Find out what’s important
This can be the most inspiring and motivating time of year. I personally love setting aside a few days to check in on my progress in the most important areas of life, but even a few minutes with the right attitude and follow through can be life-changing. In this article we will go over a simple method for getting the most out of goal-setting.
We often focus on the process of completing goals once we make them, but it’s crucial to spend some time prioritizing. Know what’s most important to you so that your efforts this year are spent making an impact on what really matters.
My favorite way to do this is to start with a meditation. I don’t sit and think about my goals; I actually meditate and clear my mind. Whether this takes 5 minutes or an hour, do it. After the meditation, ask yourself what matters. Be unattached to the earlier events of the day, and even free yourself from your logical mind. Brainstorm and write a comprehensive list of whatever comes up. Look at each item and see how it feels. You’ll be able to tell if it’s truly important in an instant.
Break it down
Make sure these are SMART goals. If getting healthy was one of the crucial things you came up with, break that down into tasks that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Reasonable and Timely. Maybe this year you want to focus on your diet. Instead of saying, “I’ll eat healthy food,” be much more specific. For example, “I’ll eat no refined sugar for the entire year,” or “Monday through Friday I’ll eat vegetarian, but I can eat whatever I want on the weekends.” You can easily measure whether or not you’ve stuck to this diet. This should be achievable and reasonable (but if it’s not, make sure to choose something that is). The time component can last through the year, which I like because it keeps things simple. You may decide to choose a shorter period of time and check back in to see how you’re doing with it.
Just do it
Lately in class I’ve been talking about the ability to get things done even when you aren’t feeling motivated. This is a paradigm shift. Most of us spend our lives thinking everything has to go just right for us to achieve our goals. The problem with this is that nobody’s life works that way, and something will inevitably knock you off the path quite easily. To make matters worse, once we mess up by eating that donut, we lose the motivation from being able to accomplish our goals exactly the way we want. We then throw the rest of the year out the window and say, “Well, I guess there’s always next year.”
You’ll say that every year until you die. Make this the year you take motivation out of the equation. Think of motivation as the middle man. It’s unnecessary. You made these goals when you were in a higher state of consciousness. When you’re in a lower state, of course you won’t feel like doing the work. The only way to break free of this is to ignore how you feel. Base your actions on what you said you’d do, what you know is right, often even what you desperately don’t feel like doing. This is the only way to live a powerful life, free from the constraints of our egos and emotional states. Unshackle yourself and make this the year you accomplish your goals!
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