Saturday, January 25, 2014

Goal Setting 101



“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes."    Isaiah 54:2




Have your written and posted your goals yet? If you've been reading my articles or posts for a while then you know that I am passionate about my intention to encourage goal-setting.   I have mentioned it every year for the past several years because identifying, articulating, embracing, and recording our goals is a hugely important part of establishing where we want to be in one, five, or ten years: more importantly what path we are going to take for the rest of our life!



Each of us has an opportunity to make new goals for our future each and every day.  The challenging thing is actually doing it.  This is why I always choose January as "goal-setting month".  We do need a measuring stick and/or a place of embarkation, something that tells us when to start again, how long we have been at it, when we need to tweak it, or when it's time to let go of certain goals and replace them with new ones.
In my last writing I mentioned the "One Page Miracle" by Dr. Daniel Amen as a great template for goal-setting.  I've had a few of you mention that you couldn't find it without buying the book so I thought I'd briefly outline the OPM below.
Although there are many ways to record our goals Dr. Amen's OPM seems to be a very inclusive plan.  The most important things to remember are these:  Keep your goals to one page.  List what you want to do, not what you don't want to do. Place them in a location where you can see them several times a day.  Remember "out of sight, out of mind"?  This is true for goals too.

THE ONE PAGE MIRACLE


Relationships
Spouse or significant other (or finding one if you don't have one)
Children-
Other family members-
Friends-

Work/Finance
Short-term goals-
Long-term goals

Myself
Body-
Mind-
Spirit-

Character
This is sometimes the hidden things that only you and God can see.

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Need more help with setting your goals?


Join me for "The Call" which is a monthly telephone service that will hopefully inspire and motivate you.  My husband and I do this together each and every month at 6pm Pacific time on the 15th of each month. .  All you have to do is dial 530-881-1300 from any phone.  The code is 642848#   On February 15th we will continue our discussion on goals.  We will also pray together and read a relevant scripture from the Bible.  There's a time set-aside for questions from anyone at the end of the hour.  Join me...you have nothing to lose and maybe something to gain!

 “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”  — Ralph Waldo Emerson

For more information or if you'd like a copy of last month's The Call email me:
Donna@DonnaSchuller.com

1 comment:

  1. Yes, the One Page Miracle is so good. I am a person who needs to set a goal, then set a way to address that goal regularly, as in weekly or daily. Then, I get the satisfaction of achieving over and over and importantly, not having set myself too much all at one sitting or one day.

    I believe goals should be times we feel the joy of doing whatever we have set our heart, mind and spirit to. And of course, our body must be prepared to carry it out. Thus for me, 8 hrs sleep, a hearty breakfast, full lunch and light supper works best.

    I guess I always think of making and achieving goals as good times, well spent. They are not punishing times though can be hard, physically, mentally or emotionally. I have made the goals for me big but not improbable to complete. In my work life, I learned from a dear friend, best to start the day greeting my co-workers, stopping by several doors to say "Hi". Then I would set a challenging but do-able set of files to address. Once done, I felt good and moved on to less important but necessary tasks. It made for a positive day, good relationships and ensured I was on my way home to family for dinner.

    Same for non-working years. I am so glad I have a goal each day and I have it happily done before I get a chance to visit my kids and grandkids for a few minutes on the phone or at their houses,

    Goals are not done in a minute but as I feel, can be happy positive inspiration and lead to a good night's sleep!

    J-M

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment on my blog. Please try to stay on the topic and remember also that there are many who are struggling through all kinds of challenges. Let's all be kind and thoughtful with our comments please! :D