Hello All —
I love this time of year! Just looking at all the pristine notebooks and pens in the store aisles gives me a rush. Not to mention the fall fashions — the hunt for the perfect near-flat boot sends chills up my spine. And these are just the material signs that change is afoot. What a great season to embark on a real, true redesign or reassessment of your life. Contact me for a consultation and let’s talk about honest-to-goodness solutions to your most perplexing life issues.
So often I find myself trying to explain the concept of setting goals while simultaneously not limiting oneself. It’s part of being a life coach. September, it seems, is a good time to examine this. It’s a season of almost organic renewal as we move from one season to another, shedding the lazy days of summer for fresh and invigorating pursuits at work or school.
Let’s begin with the basics of goal-setting and take it from there. Say you want to create some goals to accomplish by the end of the year. Perhaps you want to have a good chunk of your book written and a much-needed financial structure in place. That’s two goals. Maybe No. 3 is about quality time for yourself. In addition to putting the deadline in place, you want these to be measurable and inspiring. They might read like this: 1.) 25,000 additional words completed on my manuscript, 2.) A workable financial plan that incorporates short- and long-term needs, 3.) Two hours of ME time per week.
Fabulous. But now let’s say your boss offers to send you to school for some classes that will augment and even elevate your professional life. That’s two evenings per week for a few months. However, it will surely cut into your writing time and your ME time. Do you look at this as something derailing you from your goals? Or do you remain open to a possibility you hadn’t thought of on your own? Is it tunnel vision to stay the course? Or are you displaying an intense focus and the ultimate in discipline?
As with so many things in life, the key is to strike a balance. Being open to others’ observations, suggestions and opportunities has actually accounted for almost every success story in my career. I have initially resisted — really resisted — so many things that have eventually become wonderful pieces of a professional life I’m proud of and that I continue to build on.
There are countless examples of others, famous and not, who tell a similar story. It’s up to each of us to write our own and stand proudly by each decision, lesson, setback and triumph.
Most importantly, we must see the big picture as we live in the moment. It’s the ideal way to live.
Most people achieved their greatest success one step beyond what looked like their greatest failure.
–Brian Tracy
