range. The ideal situation is for your short-range goals to support your future goals. Some goals are small – they teach you discipline, they boost your confidence, they give you quick gratification. Some goals are the big carrots that get you to grow and reach your highest potential. You may have to juggle your goals, working on some here while letting others sit before returning to them. That’s the art of goal-ACHIEVING, and that’s where I recommend working with a goals coach to help you hone the process.

***
Inspired by Zig Ziglar; blog found on www.goals2go.com

Nov 21
Love0

Work + Goals = Success

By Blogpost, Goals

Setting goals means that at some point you’re going to have to employ the dreaded “w” word – work. Goals don’t just happen. The best thing to do is change your attitude toward work. When work ceases to be “work,” we love it. The other side of this coin is that when laziness ceases to be enjoyable, we come to avoid it.
 
We humans are pleasure-seeking organisms. We always want to have the reward without the work. Unfortunately this is a very strong emotional impulse! It’s easy to give in today – but suffer regret tomorrow by being right where you were yesterday. It’s easy to justify laziness (we can talk ourselves into practically anything!), but if you want great results, you’re going to have to get tough with yourself.

Always remember it’s just as easy to cultivate good habits as it is to cultivate bad habits. The good habits are the ones that move you in the right direction. We (the pleasure seekers) tend to associated good habits with work, and bad habits with pleasure. But I hope you can see how destructive this is.

Think about your goals and get fired up again. Feel the passion. And then, give your goals a whole-assed approach! A half-assed approach means you’re “working” toward your goals by: doing the work that’s easy and fun, but only until you don’t feel like it any more; by justifying putting off certain tasks because you think they’re hard or unpleasant. Well, of course you know I’m going to say this – a half-assed approach is going to get you half-assed results! Engage both cheeks for best results!

  1. Set your standards high. Have some pride in what you do and really rise to your potential. Don’t waste your energy on busywork! Work in short bursts of intense focus rather than slogging through an entire day full of daydreaming, distractions and half-assed efforts.
  2. Do the work that showcases your talents and skills. Delegate the rest and don’t waste time doing things you’re not good at. If you’re a photographer who hates sitting at the computer editing and manipulating images and you think you have to do it all… why? In the long run it’s cheaper to hire someone who loves that sort of thing, so that you can focus your energies on what you love and what you’re good at – taking incredible photographs.
  3. Which brings us to point 3. As much as humanly possible, do what you love. Do a little more of what you love this week than you did last week. And next week, do a little more than you did this week. Ever notice that doing what you love doesn’t feel like work, even if it’s mentally or physically extremely demanding? It’s fun, right?
  4. Keep raising the bar. Don’t get complacent when you learn a skill. Improve on it. Set even higher standards for yourself as you progress.
  5. Commit to your high standards. Be selective about the company you keep, the situations you’re in, the work you do – if they’re not aligned with your goals, set them free.
  6. Embrace “kaizen” – the principle of continuous improvement. Work smarter, not just harder. “What can I do this time to improve on what I did last time?” Even small improvements add up. Do your best, and keep improving on that.
  7. Keep motivation and self-esteem high by delivering high value, and don’t be a martyr by giving more than you receive. The ideal is a fair exchange of value and compensation. Put yourself – your highest self – into your work and don’t reject receiving. This may require some digging into deeply-seated beliefs about scarcity, lack and self-worth. The easiest way to feel good about receiving fair compensation is to respect your work. Ask yourself, “would I buy this?” If you know you’re not doing your best, subconsciously you will reject abundance because of our hard-wired standards of fairness.
  8. Make a bigger contribution today than you did yesterday; and make tomorrow’s contribution bigger than today’s.
  9. Steve Pavlina said it best: “On the surface it may appear that hard work is in conflict with freedom. But the truth is that in order to extract real value from your freedom, you must make a serious effort. Freedom is a blank canvas. Hard work makes it a masterpiece.”

Working toward what you want, and doing work you love, does not feel like work. It feels like PURPOSE. That is the mind-set that will allow you to achieve great things.

***
Inspired by Steve Pavlina’s blog at www.stevepavlina.com/blog

Nov 08
Love0

How a Group is more Powerful than One!

By Blogpost, Goals

How have your beliefs shaped your attitude toward success?  Are you aware of the beliefs that sabotage your best efforts, even when you think you’re doing your “best”?

I’ve found that it’s far easier to identify and eliminate negative beliefs when you are in a group situation.  The reason for this is, that we are all so good at helping people solve their problems but not our own (think back to a time when you’ve helped a friend through any sort of personal crisis.)  We can see right through another person’s negative self-talk.  We hear what they say and we can point out that they’re coming from a place of lack and doubt.  We see what their actions are and we can help them redirect toward more productive actions.

But doing that for ourselves is nearly impossible.  We see what we want to see.  Our beliefs are so much a part of us that we don’t even realize they can be anything but what they are.  Since those beliefs came from past experiences and from the teachings of people close to us, they must be true… right?  Wrong!  If two people look at exactly the same current situation, they will have two very different perspectives.  Maybe one person has had a lifelong struggle with money; and the other person has always been surrounded by plenty.  Maybe one person was told they were incompetent and stupid; and the other person was too, yet there was something along their life journey that made them realize they aren’t stupid and incompetent, and their belief system changed accordingly.

We all choose to believe something (no matter the source).  It’s those choices that are readily visible to others, and practically invisible to ourselves.  We just think, “that’s the way it is” and don’t realize that we chose to feel a certain way, or to think and behave a certain way.

Maybe you’ve had a terrible experience as a salesperson, and that has clouded your perception of what it takes to be successful.  Someone in your group may have a way of selling your product or services, that you hadn’t even thought of, a way that really speaks to your comfort zone, something you believe is achievable…

Maybe you were always taught that “you can’t make money as an artist” or some such rubbish.  But you chose to believe it, because everyone around you was chanting the same tune.  So it must be true, right?

Maybe you’ve never been able to crack that elusive athletic barrier, and you chalk it up to some sort of physical limitations (because your parents/coaches/peers said something like, “oh, you’re just not that body type” or something like that?).  What if someone in your group can prove, just by his or her own experience, that what you hold as “absolute truth” is nothing but “absolutely nothing more than the way I choose to perceive this?”

Are you beginning to see how a group of individuals with the same goal in mind – that is, the achievement of their own personal goal(s) – can help each other?  You can call this your success group.

A success group isn’t there to point out each other’s shortcomings or belittle each other.  They are there to assist each other in several ways:  to illuminate what is holding you back; brainstorm with you on ways to overcome those self-imposed limitations; to support and encourage each other to grow, explore alternative ways to think/act, to hold each other accountable, and to help each other stay focused on success.

It doesn’t matter if everyone in your group has a goal that’s completely different from yours.  The bottom line is, in order to achieve something you haven’t achieved before, you must become the person who can.  That’s what groups are for.  Take several individuals, with completely different backgrounds, experiences, beliefs and “limitations”; bring them together under the guidance of a coach for the purpose of helping each other; and you have a powerful recipe for success.  Experiences and ideas are exchanged.  Empathy is built – “hey, I’ve been there too, and here’s what I did that really helped me…”  And you are surrounded by a group of people who believe very strongly in their dreams.  This supportive atmosphere will accelerate your achievements much faster than if you were to go it alone.

A stick is easily broken on its own, but a bundle cannot be broken.  If you’ve ever supported a friend or loved one, in any capacity, you know how powerful it is to have the support of others.  Think about the power of group consciousness and what it can do for your own success – and how extraordinarily rewarding it is to help others achieve their own success!

Oct 18
Love0

Influences

By Blogpost, Goals, inspirations

Influences

What influences your outlook on life and your goal-setting? Experiences, family, friends, education, society, and religion all have had some impact on your outlook and your goal-setting. You may be aware of some influences but others may be buried deep in your subconscious. How do you unearth the hidden beliefs you had no conscious idea cause you to think and behave a certain way?

Here’s a game you can play: think about a really big goal of yours, and allow all of your emotions to come into the light. Pay attention to all of them. It’s really important to allow all of them, especially the negative ones, surface. Don’t deny any emotion because it’s a clear signal that there is some underlying belief that will probably cause you to take actions to sabotage yourself. This is one of those situations where talking about these emotions with a coach can be helpful. You’ll need an objective point of view to counter all the rationalizations and excuses that will come up – and they will!
 

Are your emotions surrounding money positive, negative or neutral? How about your emotions about your self-worth? Or your importance? Or your attractiveness?
 

So pay attention to the negative emotions, and think back to what influenced those feelings in you. It can be hard to dig up those old memories, but if you’re going to move forward, you’ll have to make yourself do it. Just the once is enough! Once those old memories are out in the open, you can let those emotions go.
 

The thing is (and again, you may need an objective set of ears) you really have to decide once and for all that you choose to NOT be influenced by what happened in the past. You have to decide that you do NOT agree with what people said about you or to you, or did to you. I’m going to say right now that this is not an easy process! But at the same time, once you’ve done it, it’s incredibly liberating.
 

You are not the person you were then! You’ve evolved, you’ve experienced other things. You know that you can choose whether to react or respond to some negative thing/person. You can choose to accept a person’s unkindness and let it become part of your belief system – or not! You can choose to let painful experiences become part of your belief system – or not!
 

As a simple example, let’s say your mother-in-law says disapproving things about your parenting. You can choose to let it ruin your day… or not. You can choose to let her opinion become part of your belief system… or not.
 

If Tom had always been told that he is incompetent and lazy, chances are that he subconsciously agreed with it. But did he become incompetent and lazy because he truly was, or because it was drilled into his head by his parents? Let’s say he just found out that he had a choice whether to agree with his parents – and he chose to disagree with them. What do you think happened?
 

Everything we do as adults has a “past”. Everything is influenced by something that happened in the past, or something we learned. The real beauty of the situation is that once you know this, you can choose to agree with other people’s beliefs. You can also choose to agree with your reactions to situations and follow those old patterns for ever, or not. You can look at beliefs you accepted and decide whether you agree with them or not. How liberating! It’s not easy to break free and follow your own beliefs (the ones NOT borrowed from others or from past experiences). But the rewards are beyond anything you can possibly accomplish while you agree to be bound by the past.

 

Sep 28
Love0

How to use a Vision Board to achieve your goals!

By Blogpost, Goals, Success

Humans are creatures whose brains operate on imagery. We don’t have words swimming around in our heads, we have movies (or little clips and sound bytes). This is why a vision board is such a powerful tool in creating the results you want.

You may already know that a vision board has real power behind it. You may know that when you look at an image consistently and with feeling, that image will manifest in the physical world. What you may not know is how to use your vision board to its best potential. I have an idea I’d like to share with you:

Stop worrying about how your goal will manifest. Of course I’m not talking about just sitting there, staring at your magic vision board and doing nothing while you wait for your goal to drop into your lap. Races aren’t won without training; businesses are not made successful without some effort on your part – and so on. I’m talking about silencing the inner chatter, those gossipy, nagging and annoying hens in our heads that chant “can’t” and “but” and “what if” until you make yourself crazy. The trick is, to use your vision board to plant seeds and nurture them… NOT to get you worrying about “how.”

So as you sit there gazing longingly and lovingly at your vision board, don’t start managing your budget in your head. Don’t start measuring watts or making sales calls in your head. Don’t start putting images of “how” in there (images which usually involve backbreaking labor, hard hours, sacrifice and no fun).

For a little while each day, just feel the images on your vision board.

Put yourself into those images – give yourself the starring role in that movie. It can be really helpful to talk to a coach, who can sit down with you and help you create a vision board that has the right images, and reinforce those images with the right self-talk. Self talk such as, “how does (achieving x) make me feel?” “How do people treat me now that I’ve (achieved y)?” and many other questions that get you feeling good about the end result and not how you’re going to get there.

Like any other tool in goal achievement, a vision board is only as good as the thoughts you put into it. If your inner speech says “can’t” and “but” and “what if”, then a hundred vision boards in your home won’t do a thing. But one board, with the right images and reinforced by the right inner dialogue, can and will help you.

Sep 19
Love0

The GoalsTribe logo unveiled

By Blogpost, Goals

That’s it, the logo is on the website. It is the first public appearance of the logo.

Much thought went into creating the logo to make sure it reflected our values.

We wanted to express the social energy that comes from the GoalsTribe tribes. Each member of the tribe comes with his/her own experience and contribute to the whole tribe, each experience contributing to each other, feeding each other, creating the GoalsTribe “spark”!

Logo

What do you guys think?

Sep 13
Love0

Points and achievements

By Blogpost, Goals

To reward your activity on GoalsTribe and to show your progress, you can now receive points like in a game.

Achievements

If you send a message, you get a point. If someone thanks a message from you, you get a point. If you reply to someone, you get a point.

The points are called “qi” points inspired from the asian concept of life force (often used in martial arts).

With the qi points you can level up and gain access to new features in GoalsTribe.

Exciting!