New Year – New Beginning
Dec 31st, 2007 by Ollie Lind
It’s New years Eve again; that wonderful time when we celebrate the year that was and look forward to the year to come. Each year make our wishes and see them fade with time. That new life we promised ourselves, the weight loss, the new job, more money, a great relationship. Start out full of promise and determination, – Then life gets in the way.
We are too busy on day to day living to focus on the really important things that might just make the changes we all want and are, in the main, wishes that don’t come true.
Do you want this next year to be different?
It can be.
Plato said that the most important aspect of life was the beginning. In our case it means goal setting.
Oh, I can hear you say, “Boring, too complicated, a waste of time. I’ve set goals in the past and they haven’t come true.” Yes, that has occured with all of us.
I want to share a couple of strategies with you that will help. Bear with me a moment and I will show you a way of distinguishing between wishes and rock solid intentions that WILL happen. It is a philosophic process that many successful people use, although most of them would scoff if you accused them of applying philosophy.
Here we go.
Firstly, give yourself an hour or so of time alone. Have plenty of paper, a pen that works and an open mind. (The last one is pretty tough)
Write down all the good things you want to happen in your life, no matter how fanciful. You should get a couple of pages. If not, write down the most fanciful ideas you can think of that would give you pleasure and delight in your life.
When you have done that, put your pen down and close your eyes. (I’m not kidding) Look at the first desire then, with your eyes closed, visualise yourself having achieved that desire. (Make sure you see a clear picture of the outcome, this is vital)
If you cannot picture the outcome then you are not ready to achieve that particular goal. Cross it off the list. Go through the list and you will eliminate about eighty percent of the goals. These were the wishes.
Look at the remaining goals and jot down next to each the PURPOSE of the goal, the reason why. Those you cannot find a clear purpose for, cross off the list.
With the remainder you must now rank in IMPORTANCE. Mark them 1,2,3, etc. Once you have done that you are now ready to really make some achievable goals.
Now visualize again each goal. The pictures will now be much clearer. Now comes the real essence of success.
Note how each visualisation makes you feel.
Then you must DECIDE.
Base your decision on the intensity of your feeling towards the goal. The more intense the feeling, the greater chance of success.
Now you will have two or three goals, with a clear purpose that make you alive when you think of them.
You now have REAL GOALS.
Take the most important and make a plan of action. It must be SMART.
SPECIFIC
MEASURABLE
ATTAINABLE
RESULTS ORIENTATED
TIME BOUNDED
Then look at the first step on the first plan and START. It doesn’t matter if the first step is tiny. It is the fact of starting that matters. Do the same for each of the remaining goals and you will be on your way.
The rest is up to you. If you have a real goal that is important to you, you simply have to follow the process and it will happen for you. It will happen because of the power you possess. The power of DECISION.
Believe me, if you decide and you persist, you will win. That is not to say it will all be smooth sailing. But each challenge will teach you something and, with wisdom, anything is possible.
Live Well
Ollie Lind
PS, If you want to know more about goals and achievement, go to my goals report and download your free copy.