Goals are not trends

Goals are personal action plans that celebrate your uniqueness! Goals may seem similar to others, but the reason you set your particular goal is unique to you.

The reason why you want to accomplish a goal is the force behind accomplishment tailored specifically to you.

Dedicate time to discovering why you want to accomplish a certain goal and the action plan will develop. You will set steps in motion to achieve your goal or develop your positive habits.

I’d love to hear what goal you are working on! Share below or email me successencourager@gmail.com

Today my journal planner is 40% OFF! Find more about it here.

The unique calendar journal (planner) will help guide you on your daily journey during this ‘year in the life of…’ YOU.

Keep goaling!

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Goal setting method

I personally use a goal setting method I call the window pane. It is a layout of the goal categories I focus on (read more about those here). There is a section with this method in my goal setting journal (on sale on sale now!)

How does it work?

• Review each category and the definition:
  • Well-being – Mental and physical health; stretching, walking, meditation, conscious eating, plenty of water. Ask yourself – What are my health goals, what are my limits?
  • Spirit – Self-care, gratitude journaling, positive affirmations, create, hobbies. Ask yourself – What brings joy and peace? What nourishes me?
  • Circle – Mutual relationships that allow you to give and receive support; family, friends, work friendships, recovery groups, clubs or hobby groups. Ask yourself – Who balances with me? Who supports me and invites my support?
  • Productivity – Daily routine; work, volunteering, caregiver, budgeting, learning. Ask yourself – What is my current daily schedule (define it). What do I want my future schedule or routine to look like and consist of?

• Create four sections (or use the layout in the journal) that looks similar to a window pane. Put the title of each one category in each corner. Write out your definitions of important areas in your life for each of the categories.
  • For example for Well-being, I have noted that I miss yoga, but enjoy my daily meditation. A goal that could result from this is to sign up for yoga class or research free video options and incorporate into my daily routine.
• Review your list and ask:
  • Where can I improve?
  • What area do I connect with the most?
  • What area needs attention?
  • Which area can I focus on starting today?

Once you see the layout and can focus on the area that you connect with most you can set small steps to create your new current goal focus. Don’t get overwhelmed and think that all areas need focus at once. It all starts with one focus; one step. I sometimes keep my window pane visible where I can see it daily as a reminder of what I’m focused on and what I will take a step toward each day!

I’d love to hear what your main category focus is! Comment below or email me at successencourager@gmail.com. Find me on Instagram for daily encouragement quotes!

Thanks for reading and following; keep goaling!

Goals are works in progress

No matter how many posts or quotes I share about goal setting I am always working on the main one with a few others floating around in my mind! Goals are works in progress. Some may be completed, but other branches of that goal extend out and need attention. For example, a goal to lose 10 pounds doesn’t completely end after those 10 pounds are gone. That accomplishment most likely requires maintenance and serves as a catalyst for other positive habits and goal setting.

I have talked about categories before and more about those can be found here. Categories help me focus, organize my main focus and helps me stay accountable. My current goal is a blend of productivity and spirit (most categories overlap).

My goal setting encouragement journal was a work in progress for almost three years (some brainstorming started before that!). Sharing something with the world that I am so very passionate about has truly fed my spirit. The challenges have strengthened me, I’m truly grateful for the amazing relationships I have built and beyond excited that I actually have a printed version of a dream turned into a reality! This goal is far from complete though; it’s certainly a work in progress.

This goal has inspired several other goals. Through the challenges and lack of a mass sell out I have discovered so much about myself & looking forward to much more discovery! Without all of the mini goals and celebrated accomplishments, I could have lost focus. Even as I type this I am working on a cover re-design; (goals are works in progress)!

Your goal is unique to you. Your why is personal to you. No matter how grand or simple your goal may seem, it’s worth your attention and dedicated time. It’s part of you, it’s part of your journey that will create your future.

Live with intention (defined as a determination to act in a certain way and to live with a plan). I encourage you to focus daily on creating your joy and peace. You are capable and worthy. Whether you focus on a category, a personal or professional goal, or a dream you keep thinking about. Take action. Create the steps. Celebrate accomplishments!

I’d love to hear what current goal you are working on! Share in the comments below or email me at successencourager@gmail.com. Find me on Instagram for daily encouraging quotes.

You can purchase my goal setting journal here. With revised cover and currently 25% off; under $15!

Thanks for reading and following!

 

Goals encourage self-love

Recently, I defined the words self-care, selfish and empowerment. Continuing with that theme I’d like to encourage more self-love through goal-setting. Why goal-setting? Because it’s the first step to encourage action toward what brings you joy! Once you set a goal you can start taking the steps to make that goal a reality. Focusing on your passion/dream/goal is the best way to create peace and empowerment. It allows a process to start in motion and brings opportunities for accountability and accomplishment. It’s got self-love written all over it 🙂

Goals typically fall in a few broad categories. My personal categories that I use are:

• Well-being – Mental and physical health; stretching, walking, meditation, conscious eating, plenty of water. Ask yourself – What are my health goals, what are my limits?
• Spirit – Self-care, gratitude journaling, positive affirmations, create, hobbies. Ask yourself – What brings joy and peace? What nourishes me?
• Circle – Mutual relationships that allow you to give and receive support; family, friends, work friendships, recovery groups, clubs or hobby groups. Ask yourself – Who balances with me? Who supports me and invites my support?
• Productivity – Daily routine; work, volunteering, caregiver, budgeting, learning. Ask yourself – What is my current daily schedule (define it). What do I want my future schedule or routine to look like and consist of?

Once you define your most important goal and research the first few steps needed to make it a reality, dedicate time to accomplishing it and celebrate each progress…life will change; you will change…you will be giving much self-love to yourself and trust me, you’ll thank yourself for doing so!

I personally benefit from keeping a journal/calendar to track my progress and keep my to-do lists organized. I’ve been working on a project slowly for a couple of years and look forward to sharing it with everyone very soon! Hint hint…it’ll be giveaway time worthy! I’ll announce that soon! (So excited and giddy, I can hardly hide it).

What goal are you focused on right now? Do you have time dedicated to it daily or maybe weekly? How empowered are you feeling right now?? Comment below or send me an email.

 

Taking care of yourself – Empowering

I think there are some misconceptions about what self-care truly means.

Self-care is defined as “self-care is any necessary human regulatory function which is under individual control, deliberate and self-initiated,” by Wikipedia.

And ‘selfish‘ is defined as “concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one’s own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others,” by Merriam- Webster.

While we are on definitions I’d like to confirm one other one; Empower – “to encourage and support the ability to do something and to give someone official authority or the freedom to do something,” according to dictionary.cambridge.org/us.

SO how better to empower ourselves and others than through self-care?

• Learn as much as we can about what we are passionate about.
• Set and accomplish goals that will promote our own well-being so we can either care for others or encourage others to focus on their own well-being
• Create art, resources, tips and guides, and shrae it all with others

How is any of that selfish or self-centered? It’s time to focus on goals and empowering not only yourself, but those around you and those seeking information and encouragement.

Thoughts?

Self-Empowerment

Empowerment simply means to enable or permit. Recognizing and developing your skill-set (both personally and professionally) is self-empowerment; permitting yourself to acknowledge your hard work. This will allow you to set more realistic goals, build confidence and focus. This also requires some change.

Change? Yes, change. Change is good and exciting (and a bit scary, right?). Empowering yourself might require you to change your thought process, think about your future goals, and to focus on your strengths and weaknesses and thinking more positively about them. As fast paced as personal and professional lives can be, it’s important to take a moment to breath once in a while, clear your mind and focus; allow yourself to create goals.

Sure…clear my mind…you say…no problem! So, it’s easier said than done, right? Let’s work together and break it down as most of us can be overwhelmed with work or trying to find a job, changing careers, starting a business, taking care of a family, friends, coworkers, dealing with health problems, or any other one hundred and one stresses that life can toss your way (separately or all at once!).

• First and foremost find the time. You have to find the time to define your focus; whether it’s 30 minutes, an hour, a day, a weekend.
• Focus and define. Get a pen and paper or note-taking app (whatever you prefer and have access to frequently to update, etc.) and start writing/typing out your focus. Do you want to focus on your career, business, family, relationships, writing, finishing a degree or starting classes, health? Maybe you want to focus on all of these…but for now choose the top one to three areas that you most want to focus on today. Don’t get overwhelmed, it’s not a test, it’s a start to your empowerment!
• Next to your goal(s) write a once sentence mission type statement. Sum up why the list is important to you right now and a simple plan to make it/them a priority. Ask yourself how this goal(s) will lead to you accomplishing others and/or the larger picture goals? Examples – will starting a business allow you to have more time with your family? Would focusing on your health allow you to focus more on your education and attend courses? Can you combine goals? For example – If you want to focus on meditating daily this could help your health and lower stress levels, help you focus better at work, etc. to accomplish this you could get up 30 minutes earlier, use part of a lunch hour or pick a time before bed.
• Keep your written goals visible, look at them periodically, update them, use a calendar to write notes and track your progress. Don’t get discouraged if you realize another goal is priority, simply shift to that goal and start the process of focusing on that new goal; write your mission statement, etc. Create a vision board or journal if this helps you focus. Only you know what works for you personally.
• Create a realistic timeline/schedule. Don’t stress on timelines, but set a general time-frame goal. If setting a certain time daily works for you, then schedule it. Is this part of a year plan, five year plan, etc.? Do you want this to be part of your lifestyle forever or just until you accomplish said goal or is it assisting you with another goal?
• Use this exercise to self-guide yourself; focus and expand your knowledge in the areas of your goals. Mainly, realize what it is that you want and put thoughts into actions and empower yourself to accomplish what is most important to you!

Self-guiding is the most personal way for you to focus on your particular goals. You can research information related to you and your path, personalizing your plan. This creates a higher success rate and allows you to be in complete control. It is fine to balance general guidelines with your own process. Explore what works best for you. There are webinars, books, community courses, mentors, videos, and other resources available for free through libraries, online, educational institutions, conferences, local groups, and more that can help you learn more about your main focus. Of course there are traditional course studies as well. Again, it’s just about finding your balance and what works for YOU.

Remember, you can balance personal and professional empowerment with the tips listed above. It’s time to focus on you, your goals and empowering yourself to recognize and complete steps needed for your amazing future!

Have additional tips? Share them! Have questions? Ask them!

Thank you so much for reading!