We’ve all done it. We make New Year resolutions, we struggle to keep to them for a few days, make ourselves miserable, and lapse back into our old habits.

Some of us may occasionally manage to keep a resolution all year and reap the rewards but, for most, it is a losing battle. Now, one life coach says she has the vital formula that will ensure you can keep every resolution without fail.

She thinks the key lies in the word ‘resolution’and suggests that, when we make promises to ourselves, we should drop the ‘re’ and concentrate on the ‘solution’.

Helen tells us that many people benefit from this simple change to their thinking. She questions; ‘Why are you making the resolution? It is usually because you want to change something for the better. Focus on what you want to achieve, and all the wonderful things that the achievement will do for you.

She suggests you, ‘Be creative, and imagine all the ways you could achieve your solution. When you pick your solution don’t think of it as giving something up but letting something go. You are in control and can decide to replace the old behaviour with the new one.

She believes there are two main reasons people have not kept to last years resolutions. The first is that they try to change a life long habit overnight without considering what they will replace it with. The second is that they attempt to make a huge change alone. Helen suggests everyone benefits from having some support to make changes. Support can include finding a local group who are working on the same issue, telling your friends and family what you are working towards and how they can help you, removing sources of temptation from your house and handbag and writing your solution down and looking at it each day.

Don’t beat yourself up if you occasionally slip back into your old habits. This is not a failure, just a hiccup. Simply go back to your solution and keep going. Many people take more than one go at passing their driving test, or becoming a non-smoker, but thousands of people achieve these successes every year!

If you will be writing New Years Resolutions this year and would like some help in getting them right then email Helen@crossroadslifecoaching.co.uk or visit her website at www.crossroadslifecoaching.co.uk

Helen Miller is the owner of Crossroads Life Coaching. She coaches clients by phone. She also runs courses to help you become more confident and assertive. Visit http://www.crossroadslifecoaching.co.uk to find out more.

Having goals is a good thing. It means that you’re willing to take the first step to achieving those goals. When you write down your goals, articulate them on paper, that’s the first step to achieving them.

But what about the second step, the third and the fourth and so on? If you persevere and keep focused you will eventually reach the goals that you set for yourself. But when you finally reach that goal, how will you feel about it?

Will it be a sense of accomplishment and pride? Or will it be more of ‘yeah I finally got it done’ and you’re just happy that you’ve gotten it over with?

The route you take while pursuing your goal determines how you feel about it at the end. It’s the ride that counts. Have you been on a road trip where everything that could go wrong did? How did you feel when you finally got to your destination? Pretty worn out, huh? Now what about a good road trip where everything went smoothly? You were probably still tired depending on how long the trip was but you were a bit happier when you got there.

See, it’s how you get there that counts. If you’re miserable during the entire trip, you’re going to be miserable when you get to where you’re going. I’ve had too many road trips where everyone in the car was cranky during the entire ride and as soon as we got to our last stop, the crankiness only continued on. Sure we were glad to get there but only because we were finally there and able to get out of the car. We were just glad the trip was over and still quite a bit cranky too.

But when the road trip is smooth and fun with no accidents or construction or any mishaps, not only are you happy during the ride but you’re ecstatic when you get to your final stop. You’re not as tired and worn out as you would have been if it were a bad trip.

It’s the same thing with your goals. You’re more appreciative of achieving your goals if you have fun with it while you’re working on it. So enjoy the ride, have fun and there will be a lot more satisfaction when you reach your goals.

About The Author

Selena Richardson believes in following your dreams and creating the life you want. To receive more articles like this and a free ebook, subscribe to Creative Possibilities by sending a blank email to mailto:subscribe@creationjourneys.com or visit the site: http://www.creationjourneys.com

selena@creationjourneys.com

One of the amazing gifts that we have as people is the desire to have dreams of a better life, and the ability to establish goals to live out those dreams. What is even more amazing is that we have also been given the ability to not only dream but to pursue those dreams and not only to pursue them, but the ability to actually set goals and make plans to achieve those dreams.

I did so much of my Christmas shopping this year online. Some may think me lazy, but I love to shop that way. It has dawned on me that setting and achieving goals really is as simple a process as placing an order. Therefore, when you now complete each of the following steps in this ordering process, it becomes a bit like ordering your goals!

Suppose I have set myself a goal to reduce my weight by 3 kilograms during the month of January. I compare the online DVD store to Life’s Amazing Virtual Goal Delivery System and am delighted to say that if you follow these steps, your New Year resolutions are in the bag!

The Amazing Virtual Goal Delivery System:

The first Step: Decide what you want.

Take some quality time out for yourself to be quiet. This is something that hardly any of us do enough of in our busy lives. We tend to manically rush, and we are constantly paying attention to the noise that is going on around us. Your heart and mind really do enjoy times of quiet, to peer deep within. It is when we take the time to do this that our hearts are set free to soar and take flight on the wings of our own dreams and goals!

Think about what really thrills you. When you are quiet, think about those things that really get your blood moving. What would you LOVE to do, either for fun or for enhancing the quality of your life? What would you love to accomplish? What would you try if you were guaranteed to succeed? What big thoughts move your heart into a state of excitement and joy? When you answer these questions you will feel Great and start becoming aware of what your goals are and of course what they should be.

Life is too short to not pursue your dreams. Someday your life will near its end and all you will be able to do is look backwards. You can reflect with joy or regret. Those who dream, who set goals and act on them to live out their dreams are those who live lives of joy and have a sense of peace when they near the end of their lives. They have finished well, for themselves and for their families.

So, back to the online goal ordering system; I cannot and do not expect the online DVD company to send me a film or comedy show before I have actually sent them my request, neither should you expect life to supply the resources to stop smoking, reduce weight, lower stress levels or be filled with self-esteem for example. So, choose the outcome that you require so that it can be ordered.

In order to do this ensure that you do get a vivid, sensory rich idea on how you want it to be; decide upon what it is that you really want and then make sure that you do really state it in the positive. For example “I want to achieve and maintain the size shape and weight that pleases me” and NOT “I want to lose some weight”. We are not "losers" here!

Your unconscious mind treats negative and positive the same when it learns, they are not processed by your neurology in the same way that they are when you say them, for example; If I were to now say to you: "Don’t think of a pink elephant" it is a command that is very difficult to actually do. In order not to do it, you have to do it! When someone says “I want to stop lacking confidence” you have to imagine lacking confidence to understand the sentence! You are dominating your mind with the thoughts of the things you do not want.

The Second Step: Get Your Goal In Writing; Make It Real and Tangible.

Before I can place an order for any DVDs, I had to find the right order page for the DVD I wanted. However, before I could find the right order page, I had to type the right key terms into the search bar. I wouldn’t have found the right order page if I hadn’t used the right terms. Wouldn’t it have been madness for me to have typed "NOT The First Star Wars Film and NOT The second Star Wars Film…" or to have typed in "I do not really want anything with Jack Nicholson in it…" in my search for the DVDs I did want? Write what you do want, and be as specific and particular as you can.

As I have already mentioned, it is a common thing for people to think about what they want out of life in negative terms. They talk about "getting out of debt" when they really mean that they want to experience "financial security and freedom".

Your unconscious mind is going to deliver precisely what you order. Vague orders bring vague results and we never see the connection between our requests and what shows up. Too often we place careless orders unknowingly, and then wonder why things do not turn out the way we wanted them to. Focusing on "debt" brings a constant supply of it into your life, even if you are trying to get rid of it. After all, it’s like putting "NOT debt" into the search tool. You’re not looking for the "debt" order page, so stop using that expression today!

Commit to the thing you want by putting it in writing. It is like entering it in an imaginary search box. It is also the fastest way to get to the right order page. One more thing: write it in present tense as though it has already happened. Make it happen in the now!

So, maybe your goal statement in writing will be something like, "January 30th, 2006: I have now reduced my weight by 3kgs." Getting it in writing automatically takes you to Life’s "order page" but you are not done yet. The DVD is not on it’s way until you have completed the order all the way to the end of the process.

Third Step: Loading Up Your Shopping Cart.

Now, if you are going to invest your own endeavour on doing something, you need to have a good reason, so let yourself know exactly what the reasons are that you want to achieve this goal. What is it going to get for you? How does it benefit you? What then becomes possible for you? Allow yourself to really explore all the benefits that you are going to get from achieving your goal. The more you do this, the easier it is to be enthusiastic and motivated about it, and then of course the more your success is simply inevitable.

In my DVD purchasing experience, after I typed in "Star Wars Episode Three: Revenge of The Sith" into the websites search engine, it presented me with a list of "Star Wars" DVDs. Some were the earlier films. After carefully selecting my specific choice, I clicked "Add to Shopping Cart." This is a logical step; after all, I cannot really expect the online DVD people to despatch the DVD until I have advised them which one in particular I am after.

This step is comparable to the step of adding detail and sensory information to your goal statement. You need to spend time creating a more detailed description of the thing you desire. Instead of "January 30th, 2006: I have now reduced my weight by 3 kgs" you write, "January 30th, 2006: I am delighted and proud now that I have made really powerful steps to achieving and maintaining the size, shape and weight that pleases me, by successfully reducing my weight by 3kgs. I am truly happy at how easily this was achieved and am grateful to myself for having successfully compoleted this. I am now developing a more progressive relationship with myself and expect to reduce more weight with more ease this following month too."

Following this step means that you have just added your desired goal and successful outcome to the "Special Life Cart".

The Fourth Step: Where are you? Give your shipping address.

Now that the DVD is in my shopping cart, I have to tell the DVD company where to send it. This step is the part that ensures that my ordered DVD is distributed to my location. This now brings together two key pieces of information into one virtual place. Without this step, the DVD people cannot send me the book… because they have no address for the package.

Goal setting is no different. Just as the DVD and my address had to merge into one database, the goal you want needs to be merged with your personal information also. Notice that during this step, it is not the actual DVD that came together with my actual home; it is simply a representation of the DVD that came together with a representation of my home.

The same needs to happen with a representation of the thing you want, and a representation of you. How? You must imagine yourself achieving that goal; being that ideal weight for example. It might take a few minutes to really generate the images in a vivid way. Nevertheless, with the power of disciplined thoughts, you merge the thing you want, with the person you are. Your mind is the virtual database where it all must come together before Life can fill that order.

As you think about your goal now, having it in the positive form, vividly imagine just what you are going to see, hear and feel when you get what you want. As you are doing that, turn the brightness and colours up in your imagination, make the sounds louder, even add some of your favourite music or other wonderful sounds and turn up the wonderful feelings that go with it, think about where in your body those feelings are going to be when you achieve that goal and really make them more intense.

Then BELIEVE in that which you want. As you imagine that goal, view it and perceive it like you just know it is going to happen, in the same way that you know if you drop your cup of tea, it will fall to the floor. You just know it will happen. So every time you think of your goal and the sensory rich outcome, think of it like you just know it is going to happen.

Then think about how will you know when you have achieved that goal. How will you know?

I once had a client whose main goal was to be wealthy. I asked her exactly how she would know when she was officially wealthy and she said that she would have more money. So I asked her if she thought that if I gave her a fifty pence piece, would htat make her officially wealthy. "Of course not" was her reply. ‘More money’ did not turn out to be specific enough evidence for her having achieved her goal, so we went into the detail of what she would see, hear and feel when she was officially wealthy. So get your own brain sure that it knows exactly what to work towards.

The Fifth Step: Receive Confirmation of your order.

After I filled in my shipping address, it asked for my credit card info. This is where I pay for what I want.

In setting a health goal, to "pay" traditionally refers to "dieting," "pounding the treadmill," and so on.

But that can be wrong.

So what is the price you pay? Well, it is not an easy price to pay. But it is easier than "paying" with unreasonable diets and fitness regimes. To take the final step in the order process, to do the last thing required before you receive the order confirmation, is to allow yourself to experience the feelings you feel when the goal is achieved. It is easier said than done, but you need to take your imagination exercise just one step further; let me give you an example:

You are out at a social summer event with friends, wearing that new dress or that favourite pair of trousers, huge grin on your face, you can smell the air and it smells sweet, you feel a sense of freedom in your tummy as you move your body and you can see your friends expressions on their faces looking at you excitedly. As you meet some friends that you have not see for a while, they tell you how amazing you look to have reduced your weight. You look over at your proud partner and you whisper to them "I did it! It has been tough at times, but I did it! Let’s really enjoy ourselves today!" And your partner says "You really did do it, I am so proud of you and what you have done."

This is your price. Ensure that you get into your imagination and associate with your results. Do NOT watch yourself doing it, BE you doing it.

Now, if you really do spend some time generating those kinds of images and thoughts in your mind, and feel the excitement and enjoy gratitude for the success then you are there! You have paid for your goal. Then as those feelings develop and enhance inside of you; that is your confirmation. Trust yourself and your unconscious mind to keep its promise, and go about your life in peace. No need for desperate dieting; you have already paid the price. Go about your life with a calm assurance that it is already done. Then go about your goal sensibly. The results are on their way and will connect with you in a natural way as you go about your day to day activities. Simply follow the thought. Think about new behaviours that you will need in order to succeed and begin to generate them.

The Sixth Step: Expect Success to Arrive, and be ready to let it in.

After my bill was paid, and I received my order confirmation, the DVD was on its way. I needed only to expect it, wait for it, look out for it, refrain from cancelling it, and answer the door when it arrived.

One very powerful thing to do here is to now let go of your goal. Detach from the outcome.

When you really, really want a specific outcome or really, really want a particular dream, your system sometimes tenses up, and it becomes increasingly hard to achieve it. Instead, find a way to become relaxed with the notion of not getting it. This maintains a sense of relaxation and acceptance while you are moving towards your goal. Imagine your goal as actual “thing” and imagine letting go of it, cut the ties that bind it to you and let it happen unconsciously without you having to continuously engage in conscious thought processes about it.

As for your goal to reduce your weight by 3 kgs by the end of January, if you have gone through the entire order process, and you have received confirmation, all you must do is expect it, look out for it, refrain from cancelling it with unbelief, and when opportunity knocks (because it will), simply answer the door.

Celebrate The New Year In Style!

So finally: The Seventh Step: Celebrate your successes!

People need to celebrate more, so celebrate your successes. Not just the big goal, but every milestone along the way. If you want to slim down, celebrate every few pounds lost (with something that supports you, like new clothing, not chocolates.) If you want to be a healthy non-smoker, celebrate your first day smoke-free, then your first week, first month etc. If you want to – celebration sends a strong sense that you are doing the right thing to your neurology and makes it easier and more enjoyable to continue replicating your success.

Adam Eason is a UK based consultant, speaker and best-selling author. Please visit his website for a vast range of resources from the fields of hypnosis, NLP, personal development and human potential and to receive your amazing, free, instantly downloadable hypnosis session for ultimate relaxation: http://www.adam-eason.com Thank you.

What are your dreams?

Are you in a place in your life where part of it feels limited or exhausting? If so, it is the time for you to begin manifesting your dreams and desires. First of all you must remember that Miracles do happen and that it is time to reach for the top. Not to order from the bottom of the list, but to ask for what it is that you really desire. Go for the top. Go for the limitlessness. Show your fellow beings that through the process of releasing limited thoughts your cup is filled with the opportunities that the universe wants to bring to you. By daring to do this, you are teaching what you know. You have taken the courage to release. Now you must take the even greater courage to command and receive what you wish. You must stay in touch with the fact that you are in actuality manifesting every moment of the day what you desire.

Stretch your vision of yourself!

If you desire the bottom of the list, you are manifesting that as well. If you are looking for the top, you will bring that in. You will receive what you ask for.

You are in the process of manifesting your dreams through visualization.

It would be as if, you decided to go shopping at the clothing store. First you would pick the clothing store that is aligned with your style, not what is aligned with your budget, but with your style.

You see, what you need to do here is stretch your perception of self. The way you see yourself and the way others see you are two different things. When your Higher Self is in action, you don’t focus on a limited thought pattern. Open up to the highest and ask for support. When you are wondering if something is the highest for you, put out into the Universe and ask: Is this really the highest for me? You may do this in mediation or quiet moments.

You will be surprised at how little you are asking

You are asking very small. You need to expand.

All is available to you, but you’ve got to ask. This is sometimes a difficult process, but it is the most important piece that you can do, because without asking, you do not expand into the next level. Focus on places in your life where you know it is time to grow; as you are tired of the place you are in. Take the time to write them down and explore what your reality is and what your dreams are.

You can now go and just ask for the highest, and the highest good will come to you when you let go of the form it will take and any attachment to the outcome. It is important to practice expanding your visions.

If you write your dreams down on paper and think, "I couldn’t achieve that," at least you have put it down so that there is something to work with.

Look at the issues of conflict and resistance here. If it feels like a piece of your dream isn’t coming to you, it’s because you’re not allowing for it to be received.

Allow yourself to receive the abundance of the Universe. Allow yourself to receive the energy of Love, true unconditional love without fear. Allow yourself to receive the energy and the true love and healing of who you are.

The Universe is bringing you all that you need now. All you need to do is ask. Much like you go to the restaurant and order from a menu, just order what you wish, and it will be brought to you. But just as you are ordering from a restaurant, order what is delightful and peaceful to the palate, not what is the essence of the budget. If you order bread and water, this is what be brought to you, so order from the highest categories, and you receive that.

The more you laugh, the lighter you dance.

Over and over in your life, you will see small ways in which this is performed and brought to you, and you will laugh. You will laugh at the signs; you will laugh with great humor at the ways these things fall into place.

Laughter, as you know, makes the heart so light.

Asking and Receiving Exercise.

Without asking, you do not expand into the next level of your consciousness. Most of us ask far too little of the Universe. Dare to acknowledge your deepest dreams and desires and dare to ask. Dare to ask big, and then open yourself to receiving. Expect miracles and stay open to receiving all the Universe has to offer.

1. Explore places in your life where you have not yet dared to ask for your dreams.

2. Affirm to the Universe, either through visualization, meditation, or in writing that you are formally asking for and are open to receiving whatever it is that you most desire.

3. Keep track of what you received and when.

About The Author

Shirley Knapp, Stowe, VT USA http://www.northwindsprod.com

Shirley Knapp is an internationally recognized spiritual teacher, and author of "Sustaining Joy" who leads groups in personal growth. She has been in a holistic private practice, teaching and embracing individuals and groups since 1986. Shirley’s goal is to empower us to move beyond personal barriers and limitations to lead a more empowered and joyful life. Browse our web site www.northwindsprod.com for other products with this focus in mind.

knapp@webwisesage.com

Thinking. What does thinking mean? It means reflecting upon, and analyzing the different aspects of a situation or a condition or any issue. This needs time. How many of us think? Why should we think? What are the issues about which we should think? If you are a medical professional. Do you need to think about politics? If you are a computer professional. Do you need to think about stars? If you are a housewife? Do you need to think about the petroleum prices around the world?

Our thinking -

What should be our areas of thinking? Do not many of us waste their time by thinking about issues that don’t touch their life at all? We are all given limited time during a day. We only have so many hours and we have to manage time in such a way that we get maximum results that help us. Getting results in areas that don’t help us, are of no use. Same applies to thinking. The question -what should I think about needs an answer to - What are my priorities in my life. If this year my priority is to get a promotion then, I need to think about the ways I can get it. If this year, my child is getting into a college, my priority is to know more about college life and think of ways to make him more comfortable in the college and help him get better results. Everyday, we know about our priorities and we have to direct thinking towards that. For example, you may love thinking about astronomy. But if your spouse is in the hospital fighting a bad disease, your priority is to learn more about that disease and think of ways to make your spouse recover faster.

Breaking old patterns -

Many of us have developed patterns of thinking and we don’t get away from these patterns even when required. This is wrong. We have to think about what we should think. That is our first job. And to know about that, we have to have life goals, divide them in small time frames and achieve them one after another. Our thinking has to help us doing that.

What should we think about -

Thinking about issues that lead to a happier life for us and help us achieve our goals is the correct way of thinking and investing time in that. To invest time thinking about poverty in the world, if we are ourselves running short of money will not help us. But if we think about the ways we can make more money, that will help us surely.

CD writes content for http://www.valentinesday-cards.com, and http://www.romanticdesktops.com

INTRODUCTION

This article is used for discovering our needs from life, our desires for where we want to be and who we want to become. Remember life is not about finding out who we are but about creating who we want to become, the things we will leave behind with our team, our family and our friends.

FOR EVERYBODY?

You may or may not be suprised to hear that not everyone in this world is always aware of how they fit into their community or what they want to do with themselves. There are many people who have such amazing minds and can accomplish so many things yet they are never sure of what direction in life they would like to take.

From our studies of excellence and successful people we can see that each person who considers themselves to be successful and peaceful within themselves all have this outcome for who they want to be in life. In fact it goes a step further than that because they not only know who or what they want to become but they can describe it to you in explicit detail. They have images and sounds in their minds that accurately show them what they are going towards and with this they build a tenacious resolve deep inside to become this all successful human being. Even before they achieve their successes, on their way down the road to their various goals they experience comfort and total peace of mind as they are getting closer to that dream with every passing minute.

TRUE SUCCESS

Walter Disney is known as a famous cartoonist and for making Disney World and Disneyland. His dream was to become a cartoonist and he made his dream come true. Not only did it come true but DisneyWorld today is one of the most renowned and spectacular cartoon producers ever! That is the product of knowing your outcome. In fact not to long ago at a news conference a reporter asked representatives of DisneyWorld what they thought Walt would have said about Disney World today. Their reply was along the lines of - "What do you mean? He saw it first!". They realised that it was all made possible because of one mans dream and in that dream he saw exactly what he was going to produce - his very own Disney World.

Another example of this is Bill Gates. From the very beginning Bill always knew his personal outcome. He wanted to come up with some software that would be used to run every computer in the entire world. Some dream! Did he make it come true? Well I think we can safely say yes he did because MS Dos and the Windows operating systems have been implemented on more than 95% of the worlds computers. How amazing is that? He didnt even come up with the software to begin with, he purchased the Dos system from IBM in the early days for little over 35, 000 dollars and now hes the richest man alive. That is some by-product of one teenagers dream.

STRATEGY

However, before we can see our lifes dream come around like our friends Walt Disney and Bill Gates, there is a need to establish what our desired outcome really is. Where do we want to be? Who do we want to become? What is it in life that is really that important to us? We need an answer to these questions to grow in life, its vital to have direction in order to feel fulfilment and real satisfaction in your life.

So lets get to the specifics, how can we know and begin to develop our outcome? In order for us to look at what your personal outcome is for your life and who you want to become you need to think about your desires for life and what you believe is a must have/be or what is a could have/be. To start thinking along these lines, do the following exercise with a pen and paper and see what you can come up with.

1. Remember back to when you were young and when you were just starting to realise that your life is yours and you can direct it any way you like. Remember the times that the adults in your life would ask you what you would like to do when you grow up. What was your answer? At the age of 7 or 8 what did you want to do when you became a grown up? Think about it for a moment and see that small you thinking "Hmmm, what would I like to do?".

In your minds eye bring that image of what you wanted to do up close and make it bright and colourful, really see what it was that you wanted to do. Take your time, for some this does not come easy. Once you have a large bright image of what you wanted to do in your minds eye, think about what that job or role would have meant about you as a person. For example would it show you to be caring, intelligent, humble or would it show you to love people or that you are explorative and open minded? Take some time to list the things that this job you wanted to do would say about you as a person.

Once you have a list of things written down, think how many other pursuits in life could lead to having the same fundamental characteristics as the job you desired when you were younger. What else could you do to become that person that you always wanted to become? How else can you achieve your lifes desires and goals and to truly feel fulfilled in yourself? To add more juice to the things coming into your mind right now try going through the second step in creating a well defined outcome for your life.

2. Now is the time to really let go and be silly. Use your imagination in this step like you have never used it before. Dont allow beliefs about how the world really works stop you from exploring every avenue of life in this exercise.

What I want you to do now is to imagine that everything you do in your life from now on will be 100% totally successful. Nothing will ever fail for you from this point onwards in your life. Now from this position of power, make a list of as many different things you would like to accomplish. What would you do, would you buy a yatch and sail the world? Would you find a cure to a fatal disease? Would you make it your mission to move towards world peace? Would you burn all your clothes and get a new wardrobe and become a new person, an excelling person who loves his/her life? Write down all the things that you would like to do if everything you did was totally successful. List them all and leave nothing out. Nothing is too silly or mad or impossible for this exercise. What would you do? Think about it. Write it down.

3. So by now you should have two lists and be able to see yourself doing them in your minds eye very vividly and colourful and bright. If not just spend some time looking over the lists and practice seeing yourself already accomplishing the things noted down. Notice how the pictures look in your mind and how that makes you feel.

4. In this step you need to go through your lists and pick out just 5 things that will affect your life for the better. That will move you towards your goal of who you want to become and give you the results you truly deserve. Carefully consider each item and weigh up the time lines before committing to it as a goal for your life. Select just 5 things so that you can give complete time and energy and remain focused on pursuing your lifes outcome.

This four step process will enable us to identify the meaning of who we want to become and give us the images in our minds of what life will be like when we have accomplished them. There are some important factors when establishing our lifes outcome which need to be addressed if we are to remain juiced about it or stay motivated about it through the duration of acquiring the changes and the desired results. These factors can easily be remembered as follows:

i) Stated positively in terms of what we want. The human mind does not comprehend negatives. What do I mean by this? Well for example try not noticing the sensation in your stomach right now, or try not thinking of the colour blue. Its pretty much impossible because you first have to know what it is you are not thinking about the then replace it with something else. The human mind works using positives so dont state goals such as I dont want to smoke anymore. Rather state something like I want to become a healthy vibrant individual with lots of energy and passion for life. Stating it this way and using this to form your images of your desired results will drastically increase your chances of achieving your lifes outcome.

ii) Described in sensory based language. Now that we have stated our outcome in positive language we can now ask "What will I see, hear and feel when I have my outcome?". Doing this will help us to realise when we have fully realised our desires for our life. Close your eyes briefly and see the pictures of what it will be like when you achieve your desired outcome. Listen carefully to your surroundings as you realise your goal and see how that makes you feel inside. Doing this will setup your nervous system to continually look forward to achieving the goals and drives you towards them until achieved.

iii) Self initiated and self controlled. Although you can control your own mind and emotions you cannot control those of others. So, for example, it would be futile to base outcomes on changing your spouse or parent(s). You must be in control of your desired outcome and only you can know how and when to achieve it.

iv) Appropriately contextualized. We need to build our outcomes for our lives so that it fits into all the appropriate areas of our lives. If we over generalize our outcomes we may find that they are inappropriate in some areas in our lifes. Think about when, where and with who you wish to have this outcome. Do you want it in all places and without limitations?

v) Maintain appropriate secondary gain. All of our present behaviour provides us with some positive values and outcomes. It may not always be obvious but there will always be a positive intention behind the behaviour for example a smoker will get some positive feedback from the experience of a smoke despite its destructiveness on the body. You need to ensure that your outcome would be desirable in your entire ecology or system. For example ask yourself what would you loose if you achieved your goals? Would you loose any personal time for yourself? Would it hinder your relationships with your family? Would you have to give up anything that you feel is important to have your success?

vi) Build the needed resources. To have any desired outcome we need resources. If someone cannot clearly imagine themselves having the outcome it is often an indication that they do not have all the require resources. What do you have now and what do you require to achieve your goals? Have you or anyone else you know ever done this before? Where can you find more information regarding your specific sensory based and well defined outcome?

vii) Ecology check. In order to achieve anything in life you need to ensure that it fits your entire system, your family, your work, your friends. Does it fit who you are or who you want to become? Ask the following questions and think about your answers before committing to the results you desire: What will happen if you get it? What wont happen if you get it? What will happen if you dont get it? What wont happen if you dont get it?

CELEBRATE

By now you should have a well defined, sensory based and ecologically sound outcome for your life. You already knew deep inside what you wanted but perhaps it has never been an appropriate time to think about it like this before. Now you should go and celebrate. Congratulate yourself and start dreaming about how you are going to start your journey to building a new, totally satisfied and truly peaceful you.

If you require any further help, please take the time to look through our other articles as they cover a wide variety of issues and they are free. We just want you to achieve your best and we know you are more then the sum of your parts. We also have personal life coaches for those who are interested in taking their life to the next step.

About The Author

Chris Ulliott is a personal success strategist and master practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming. He has many experiences in life that have helped him develop an attitude of total success. Now he wants to share it with his friends. Come to http://www.happiestpeople.com to find out more!

Chris@happiestpeople.com

Happy New Year! 2006 is here, and if you’re like most people, you were glad to kiss the old good-bye and ring in the new. But not so fast. It’s interesting that many people act as if there is a statute of limitations on setting goals for a new year, and that if you haven’t done it by now, you might as well forget it.

Well, my friends, I disagree. We need to take time to reflect…a lot of time to reflect before setting our sights on new horizons. I firmly believe that we are destined to repeat our mistakes and under-leverage our strengths, unless we dedicate some time to reflect on and learn from the past before targeting new goals for ourselves. In fact, the ancient Roman god Janus (after whom our month of January is named) had two faces: one looking backward and one facing forward, as a way of reminding us to take the lessons from the past with us as we build the future. (Notice I said "lessons" not regrets, unfinished business or limiting beliefs.)

So before you resign yourself to the "same old same old" or strike out toward goals that may be premature or pipe dreams, take some time to review the year just past. What were your highlights? What were the lowlights? And what did you learn from it all? These questions have been part of my annual review and goal-setting process since reading Jinny Ditzler’s book Your Best Year Yet (R) several years ago. Your answers may surprise you, and in any case, taking the time to reflect will set the stage for a more effective goal-setting process.

And regardless of your spiritual persuasion, consider these words sent to me by a friend last year:

"If as Herod, we fill our lives with things and again with things, If we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action, When will we have the time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi? Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds? Or brood over the coming of the child as did Mary? For each one of us, there is a desert to travel, a star to discover and a being within ourselves to bring to life." ~Author Unknown

Take the time to reflect, to make the slow journey into a new year, with new goals and dreams, seasoned with wisdom from the past. And here’s hoping that 2006 is the year you discover your own North Star.

Betty Mahalik has been coaching small business owners, independent professionals and leaders who want to achieve more but stress less, since 1996. Her background includes several years in the broadcasting and public relations fields prior to starting her own firm in 1987. She is an accomplished public speaker and corporate trainer specializing in communications, goal-setting and leveraging your strengths. Since 2001, she has written a weekly motivational message, free to subscribers, titled Monday Morning Coach.

Does the sub-title to this edition of Footprints and Monuments sound familiar? It does to me in a very real way. When I was a teenager my dad and I loved to go hunting. We would hunt whatever animal happened to be in season at the time, and anything else that moved. Especially snakes, but that is another story.

On one hunting trip my dad and I were about thirty yards from each other waiting for a particular kind of bird to fly over. I was ready. My gun was loaded. My mind was focused. I was going to "out shoot" my dad on this trip. Well, as I was sitting in my "ready" position I accidentally pulled the gun’s trigger. Boom! As my shotgun let off a great blast I realized that my gun was pointing just a few feet from where my dad was sitting. Obviously, I fired before I aimed and almost killed my father in the process.

I see something similar in people’s personal and professional lives all the time. Many get themselves ready with advanced education, power thoughts, and influential friends, but they fire before they aim. Aiming is a planning process that takes time and must be done before you can fire your way into a successful life, organization, or relationship.

You may ask, "I know how to get ready, and how to fire, but how do I take aim and then fire?" Or, "Is this just another goal setting exercise?" No, this is actually an exercise in life planning. In order to take aim your must know where you want to go, and what your passion is.

I have listed several questions below that will spark the creative part of your mind and help you establish your aim so that you will be able to achieve the kind of life, organization, and relationships you want.

Life Planning with accurate AIM:

About The Author

Jeff Earlywine began his ministry career while working on his undergraduate Business degree. His experiences have led him to work in many difference areas that have all benefited the local church.

CONSULTANT - Jeff has spent the last fifteen years consulting with hundreds of different organizations all across the nation. Serving as a consultant at The Injoy Group challenged him to be his best while he worked with the best. Jeff has assisted many ministries in Vision Casting, Strategic Planning, and Future Planning.

EXECUTIVE PASTOR - Jeff’s unofficial title was, “Pastor of Organization,” and by this title you might know this is his greatest skill. That skill gave him the passion to organize many different ministries in the local church. That skill also developed a volunteer staff capable of growing each of these ministries. He did this by equipping them to fulfill their God-given potential.

Jeff’s passion is to come along side the leader and help him to identify and develop his dream, organize the needs of that dream, and then to train and equip leaders to fulfill that dream.

jeff@atlantayfc.org

You have never really reflected on the different areas of your life.

Have you taken the time to reflect on your life and find out what your desires are? Your life is divided into different segments, which are all closely interrelated. This means that your health will affect your family, career and much, much more. Living a satisfying and balanced life isn’t about a goal of a million dollars, it’s about taking the time to reflect on all the major segments of your life. This includes your physical health, mental heath, family, finances, career and family.

You are not living accordingly to your core values.

Your core values define what you stand for, admire and desire. They are your moral compass and a huge part of your personal power. Whether it is health, beauty, control, appreciation, love or wealth, believing and living true to your core values is fundamental to living a life of purpose and meaning. Find out what your core values are and start living according to them. Without them you are lost. What do you want? Freedom? Health? Beauty? Control? Love?

You are not holding yourself accountable to your goals.

Not holding yourself accountable is the single greatest reason why people don’t reach their goals. Do you know why high power executives hire life coaches? Life coaches make sure their clients follow through on their commitments. Most people have a general idea what is lacking in their lives. And they might even write down a few goals. But more often then not, life gets in the way and their goals are never realized. By not being accountable to yourself you are basically cheating and lying to yourself. Once you know your goals commit to them. Or get a life coach, friend or parent to hold you to your commitments. Whether it is stopping smoking, painting the spare room, spending more time with family, or cleaning the garage, stop cheating yourself. Take yourself seriously. Commit.

In summary

Take a bit of time to reflect on your life and decide which sections of your life need goals. With our fast paced, information overloaded society we definitely don’t spend enough time reflecting on our life.

Discovering and living by your core values brings us true meaning and purpose.

By not holding yourself accountable to your own goals, you are not taking yourself seriously. Take pride in your future. Commit and follow through. It’s really not that hard.

Please consider this article for your website, blog or ezine. Permission to reprint if by-line stays intact and links are activated on the Internet.

Terry Vermeylen is one of those rare people that is passionately driven to help others unlock their own barriers toward fulfillment, meaning and purpose. He is the founder of http://www.mylifechanges.com/, an Internet value identification and goal setting enterprise. His primary passion is wealth building using common sense.

And if Bull frogs had wings they wouldn’t bump their little rear-end when they landed. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that rushing all over the place you are being your most productive self. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that when you take time out for thought you are wasting your time. All play and no work makes Jack a poor boy, but, quality time in thought can turn your wishes into diamonds.

As Plain As Black And White!

It has been said; if you invest one percent of your time in study, thinking and planning, you will make an amazing difference in the speed with which you reach your goals.

Everyday has 1440 minutes in it. Invest one percent of that time everyday in study, thinking and planning and you will be amazed at what those fourteen minutes can do for you.

Developing this daily habit will bring you ideas and solutions not just when you are in your study time, but, almost anywhere. You could be walking down the street, or giving a speech. You could be singing in the shower or cleaning a dirty diaper. Yuk.

Now, pay attention: "Goals", are not wishes. Wings don’t belong on Bull frogs and beggars can’t be choosers. And, you are not going to achieve your goals by wishes, or begging, or, lying around and licking your wounds. Goals are accomplished by taking the bull by the horn and wrestling that rascal to the ground.

Easy As ABC!

How do you do that? There are three things you need to do. (1), you need to write the goal down. (2), Aim your sights high. And, (3), Create a deadline.

Writing the goal down gives it purpose and clarity. You got to know what you’re going after or else how will you know if you ever get it? Writing the goal down also will make an impression on your memory. As an idea comes to our minds, that we have an interest in, we tend to analyze the thought with our "thinker cap", and determine if we can achieve it.

If the idea has merit, we continue to analyze till we either find ourselves blowing and going like a locomotive, or fizzling out like a wet fuse. You will always find yourself pursuing energetically, something that has made an indelible impression on your mind.

Just Between You And Me And The Fence Post!

If it hasn’t made that kind of impression, then you will not find the kind of fire in your desire that you need to go for broke. Your goals will still be like that stupid bull frog that wishes he had wings. Now, obviously, going broke is not what you want to happen. But, the attitude is what is important.

Aim your sights high. It takes no more effort to aim high and accept prosperity, abundance, peace, health, life; than it does to settle for misery and poverty and small potatoes. Now, no one has ever achieved one hundred percent of all their goals. But, why settle for a pig in a poke.

The problem comes where we aim so low that we accomplish that goal with relative ease, and then, when the goal is accomplished, we realize all we got was this great looking slick bull frog, but the sucker’s got no wings.

Now, at that moment, we’re not thinking, now wait a minute! This sucker doesn’t fly because I set my sights so low, that I became over confident, and reeled that bad boy in like a pro. Our great accomplishment just doesn’t seem to satisfy and something seems lacking.

You’re Not Just Whistling Dixie!

It is a lot better to shoot for the stars and miss them half way, than to shoot for the ceiling and miss it half way. There seems to be a direct relationship between how easy we can accomplish our goals, and the mental power propelling the motivation.

If you’re not expending considerable energy to reach the stars, then it ain’t the stars you’re reaching for. You might as well be reaching for a clouded crystal ball, and reciting, twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are.

The stars don’t give themselves easy to anyone. When you set your sights for the stars, you will subconsciously increase the amount of effort that you apply. You have too. The higher the goal, the more your reason will tell you to be objective and honest with yourself. It will become mandatory that you expend enough effort to move your mountain.

So, you will set a series of steps that have to be reached in order to go to the next level or higher position. Goals are never reached, no matter how high or low, in one step. And, each level that we find ourselves having reached, we gain a little more confidence and head for the next level.

Get A Move On!

Ask yourself this question. Where will you be and what will you be doing ten years from now if you keep doing what you are doing right now? This is the importance of setting a deadline for the goal. When you write your goal, you will specify the time limit for achieving it. This gives finality to it.

Keep this in mind. Always be aggressive in asking life for more than what you really want. Ask for more than what you think you’re worth. Why should I do that? Because, people have a tendency to meet the demands and expectations that are placed upon them within their time constraints.

Waiting With Baited Breath!

After you rise to the occasion and present the prize to yourself, then the next time you set out to accomplish a goal, you will be mentally prepared to grab the whole enchilada, take a licking and keep on ticking.

It will be very beneficial if you outline the goal from beginning to end. Just don’t try to answer every question at the very beginning. This is sometimes not possible. We don’t always know all the answers when first starting out. This is why fear sometimes will hold us back. But, fear is never a friend to your goals. And, besides, the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t.

Herein Lays Your Door Of Opportunity!

This is so important for you to take action on the goal and start moving towards it one step at a time. And, keep moving and keep moving. It won’t move closer to you unless you’re moving closer to it. And, if you let the pony die, the ride is over.

Richard Vegas ©

About The Author

Richard Vegas is a popular recording artist and internet marketing professional. He invites you to subscribe to his FREE weekly ezine "Wing-Tips" Teaching The Success System That Never Fails, at: http://www.1-work-at-home-based-business-opportunities.com. You may also hear some of Richard’s free music at: http://www.richardvegas.com.

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