As mothers, wives, healthcare providers, and business owners, our lives tend to move so fast that the entire year can fly by without achieving our personal goals. So much of our time and energy goes into the routines of business and family demands, that our cups are empty at the end of the day. As healthcare professionals, we are experts at giving, but it’s important to remember we cannot pour from empty cups. Self-care is not self-ish!
I thought I would share my top 5 tips for setting and achieving goals so that 2019 doesn’t slide right on by like 2018 did. Before we get started, I’d like to remind you that December is the perfect time to take a look around at what we no longer need or use.
De-clutter Physical and Emotional Baggage
While you clean out the kids clothes that no longer fit and tidy up your silverware drawer, don’t forget to write an Emotional Clutter list and get rid of that too. I do it at the end of every year, and throughout the year as needed, to set the stage for what I want in it’s place. Start by listing any memory, regret, or thought that no longer serves you. It can be a person you haven’t forgiven, an awkward moment with a friend, an unhealthy habit, or even extra “fat.” Anything that weighs you down emotionally and prevents you from having the energy needed to achieve your goals this coming year.
Once you have unloaded everything that comes to mind, including your mistakes, make sure that you forgive yourself (which is always the hardest) and burn or shred it.
Let. It. Go.
There is power in ceremony. No amount of thinking about it is going to change it. Those items just zap your energy and keep you stuck where you are.
Now let’s hold out hearts high while we feel gratitude for all we are currently blessed with, including the fresh start, and make some Big Hairy Audacious goals for 2019!
1. Focus on achieving your dream goals by writing them down
It is okay to start by sorting out what you don’t want, but don’t make that your focus. We get what we think about! Writing forces clarity and organizes our dreams in a way that feels realistic and achievable. Plus, doing so has been proven to increase your chances of success! You now have a guidepost for decisions. I call this my “Manifesto.” I write a new one each January.
If an opportunity isn’t in alignment with your Manifesto, don’t do it. Stay true to the whispers of your heart and the path that you are on.
2. Visualize yourself achieving your goal and connect with the feeling it will give you
Studies show we want feelings, not things, which is why wealthy people can still be miserable. Thoughts become things. You are not the thoughts in your head, but the thinker of the thoughts. Therefore, you can change them at any time. Our thoughts program our emotions, which lead to our actions. Practice feeling now what you want to feel, instead of waiting until you have the “thing.” Be happy and satisfied now. It’s a choice anyone can make. All of us can achieve this goal.
3. Focus on one goal at a time
Which of your goals is the quickest or easiest to achieve? When do you want it by? Write the date after each goal and put them in order, starting with the closest date. That top one gets the bulk of your time, energy, and money until you reach it. That is your focus.
4. Post it somewhere you will see it daily
Write that first goal, and how you will feel achieving it, on a few sticky notes and place them around your life. Put a reminder on your phone that goes off hourly. Read it out loud or say it in your head. Hit snooze in the morning and spend 7 minutes daydreaming about having this goal. Connect with every smell, sight, sound, and feeling you can. Live the goal now.
5. Tell at least one person
Telling a friend or mentor about your goal increases accountability and the likelihood of success. Find someone on a similar journey and schedule weekly check-ins to keep you on track. This is why coaching is so effective. The weekly calls hold the client accountable at a higher level than if they were setting goals themselves.
Want the whole 30-day manifesto?
Want to learn more about written goal setting? Manifesto writing is such a passion of mine that I created a whole course on it. Find it at www.dentaltoaster.com/courses/30-Day-Manifesto.
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