Whether we work for ourselves or for someone else it is sometimes hard to resist the temptation to fall into the pattern of working too much. According to the organisation for working families nine per cent of employees worked forty to forty- eight hours in a usual working week, six per cent worked more than 48 hours, with two per cent working more than 55 hours.
At the end of the summer as we return to work it is easy just to carry on where we left off and go back to the madness of hectic days where we react to everything, respond to everyone’s demands and stress levels are soon back to where they were before the holidays. Our family and friends are put on the back burner and our social life and outside activities suffer. But not this year, with a little thought and planning this autumn could be a much calmer time with work and life much more balanced.
There are many challenges to taking control of our life and gaining balance, here are some tips for getting you started.
Time management and planning
There are 1440 minutes in a day, no more, no less, but we try to squeeze more time out of an already busy day. If those minutes were pound notes would we be more careful with them? Would our precious time capital be treated with more respect? The truth is that we cannot control time but with some simple time management techniques it is possible to manage ourselves a little better, if we wish to make more use of our time. Knowing our priorities and working towards them, by setting a few simple goals can be the key to keeping us on track and achieving what we want without working all day and all night.
Go home on time
Plan to go home on time (or if you work at home to finish on time) at least one day a week or even go home or finish early, plan something nice to do when you do go home. Having something to look forward to will help you be more focused.
Learn to say no
Sometimes a simple “no” will do instead of being the one who always says “yes”. People ask because they know that you will always say yes. So by not always being accommodating they may think twice before asking again.
Eat well and exercise
If we eat well and exercise we can keep up our energy levels and not become burnt out. By looking after ourselves we are more able to make better decisions about our day and our choices.
Take regular breaks
It is important to take regular breaks both during the day and also to take well earned holidays from time to time to recharge our energy levels and keep us refreshed and focused.
Disconnect from mobile phones and devices
These days most of us have not just a mobile phone but a variety of other devices so we can be stitched on 24 hours a day. But we don’t have to always be available, by switching off the technology for a few minutes each day or having a day free from technology. It is possible to get back in touch with our social side. Try living in the moment, perhaps even introducing a few real conversations and talking to people.
Delegate at work and at home
And finally delegate at work and at home. We do not have to do everything ourselves even at home. If time is really precious to us we can get other people, family, friends or even pay someone to do some jobs so that we have more time to do the things that we want to.
September 23 – 27 is National Work Life Balance week and Wednesday 25 September is National GO Home Early Day. What can you do to improve your Work Life Balance this month?
Gillian Kitchen MA, ILM, is a personal & leadership coach she’s on Twitter @changeagencynw & LinkedIn
I recently visited the David Bowie exhibition at the V & A in London. Now, I am not particularly a Bowie music fan however I was immediately struck by his endless ability to seek out and embrace change. This enduring ability to change has set him apart from all others artists. He was not prepared to simply keep on playing the same old music into his retirement. It’s hard to believe that Ziggy Stardust was killed off after just one year, to make way for Bowie to follow his next project and not to be stifled by the persona of Ziggy. Bowie has inspired many people to follow their dream and ideas, to dare to be different and stand out from the crowd.
Bowie is the master of change. He has constantly evolved throughout his long career with the ability to reinvent himself into something new. Bowie has been many different things a song writer, a singer, a musician, a designer, a mime artist and an artist to name just a few. His collaborations have included artists and designers in the fields of fashion, sound, graphics, theatre, art and film but above all he is a leader and people follow him, he has the ability to set a trend and people follow. He had vision and chose his path, the people he had around him, the opportunities he could shape and the way that he thought about what he could do.
Every day we are faced with many choices, choose one path to go in one direction or choose another path to go in a completely different direction. It is the quality of the choices that we make in responding to change that decide our direction. Some of us fear change and others thrive on making changes.
The degree of your success in dealing with individual, team or strategic level change successfully depends on the activities and initiatives you choose to focus on. The quality of the people that you have chosen to surround yourself with, the opportunities you have chosen to seize, the kind of thoughts you have chosen to allow in your mind all influence the changes that we want to make. Change is like walking down a footpath. If you have chosen the right path for what you want to change, have the self discipline and determination to do so you will reach where you want to go. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to be”.
We embrace huge changes many times in our lives. People have babies, get married, move house, adapt to new technologies and new jobs. Changes like giving up smoking or losing weight can be difficult even though we may want to make the change. There are some things that we can’t change, for example, our genes and our human urges, but almost everything else can be changed if we really want to. Changing ourselves is not easy, it takes a lot of hard work and a really good motive and usually means that somebody somewhere has to get out of their comfort zone.
In order for things to change somebody somewhere has to start to act differently. Maybe it’s you or your team. For change to take place three things need to happen at the same time. You have to change the environment and engage the hearts and minds of the people you wish to influence. This is best summed up in a book by Chip and Dan Heath ‘Switch, How to Change When Change is Hard’. They say think of change as a huge elephant and a small rider. The rider is our rational self and the elephant is our emotional self. Each of us has an emotional side and a rational side. For change to happen we must direct the rider (our rational self) motivate the elephant (our emotional side) and shape the path to change our situation, when the situation changes our behaviour changes. This is the case for organisations and the individuals in them. Success is about behaviour. If we behave in a way that is congruent with the goals we want to achieve it can change everything if we really want it to.
References
David Bowie Exhibition – The V&A until 11th August
Chip & Dan Heath – Switch How To Change Things When Change is Hard
Stephen Covey – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective people
Gillian Kitchen MA, ILM, personal & leadership coach find me on Twitter @changeagencynw & LinkedIn
At the age of 62 Charles Bradley was able to realise his dream of becoming a soul singer and song writer. As a young man Charles lived on the streets and slept on the subway travelling on the trains all night for 2 years. He enrolled in Job Corps and trained as a chef. People told him that he looked like James Brown, he could sing but he was too shy to tell anyone. Later he did become a singer and made his living as a James Brown tribute act. He nearly died when he was admitted to hospital and was given penicillin which he is allergic to. Later his brother was shot death by a jealous girl friend in an alley near to his mother’s house.
Charles was discovered while performing as James Brown, the person who discovered him wanted him to write his own songs. People say that Charles sings from his soul, his songs are not happy songs but stories from his life experiences.
Charles was signed up by the record company and in 2012 Charles story was made into a feature film ‘Soul of America’ detailing his hard struggles in life. I watched the film recently and was humbled to see how this man had come through and made it. What was it that made him so resilient? And how did he keep going though all those tough times?
So what is resilience and can we develop it? The dictionary definition defines it as the “Ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune, change or disturbance”. Some people are able to successfully integrate change into their life, which can make them stronger. Think of it like a spring or an elastic band that has the ability to be stretched and return to almost the same shape, but not quite.
I recently attended a seminar on resilience and according to Mandy Rutter of Validuim there are 4 elements to building resilience
Physical
How you look after yourself, the food you eat, exercising regularly, taking enough rest and recovery for the life that you lead. When people feel that they are under stress the tendency is to take short swallow breaths and not actually breathe correctly. This can have a detrimental effect on physical health. All of these factors can impact on the way that you deal with the world and what life throws at us on a daily basis.
Emotional
Making sure to make time for fun and enjoyment is important and laughing is especially good for you. So too is having challenges and finding your own opportunities in life. Having people in your life that are important to you and that you are important to, is a key factor in helping you to become resilient. The ability to think about your situation differently and taking another another perspective can also help. Having independent support for yourself from either from a friend or a professional such as a coach can also be helpful.
Spiritual
For some people spirituality is related to their faith if they have one, for others it is about how they live their lives and understanding their beliefs and values and living their lives accordingly. This can become an issue, when for example, the values of an organisation a person belongs to or works for change and the person no longer feels at one with that organisation.
Mental
The ability to think creatively, to be able to transfer positive feelings from situations that have worked well in other parts of your life and applying similar strategies to help with the matter at hand. Drawing on an ability to recreate what has worked well in the past and adapt to the situation facing you now. How have you coped before and you can cope now. Wanting to recover and finding a way to keep a positive view point of view.
I also add Social Integration to this list. From my experience of working with people. Being connected to a social network, friends, family or a group of like minded people, from whom to draw energy, support and a listening ear also helps feel as though they belong. This can also help in developing resilience.
Charles Bradley may not have had much money but he did know how to cook and feed himself well, he made the most of his friendships and the people that supported him and believed in him over the years. He kept his faith and never gave up on his self. He has become a phenomenon.
We can all learn from Charles. I am not suggesting that we can all become soul singers but if we believe in ourselves and make sure that we are armed with as much information as possible to keep ourselves resilient and we don’t give up, who knows what we can achieve.
References
Mandy Rutter -Senior Clinical Business Manager Validuim
Charles Bradley – ‘Soul of America’
Gillian
At the age of 62 Charles Bradley was able to realise his dream of becoming a soul singer and song writer. As a young man Charles lived on the streets and slept on the subway travelling on the trains all night for 2 years. He enrolled in Job Corps and trained as a chef. People told him that he looked like James Brown, he could sing but he was too shy to tell anyone. Later he did become a singer and made his living as a James Brown tribute act. He nearly died when he was admitted to hospital and was given penicillin which he is allergic to. Later his brother was shot death by a jealous girl friend in an alley near to his mother’s house.
Charles was discovered while performing as James Brown, the person who discovered him wanted him to write his own songs. People say that Charles sings from his soul, his songs are not happy songs but stories from his life experiences.
Charles was signed up by the record company and in 2012 Charles story was made into a feature film ‘Soul of America’ detailing his hard struggles in life. I watched the film recently and was humbled to see how this man had come through and made it. What was it that made him so resilient? And how did he keep going though all those tough times?
So what is resilience and can we develop it? The dictionary definition defines it as the “Ability to recover from or adjust to misfortune, change or disturbance”. Some people are able to successfully integrate change into their life, which can make them stronger. Think of it like a spring or an elastic band that has the ability to be stretched and return to almost the same shape, but not quite.
I recently attended a seminar on resilience and according to Mandy Rutter of Validuim there are 4 elements to building resilience
Physical
How you look after yourself, the food you eat, exercising regularly, taking enough rest and recovery for the life that you lead. When people feel that they are under stress the tendency is to take short swallow breaths and not actually breathe correctly. This can have a detrimental effect on physical health. All of these factors can impact on the way that you deal with the world and what life throws at us on a daily basis.
Emotional
Making sure to make time for fun and enjoyment is important and laughing is especially good for you. So too is having challenges and finding your own opportunities in life. Having people in your life that are important to you and that you are important to, is a key factor in helping you to become resilient. The ability to think about your situation differently and taking another another perspective can also help. Having independent support for yourself from either from a friend or a professional such as a coach can also be helpful.
Spiritual
For some people spirituality is related to their faith if they have one, for others it is about how they live their lives and understanding their beliefs and values and living their lives accordingly. This can become an issue, when for example, the values of an organisation a person belongs to or works for change and the person no longer feels at one with that organisation.
Mental
The ability to think creatively, to be able to transfer positive feelings from situations that have worked well in other parts of your life and applying similar strategies to help with the matter at hand. Drawing on an ability to recreate what has worked well in the past and adapt to the situation facing you now. How have you coped before and you can cope now. Wanting to recover and finding a way to keep a positive view point of view.
I also add Social Integration to this list. From my experience of working with people. Being connected to a social network, friends, family or a group of like minded people, from whom to draw energy, support and a listening ear also helps feel as though they belong. This can also help in developing resilience.
Charles Bradley may not have had much money but he did know how to cook and feed himself well, he made the most of his friendships and the people that supported him and believed in him over the years. He kept his faith and never gave up on his self. He has become a phenomenon.
We can all learn from Charles. I am not suggesting that we can all become soul singers but if we believe in ourselves and make sure that we are armed with as much information as possible to keep ourselves resilient and we don’t give up, who knows what we can achieve.
References
Mandy Rutter -Senior Clinical Business Manager Validuim
Charles Bradley – ‘Soul of America’
Gillian
Displays of non verbal expressions of power are displayed by both humans and animals alike. The peacock fans it beautiful tail feathers to attract attention, birds and cats puff themselves up to appear larger than they actually are. Even the most confident person may not always feel super confident and outgoing, they too may have times of feeling under confident. But can we learn to develop our confidence?
There are times when we want to be confident such as at a job interview, a presentation, an important occasion or an important sales pitch but something keeps holding us back. I always tell my clients’ to fake it to make it. The brain does not know the difference between doing the real thing and pretending to be confident. I once had a great boss who when I approached him and told him that I was not coping with the new promotion that he had given me said “if you feel that you are not confident then just act as if you are confident” sure enough after a short while of pretending to be able to do the job I did indeed begin to really do the job. But what was it that worked for me?
I came across this research conducted at Harvard University that suggests that by simply spending a few short minutes ‘power posing’ that we can all improve our confidence. The research indicates that people with small closed body powerless posture and low confidence have a higher level of the stress hormone cortisol in their blood than people who display large open body powerful posture have a higher level of testosterone. The research was conducted with students who were separated in to two groups and assigned low power posture or high power postures. The students in the high power group were instructed to adopt either the high power pose or the low power pose for a few minutes. The cortisol and testosterone levels were tested for both groups.
The low power posture group were asked to either sit with their heads bent & their arms across their body or to stand in a similar position. Whilst the high power group were asked to stand or sit in expansive positions with open arms or with their hand on the hips. The results show significant increases in the testosterone levels of the students who took the power poses and they reported that they felt more powerful after the posing then they did before hand.
I am not suggesting that you power pose in the interview or meeting, beforehand take yourself off somewhere where no one can see you doing it. I have shared this research with some of my clients who have had great results at interviews and presentations and reported that they did indeed feel much more confident.
So acting like a pro or faking it to make it can actually work if you want to gain more confidence. So next time you want to be more confident try a ‘power pose’ & see if it works for you.
Reference
Power Posing: Brief Nonverbal Displays Affect Neuronendocrine Levels and Risk Tolerance – Dana Carney, Amy Cuddy and Andy Yap. Psychological Science Online, published on September 21, 2010 down loaded from psss.sagepub.com at Columbia University.
Gillian Kitchen – The Change Agency
– How to make choices at work or at home
In the classic film noir Casablanca the reluctant and ambiguous hero Rick (Humphrey Bogart) is faced with many decisions. Did he have a decision making process or did he make all his decisions based on his gut feelings? The film is set at the beginning on the Second World War. People wishing to travel beyond Europe to the Americas to find freedom found themselves in Casablanca in French Morocco, the transit point. Those with money, influence or good fortune to gain the exit visas were able to escape to their new world from here.
We live in a technological world but as the song from the film goes “the fundamental things apply as time goes by”. We are faced with many decisions both in our professional and our personal lives. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do and how to make the decision that can shape our future. We can always do nothing and simply see what happens or we can decide to take action and follow our own path. Sometimes a simple pros and cons list can be useful but this does not take in to account the emotions that are often interwoven aspects of our decisions making processes. If we look at the type of decisions facing people and the end results of the decision making process, we find that generally human kind does not have a particularly striking track record.
When we make a decision we make a choice or a judgement about something. Choices about life chances like careers that might have been deserted, mourned or lost. At many universities in the UK a dropout rate of about 30% is now common. A fifth of teacher training students drop out after six months of training and never make it to the class room.
In business the decision making situation is often blemished with bad decisions being made as regularly as good decisions.
In our personal lives things are not much better. How many of us save for our retirement, embark on relationships that are simply not good for us, fail to look after ourselves by not exercising or choosing the wrong type of foods to make us healthy and energised. There are many reasons why we do not make decisions perhaps an element of procrastination and fear of making the wrong decision holds some of us back. Our heroine (Ingrid Bergman) makes a decision that gave us one of the greatest lines in film history “Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine”.
How can we improve our decision making? According to Chip & Dan Heath in their book ‘Decisive’ there are four villains of decision making.
- Narrow framing – a tendency to define our options too narrowly instead of “should I break up with my partner or not” they recommend “ What ways can I improve my relationship”
- Confirming bias – Only seek out the information that confirms our beliefs.
- Short term emotions – Being swayed by emotions that will fade
- Over confidence – Having too much faith in our predictions
They also suggest the following their WRAP model for improving decision making processes. Here is an over view of the process.
- Widen your options
- Reality test your assumptions
- Attain distance before deciding
- Be prepared to be wrong
From my experience and my work with clients I have found the following questions to be useful when considering options or choices. You may find some of them helpful to you too.
- Have you considered your values or those of your organisation?
- Who do you need to involve in the decision making process?
- Have you gathered all the facts and understand the causes?
- How have you analysed the different options?
- What is the worst that can happen?
- Have you looked at the situation from a number of perspectives?
- What is your deadline?
- How are you going to communicate the decision?
- Can you live with the outcome of the decision?
It’s also worth remembering that we make decisions all the time and that not all decisions are life changing. So whether it’s deciding what to have for your tea, a new business deal or who to give the exit papers to. Sometimes it’s simply a gut reaction that wins the day. So like Rick in the film hold you own counsel and believe in yourself, find a decision process that suits you and the context that you are making your decision in. Here’s looking at you, kid!
Read the book – Decisive ‘How to make better choices in life and work’ – Chip & Dan Heath 2013. See the film – Casablanca – 1942.
Gillian Kitchen
The Change Agency
Do you dread those difficult conversations with staff or perhaps someone close to you? Perhaps you have been putting off speaking to a member of staff you are responsible for or you are having some issues with a teenager or perhaps you just want to improve your relationships and you want to get the conversations right, but you just don’t know how to start the conversation.
Handling difficult conversations requires developing a set of skills. Conversations are not just what we say but take account of a number of other factors, including our listening, observation, questioning and empathic skills which all come into play in our conversations with others. Words and body language are very powerful and we can find ourselves in a rapidly accelerating situation without realising it, if we are not careful. Following these few simple steps will help you to get your point across in an objective manner.
Listening
How often do we really listen to the other person’s point of view? If we really listen to what the other person is actually saying we can have much more productive conversations. Try focussing on what the other person is saying. It becomes easier to understand their situation rather than focussing on our own situation and what we want to say next.
Observation and body language
Only twenty percent of communication is what we say, eighty percent is non verbal. Through body language and facial expressions we give a great deal away. We use a number of micro facial expressions, that if observed can tell us a great deal about what the other person is really feeling. If we subtly mirror the other person’s body language and maintain good eye contact we can rapidly gain their confidence and help them to feel that they are being listened too and understood. Being aware of our own and the other person’s body language can be a really helpful way of tuning in to the other person feelings.
Questions
The questions that we ask can really help to clarify the situation. By using open ended questions we can gain information about the others persons situation. For example, instead of “you made a mess of that” if we say “tell me what it is that you wanted to achieve,” we start to get to the bottom of the situation without blaming anyone. By stating the facts, and not our emotions and by saying what we observe and not what we feel. We can help to move the situation on.
Empathy
We should try putting ourselves in the other person’s shoes and try to see the situation from their point of view. Even in the most difficult situations, if we are able to gain a sense of understanding for the other person’s situation and build a genuine understanding we are more likely to achieve a positive result.
Handled well difficult conversations become learning conversations and can lead to improved outcomes for both parties and a deeper understanding of both ourselves and others.
How we like to take information in is important to how we learn. Mostly you can tell how people learn by simply listening to the way that they talk about their world. There is no right or wrong way to learn but your learning style is important to you in establishing how you see the world. Some people have a particular learning style others like to use a blend of all two or all three modes when learning something new. It is helpful to understand how you learn and choose the right learning methods or options for you.
VAK = Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic.
- Visual learning style preference for seen or observed ways of leaning use phrases like ‘the way I see it is’ or ‘I see what you mean’. People with a visual learning style respond well to drawing, visualisation, pictures, models and diagrams.
- Auditory learning style preference for the spoken word, sound and noises use phrases like, ‘That rings a bell’, ‘That sounds like a good idea’. People with an auditory learning style respond well to story, metaphor, scenario creation, discussion and music.
- Kinaesthetic learning style preference for physical experience for touching, feelings, doing use phrases like ‘how do you feel’ or ‘let me try’. People with a kinaesthetic learning style respond well to analysing using situational models, working with clay, mask making, design/creation activities and movement.
In the coaching situation offering creative methods as a choice, in addition to talking enables the client to actively agree to experiment and minimises defensive reactions. Choice can be offered by matching activity to the client’s learning preference, or to the situation that needs to be explored. Sometimes deliberately moving someone out of their comfort zone (with their consent) and extending their skills by offering an unfamiliar activity which is not their identified learning preference can really get the idea’s flowing.
Do you know how you learn? We are all different and learn in different ways. There are many ways of assessing how we learn including a simple VAK assessment available here.
How the Enneagram can help you to understand your personality type
The Enneagram is the study of personality types, ennea is Greek for the number 9 and gram means a drawing with 9 points. The nine points on this diagram represent 9 different personality types. Understanding these 9 different views can help us to understand ourselves better and why we and other people do the things they do. It can offer us specific direction for personal growth.
What type am I?
Here is a brief description of the nine different types.
Type One: The Perfectionist
Perectionists believe that they have to be good and avoid error to be accepted. At best they are ethical, conscientious and responsible, but at worst can also be judgemental, rigid and irritable.
Type Two: The Giver
Helpers believe that to get their own needs fulfilled they have to give to others. At best they are nurturing, generous and empathic, but at worst can also be intrusive, manipulative and martyr like.
Type Three: The Achiever
Achievers believe that to be loved and accepted they have to achieve things and be successful. At best they are hardworking, motivated and successful, but at worst can also be unfeeling,
superficial and workaholic.
Type Four: The Romantic
Romantic believe that there is something missing in their lives, without which they are not complete. At best they are creative, compassionate and deeply feeling, but at worst can also be moody, self absorbed drama queens.
Type Five: The Observer
Observers believe that the world asks too much of them and gives too little in return. At best they are analytical, objective and self-sufficient, but at worst can also be intellectually arrogant, emotionally detached and negative.
Type Six: The Questioner
Questioners believe that the world is a dangerous place and that they must constantly be on the alert. At best they are loyal and practical with enquiring minds, but at worst can also be paranoid, defensive and self-sabotaging.
Type Seven: The Adventurer
Aventurers believe that in order to avoid pain and frustration in life they need to always be looking for new options and ideas. At best they are spontaneous, joyful and enthusiastic, but at worst can also be unreliable, manic and narcissistic.
Type Eight: The Asserter
Asserters believe that they have to be strong and powerful in a tough world. At best they are direct, authoritative and protective, but at worst can also be excessive, bullying and insensitive.
Type Nine: The Peacemaker
Peacemakers believe that they have to blend in and go along with others to be accepted. Nines at best are friendly, unselfish and accepting, but at worst can also be spaced out, stubborn and unassertive.
What knowing you type can do for you
Understanding your personality type is very useful information to have, as no matter how much we want to achieve something there will inevitably be difficult times ahead and the more we know ourselves the better equipped we are to discover and remove our own mental blocks to achieving our own goals. It is also useful to know how we deal with situations when we are at our best and also when we are at our worst and to have better knowledge of ourselves and our effect on others. You may be more able to anticipate more accurately how we are likely to behave in the future, in as yet unknown situations.
What to do next
There are a lots of automated enneagram questionnaires on the internet that could quickly give you a rough idea. Be careful of them because they are not that accurate and you can mistype yourself. A much better way is to have a qualified enneagram professional ‘type’ you or read more about the enneagram numbers and see which resonate with you.
Useful websites
www.enneagramworldwide.com
www.enneagramplayground.com
www.enneangel.com
Article by Gillian Kitchen
www.thechangeagency.org.uk
– You can get it if you really want
In his famous song Jimmy Cliff sang “You can get it if you really want, you can get it if really want, but you must try, try and try….you’ll succeed at last”.
At this time of the year many of us are starting to revisit our old goals and start planning for new ones. However, in this article I want to show you how to achieve goals that you will actually be able to stick to this year!
A new year is an opportunity to reassess our lifestyles, rethink our goals and plan for the rest of the year. But despite our best intentions, the majority of us fail to see them through before January is up. But rather than blame our fleeting willpower, perhaps we need to review our resolutions themselves. Changing ourselves is not easy- but if we want it enough and are prepared to think about what we want with good planning it is entirely possible.
Once you have decided upon your goal make sure that it is as clear as possible. Can you see yourself or your business achieving the goal? It not perhaps the goal is too big or the wrong goal. Spend some time really getting to the bottom of what it is that you want to achieve. It is best if the goal has you or your business at its centre, and it is expressed positively. For example, “I am fit and exercise regularly” or “we are the ‘go to’ business for …..”.
Key questions to ask
The more clarity there is about your goal at this stage the better, what will it be like when you have reached your goal? What will you be doing? What will you say? Where will you be? Your goal should be something that you or your business can achieve alone. It is not about changing someone else. Make sure that your goal matches your values, our values can be very powerful so make sure that your goal is in line with your values otherwise it will not happen. Do your personal behaviours match your goals? Success is about behaviour strengthen your personal behaviour to match your goals.
Make your goals SMART
This year, make your goals SMART. Keep your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely. Just say, for example if you wanted to lose weight you might plan your goal using the SMART model to look something like this.
Specific
Think about how much weight you want to lose. Think hard about why you want to lose that weight. Many people think that if they lose weight that their lives will change. That everything will be different, that their lives will be better in some way. But losing weight will not cure a broken marriage or change our personalities.
Measurable
Can you measure your progress? ‘I will lose x amount of pounds by the end of January’ break it down into steps, week by week, month by month and keep a track of what you are doing. Write your goal down and read it every day. The act of summiting your plans to paper makes them clearer and firmer in your mind.
Achievable
Is the goal possible? Perhaps you have been unrealistic in the past. Trying to lose too much weight in too short amount of time. Break your goal down into small bite size chunks. Many people fall along the wayside simply because their goals are too big and therefore seem unachievable. Dividing it up into small chunks can make it seem more achievable.
Relevant
Check that any short term objectives you set yourself are aligned to the direction you want to take overall. Making small gains towards your goal is better than giving up and missing your goal altogether. Some people fail because they haven’t thought though what they will do when they lapse. So when it happens they give up and go on a binge. Think in advance there will be some turbulence, things may get sticky. But if you stay with your plan example, you will not meet your overall goal.
Timely
Create a timeline for achieving your goals, how much exercise will you do each week? This will help to keep you motivated and help you to stay focused. Identify what you want to accomplish and when you want to accomplish it by and reassess it regularly to make sure you are on track.
If we really want to achieve something we may have to work at it and as Jimmy also sang….
“You can get it if you really want – I know it
You can get it if you really want – so don’t give up now”.
You can get it if you really want’ – Classic Jimmy Cliff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18EAqHx2lMk
Happy 2013!
At the Change Agency we can help identify what it is that you want to do. We can also help you to identify your priorities and long term goals and work out how you are going to get to where you want to be.
