This Blog has been contributed by Lynne Mair
January! It’s an exciting month packed with possibilities and opportunities. If only you can plan properly to seize them and, in doing so, make 2013 your best goal-achieving dream-fulfilling year yet!
Here’s a QUICK GUIDE to help you do just that and MAKE IT HAPPEN in 2013…
1. Process what 2012 gave you – it may have given you a tonne of BS, but flip that on its head for a mo, because that may have actually given you the chance to prove to yourself how strong you can be, or alerted you to the fact that you DO have a bunch of really good supportive friends. It may have shown you that you have skills you didn’t know you had, or have revealed precisely what you don’t want to do, so that you can shift direction, change gears and move forward toward the destination you DO want to reach. So look back and assess. Note down your findings, learn from them, then move on.
2. Visually plan what you want from 2013. Make it VISUAL. Vision is vital, you’ll no doubt have heard about the importance of vision. After all, it’s difficult to know where you’re headed if you can’t picture it in your mind’s eye right? January is the PERFECT month to transfer that vision from your head onto paper. You can do this in many ways: by creating a VISION BOARD (images cut from magazines or printed from the web which capture what you wish your life looked like – a collage of your desired future) by creating a simple ‘BUSINESS COLLAGE‘ (words and images that depict your business, your goals and your purpose/USPs) by creating a ‘CREATIVE VISUAL BUSINESS PLAN‘ (a fun-to-make brightly coloured business plan made on card, filled with brief summaries, images, stand-out words and creative visual guidance) …
3. Affirm and Believe. Each morning, as you sip on your coffee/tea/water/juice, jot down two or three affirmations, in the present/past tense, as if they’ve already happened; your dreams as if they’ve already come true. e.g. rather than writing ‘I will become this or that or I will do this or that, write I AM… “I am a best-selling author. I am a patient mummy. I am succeeding because 10 new customers have signed up this week/month.” Write these down and then spend a minute visualising yourself being that person or rewarding yourself for achieving that goal. Next, believe you’ll make it so. Remember that belief in your ability to achieve your goals is half the battle. If you believe that you can’t or won’t, then that’s what will happen. Conversely, believe that you can and will and you’ll fly.
4. Stay positive. You are what you think about. Yep, life can get in the way; sh1t happens, all sorts of stuff can drag you down. The secret is to do all you can to swap thoughts of frustration, annoyance, anger, general p’d offness into happy uplifting and pleased thoughts. There are a number of ways to do this (watch this space for more on this topic) – one way is to consider what it is that makes you feel happy. e.g. swimming, reading your favourite magazine, having a relaxing bath, excersie, chatting with girlfriends over a glass of wine, watching your children crack each other up… you get the gist. Then, while you’re doing your planning, schedule in more of that good stuff. Make time for you. The pay off will be a happier and more productive/patient/pleasant you. Good for everybody.
5. Act. Create an action plan. Do this TODAY! Write down your five main goals, whether that’s to launch a new website, travel to Hawaii, become a more patient mum, lose a stone or create a best-selling product. Underneath each of those goals jot down ten action steps you will need to make in order to MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Do these five things and you WILL notice things going your way. Make the most of January and the rest will follow… Let’s DO this!
January! It’s an exciting month packed with possibilities and opportunities. If only you can plan properly to seize them and, in doing so, make 2013 your best goal-achieving dream-fulfilling year yet!
Here’s a QUICK GUIDE to help you do just that and MAKE IT HAPPEN in 2013…
1. Process what 2012 gave you – it may have given you a tonne of BS, but flip that on its head for a mo, because that may have actually given you the chance to prove to yourself how strong you can be, or alerted you to the fact that you DO have a bunch of really good supportive friends. It may have shown you that you have skills you didn’t know you had, or have revealed precisely what you don’t want to do, so that you can shift direction, change gears and move forward toward the destination you DO want to reach. So look back and assess. Note down your findings, learn from them, then move on.
2. Visually plan what you want from 2013. Make it VISUAL. Vision is vital, you’ll no doubt have heard about the importance of vision. After all, it’s difficult to know where you’re headed if you can’t picture it in your mind’s eye right? January is the PERFECT month to transfer that vision from your head onto paper. You can do this in many ways: by creating a VISION BOARD (images cut from magazines or printed from the web which capture what you wish your life looked like – a collage of your desired future) by creating a simple ‘BUSINESS COLLAGE‘ (words and images that depict your business, your goals and your purpose/USPs) by creating a ‘CREATIVE VISUAL BUSINESS PLAN‘ (a fun-to-make brightly coloured business plan made on card, filled with brief summaries, images, stand-out words and creative visual guidance) …3. Affirm and Believe. Each morning, as you sip on your coffee/tea/water/juice, jot down two or three affirmations, in the present/past tense, as if they’ve already happened; your dreams as if they’ve already come true. e.g. rather than writing ‘I will become this or that or I will do this or that, write I AM… “I am a best-selling author. I am a patient mummy. I am succeeding because 10 new customers have signed up this week/month.” Write these down and then spend a minute visualising yourself being that person or rewarding yourself for achieving that goal. Next, believe you’ll make it so. Remember that belief in your ability to achieve your goals is half the battle. If you believe that you can’t or won’t, then that’s what will happen. Conversely, believe that you can and will and you’ll fly.
4. Stay positive. You are what you think about. Yep, life can get in the way; sh1t happens, all sorts of stuff can drag you down. The secret is to do all you can to swap thoughts of frustration, annoyance, anger, general p’d offness into happy uplifting and pleased thoughts. There are a number of ways to do this (watch this space for more on this topic) – one way is to consider what it is that makes you feel happy. e.g. swimming, reading your favourite magazine, having a relaxing bath, excersie, chatting with girlfriends over a glass of wine, watching your children crack each other up… you get the gist. Then, while you’re doing your planning, schedule in more of that good stuff. Make time for you. The pay off will be a happier and more productive/patient/pleasant you. Good for everybody.5. Act. Create an action plan. Do this TODAY! Write down your five main goals, whether that’s to launch a new website, travel to Hawaii, become a more patient mum, lose a stone or create a best-selling product. Underneath each of those goals jot down ten action steps you will need to make in order to MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Do these five things and you WILL notice things going your way. Make the most of January and the rest will follow… Let’s DO this!
