This was the title of a free seminar I attended today at my local public library. They actually have some pretty good programs, you should check into yours. Or better yet, volunteer to do your own workshop there, they’d love to have you.
Tonight’s seminar was presented by Debbie Lacy, a Life Coach. She was excellent. And even though I was the only male attending out of about 25 people (I wonder why) it was a great little boost to help me start achieving my goals. She provided practical tools and a different perspective on accomplishing goals.
One of the things she had us do to help define our vision was to answer the following 4 questions, which was a slightly different approach than most.
- In my life it feels like it’s time to…
- I know it’s time because… (list signs/evidence you’ve noticed)
- What are the feelings/essences that you most want to experience in 2010?
- What could you have or do this year that would create those feelings and essences? Try to narrow down to the two most important goals you’d like to achieve by the end of 2010.
I liked how she tried to help you frame your goals in a higher purpose. Yeah, you want to accomplish X, but why? What kind of feeling or essence are you ultimately after?
For instance, you might want to lose 50 pounds, but why? Is it to be healthier? look better? fit into those old clothes? With a more foundational purpose, you might find that the specific goal you’ve chosen may not be the best avenue to get you what you really want. This also helps you to be flexible and change your goals during the year if different opportunities come along.
The first two ‘finish the sentence’ questions help you to have confidence in what you know. She said “It’s important to know why you know what you know.” That almost sounds like a bad joke, but it’s true. If we can recognize the signs or evidences in our life of why we know things deep down, then that will help us not to second guess ourselves for the decisions we make.
The bottom line is, do you trust yourself? If you can build the skills to trust yourself, then you will accomplish your goals.
I believe that statement because usually the reasons we don’t accomplish our goals is because we fall back into our old patterns, we make up lame excuses, or we don’t believe we can do it.
Debbie also shared some other good techniques that I might tell you about later.
What are your favorite tactics for accomplishing goals?
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