Life, One Chapter at a Time

[psluke]

I think I was led to Betsey's thread! This is a post from Wonder and I think it is just the jump start I may need.

OK, now I feel like I'd better have something good.

Seriously, though, I'm blessed with some friends who are committed to their own goals and make their livings helping other folks get there. So this is what they've helped me with for the past couple of years:

1. Ending the year by making a list of all you have accomplished--there must be at least 25 things, big or small. This year, I actually kept track on my computer all year long in a Word document. I needed a place to go for a momentum pick-me-up.

2. Then, pick your goals for the next year. And be realistic-- not a laundry list of everything you ever hope to be. But one big one with mini-goals, or goals in specific areas of your life or something manageable.

3. Sharing the goals with people who will support you and who will actually ask you how you're doing with them. (For me, this usually means emails of good resources or casual questions that force me to admit I haven't done anything in weeks on said goal).

4. Coming up with a systemthat you can deal with. I use the notes page each month in my calendar to make my lists. I've learned three things about what works for me-- it needs to be in my face, it needs to involve my penchant for writing stuff down and it needs to be fun not an ordeal.

So each month, I list my 5 little fear challenges (I talked about this on my thread), 4 or 5 things that are sapping my energy because they need to be taken care of (I am a skilled procrastinator), and then I list out some subgoals for the month for each of my goal areas.

Sometimes I need to carry them over to the next month when I am a slacker... but you know, it reminds me that they aren't going away until I do them.

My girlfriends use some other good strategies-- one spends 30 mins. a day doing something toward each of her big goals and another takes each goal and breaks it into the smallest possible steps and crosses each one off as it happens and rewards herself accordingly.

I say, do whatever works! And forget about being perfect at it and be sure to give yourself credit for all progress made.

So that's all I've got. Hope it's helpful in this year of being our better selves.

wonder