Happy New Year! Today is the day when most of us head back to work. The Christmas decorations are tucked away (or you wish they were!), the guests are back home and children are headed to school. Perhaps you set goals on New Year’s and are feeling good about taking steps to reach them. Or maybe you didn’t set goals at all and the mere thought of it makes you a little sick. Where ever you find yourself on this Monday, I hope these tips to playfully reaching your goals will encourage and help you as you begin 2015.
1. Set Yourself Up for Success
Many goals require preparation and most of us don’t allow time for that. This provides us with the opportunity to begin beating ourselves up for not taking action. For example, a goal to join a Zumba class requires finding a Zumba class and actually joining it. Meditating everyday may require deciding the time of day,setting up a quiet place and letting your family know not to interrupt you unless there is a crisis involving copious amounts of blood. Eating more vegetables and fruit require a trip to the store to stock the refrigerator. You get the idea. So, allow yourself time to set the stage for success.
2. Set Goals You Love
One of the best acronyms I know, is one my friend Mary made for the word Goals – Go Out and Love Something. What can you go out and love? So often we set goals that are “shoulds”. We feel we should set them but we don’t really want to. Those are most often the goals that don’t get reached. In fact they are often left behind by the end of January leaving us with the feeling of failure. Take a look at your goals and ask yourself, “Do I really love them? If you don’t love them then take them off the list at least for 2015. If you want to hold on to some of the “unloved” goals then- will you find a way to start loving them? Can you find a way to love them everyday by taking a joyful step towards them?
3. Play Your Way to Your Goals
The goals we reach are usually the goals that make us feel good. When we keep anxiety low and playfulness high we naturally become more creative and focused. That’s just the way our brains work. How can you bring playfulness into reaching your goals this year? As you take daily steps towards your goals keep this question in the front of your mind…How can I make this playful?
Have an Amazing Monday! (and everyday 🙂 )
Leanna Fredrich, Stress Management Coach, Adv. EFT, Adv. Psych-K
PS: Need help setting Goals You Can Love? Email me at Leanna@amazingmondays.com
Only hours after telling my mastermind partner my intention to experience far more playfulness, joy and flow in 2015, I received your post, Leanna! 🙂 I love it! Thanks so much for such practical and proactive reminders. And “Go out and love something” is absolutely brilliant!
Have a beautiful beginning to your year!
Wishing you serenity, Connection and Joy!
Kim