It’s January which means most of us are feeling the urge to make this our best year yet. While the start of a new year is a great time to evaluate your life and your future, you may feel a lot of pressure to do something big to initiate a life change at the beginning of a new calendar year.
If you didn’t make any resolutions as you watched the ball drop on New Year’s Eve, don’t feel bad about it. You can set goals whenever you want – it doesn’t have to be on January 1st!
Do you find it difficult to stick to a goal because you always lose momentum after the first couple of weeks? (How many years have you been trying to lose those same 10 pounds?)
I have five tips to share that should help keep you focused – you can reach your goals this year!
Write it down. Whether you want to lose weight, double your income or renovate your kitchen you should put it in writing. You’re much more likely to reach your goals if they’re written down and placed somewhere they can be seen every day to remind you.
List your past successes. Before you even start to write down your goals, take some time to write down your past accomplishments. Think back and write down anything you consider a personal success. For example, did you run a marathon, recover from cancer, buy your first house before you were 30, beat out hundreds of applicants for a specific job or to get into a certain school, win an award, raise money for a cause, raise happy and healthy children, start your own business?
When you remember all the great things you’ve made happen in your life, you’ll feel empowered and this will put you in the right frame of mind to achieve the new goals you set for your future.
I’ll post the remaining three tips in a blog post on Friday, so start thinking about the goals you most want to accomplish this year!
“See” you Friday!
Debra Gould, The Staging Diva®
President, Six Elements Inc. Home Staging
Intrepid entrepreneur and home staging expert Debra Gould, also known as The Staging Diva, has been running her own business since 1989. She knows how to make money as a home stager and has taught over 1000 others to use their decorating talents and run their own home staging business in the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program.
[tags]entrepreneur, home stager, home staging, home staging business, Staging Diva, Debra Gould, Six Elements, goal setting, business goal, house staging [/tags]
I have another tip….make yourself accountable to your goal by sharing it. Share it with someone you trust – or better yet – many people. Talking about your dreams helps make them real, and often others can offer ideas or support to help you reach your goal faster. suzanne@arlingtonhomestaging.com
The other night someone from my networking group told me that she does Vision Boards. I had never heard of them. From what I understand, you put your goals up on a board – either in writing or through pictures. She had gone so far as to take one of her paychecks and white out the amount and doubled it. And it actually worked! She also had a sketch of a building that she would someday love to live in here in New York City. Well, the new apartment that she found is in a building that looks just like the picture, right down to the tree outside the front door.
Sounds like we should change the addage “you are what you eat” to you are what you think! Being positve always produces results.
Write it down-love it! It seems to help keep you accountable. Just like when you write an appointment in you planer. You make sure you arrive on time and ready for your meeting. When you write your goals down (long & short) and see them daily it mentally plants a seed to be accountable and do your best to reach them what ever they are. Keeping a journal is something I do daily even if it is a sentence or two. And for someone who is not very good at writing it makes it difficult at times. However I realize how very important it is and a lot cheaper than sitting on a sofa talking to someone who knows nothing about you and keeps looking at the clock… One thing I do is use a goal sheet as my book marker, this puts them in front of my face and keeps me focused on the day at hand! Always writing a little something on how to reach them and of course what not to do! Most important do not beat your self up if you don’t reach them in the time you frame you expected…pick yourself up and keep going for it and don’t give up! I also think most importantly is that you set realistic goals start small and go big. Set weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. The little ones really keep you alive and strong to reach the BIG ONES!
Thank you all for your excellent comments and for contributing to this discussion! I know it will help others learn too. Donna I’ve heard many similar stories about vision boards and the success they bring. I confess that in my desire to have a well decorated office, I don’t have one up. But, I do have a folder in which I keep all of what I would glue to a vision board and take it out now and then to review.
Make sure you check out my related post on the one page marketing plan, I think you’ll find that helpful too.
It’s at:
https://stagingdiva.com/homestagingbusiness/one-page-marketing-plan/