goal setting

If you’ve never chosen a theme for your year before, it can be:
a broad, general statement

a thread of consciousness or thought

kind of like a vision or mission statement but not so stuffy

an overriding idea

a repeating thought

a unifying idea

memorable

the subject of discourse or discussion

ongoing meditation with God or self

helps keep you focused, on target, on track

supports Laws of Attraction – if you’re telling the Universe clearly what you desire, then you’re more likely to co-create it!

provides ongoing encouragement as you see your theme coming to fruition throughout the year

Will your theme be:

fun or serious

personal, professional, or both

yearly, monthly, or for an event or project?

Will you start on January 1 or your birthday or your business anniversary?

Will you publicize your theme or keep it to yourself?

I’ve had a number of themes for myself over the years including:

Connection & Community

Sacred Spaces

The Year of Allowing

Elizabeth’s Year of Extreme Self Care

—general and specific—that might inspire you:

Creativity

Trying new things

Taking better care of your health

Organization

Being a better communicator

Learning

Making more money

Deepening your relationships

Living a more balanced life

Developing your spiritual practice

Adventure

Play more

How Much Joy Can I Stand?

My Year of Unexpected Financial Windfalls

The Year of Sacred Spaces

I'm Sexy, Sassy and Unstoppable

Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

Forgive

I’m worth it!

Have fun, fun, fun in all I do!

Big leaps of faith

Do it or dump it

Time is valuable

Prosperity first

Pick the low hanging fruit

No more Lone Ranger

What do you really, really, really want this year in the areas of

RELATIONSHIPS

CAREER

FINANCES

HEALTH

SPIRITUALITY

PERSONAL GROWTH?

Brainstorm your dreams and desires for the coming year. Think big, think small, think in the box and think out of the box. Think short-term and long-term. Think realistically and think pie-in-the-sky! The idea here is simply to capture all of your desires on paper so you can then go back and review all the ideas in your head!

If you can, spend some time with this over the next few days. Journal, talk to friends and family, create a vision board, find a personal anchor (rock, photo, etc) and then pick your theme.

Remember

Happy (almost!) New Year!
Take the next three days to get ready for a fabulous 2010!

PS For readers in the Tallahassee area, it's not too late to sign up for the 2010...Begin Again New Year's Day Retreat! Hope you will join us!

What are the next three phone calls you'd like to receive?

I just got off the phone with my awesome mastermind group... coaches around the country who I met during the Beyond Six Figures Program for Coaches with Eva Gregory and Mary Allen. In this program, I learned tools and skills to take my group coaching programs to new heights! I'm starting another new coaching group live and in person in Tallahassee, FL on September 15th. Details can be found at www.inspiredentrepreneur.com.

But I digress...

So, in my mastermind group, we help each other problem solve, brainstorm and get unstuck. We celebrate our successes, we analyze our failures and serve as a sort of "board of directors" for each other and our businesses. Here's a great resource to help you create your own mastermind group.

Sooooo... one of our members today was talking about a slow period in her business and was seeking coaching, strategies and ideas for how to deal with this. A powerful question that came up was this:

What are the next three phone calls you'd like to receive?

Think about that for a minute. If you could get your phone to ring three times before the end of today, who would you want to hear on the other end of the line? Some ideas...

- a potential new client

- an invitation for some free PR for your business (maybe an interview on radio, TV or in the newspaper)

- a current client who's really happy with the services you provide and who wants to refer someone else to you and they ask "do you have any space for a new client?"

- someone offering you an all-expenses paid vacation

- a friend offering to babysit your kids for the weekend

- your partner calling to say they're going to treat you to a nice dinner out tonite "just because"!

A lot of times when business gets slow, it's because we need the space to think, to regroup, to recommit to our vision. Sometimes we simply need a little break, some time to rest and rejuvenate. So what do you want? What do you  need? What do you choose?

Decide today and make a clear declaration about the next three calls you'd like to receive. Then sit back and watch what happens!

P.S. One more note about my mastermind group...

We've been meeting for almost a year now and these wise folks always have something brilliant to share. Big thanks to Bev Martin, Suzee Ebeling, Joselito Laucendia and Karen McMillan - you make me a better coach and human being each time I talk with you. Thank you for sharing your gifts and your expertise with me!

I watched TV on and off throughout the day in between clients. Everyone I coached had a sense of optimism, excitement and possibility. We all shed a few tears. It feels like a turning point for so many Americans.

Today, history was made.

Today, we believe that almost anything is possible.

Today, this country has come together to celebrate change.

If we can elect the first black man as President of the United States despite the challenging history we've had, it's a day to be hopeful.

"Yes we can!" was Obama's slogan during his campaign. He has charged us all to step up and make a difference. I've thought about that a lot today.

Here's what I can (and plan) to do this year:

1. Donate more of my time to worthy causes.

2. Donate more of my money to people and organizations that need it.

3. Make an effort to get to know more of my neighbors.

4. Offer my coaching skills in ways to benefit more people at a variety of price points.

5. Educate myself about my local, state and national politics and speak up about issues that matter to me.

What can you do this year?

1. Write a Future Vision Letter to yourself and date it January 1, 2010. Pretend it’s one year from now and you’re feeling delighted and joyful about your successes.  The goal of this exercise is to help you identify your objectives for the coming year, so consider including the following:

-    what your ideal days look like

-    who you're spending time with

-    what adventures are you having

-    your personal/professional life balance

Focus on how you are feeling during this exercise. Are you joyful? Free? Peaceful? Revved up? Get into the flow and see what shows up.

2. Create a Vision Board for the New Year. One of my favorite activities, this is a powerful way to ring in the New Year. Gather stacks of magazines, poster board, glue sticks and scissors and you've got the makings of a fun afternoon or evening! Take time choosing images that call to you - whether for their direct or indirect meaning - and words or phrases that inspire and uplift you. Piece everything together in a brilliant collage that can serve as your roadmap for the coming year. (PS If you live near Tally and you read this in time, you can still join me on retreat on Jan 1st. Click here for details!)

 3. Decide on a theme for your year. They say between 60-80% of New Years' resolutions are broken within the first two weeks of the New Year. Those aren't such good odds, eh? So I say, skip the resolutions and create a theme for your year instead!  Some ideas...

In the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to experience two different versions of strategic planning.

My personal strategic planning process: A week-long retreat at the beach. Just me and our dog, Andy. Piles of books for reference and inspiration. Sheets of blank paper, colored index cards, markers, pens, poster board. My calendar - for 2008 and 2009 - to review, celebrate, project and dream. No e-mail and a cell phone that only worked when I drove up to the store.

A client's strategic planning process: For the third year in a row, Shannon Knapp, President of Horse Sense of the Carolinas in Marshall, NC assembled her team for some focused intense time of goal setting and planning. There were 6 of us meeting at her farm - her husband (and business partner), the practice administrator, her CFO, her marketing consultant and me! We had 3 computers, a flip chart and plenty of food. We accomplished a lot in just one day.

The common denominators:

1. Space to plan. Blocking out a day or several days to think about the future. Claiming the time in your calendar is critical. Choosing a supportive, nurturing environment is also important.

2. Creative tools to support planning. Think ahead to determine what you'll need. It can be as complex or as simple as you want to make it. Computers, spreadsheets, flip charts, calculators, calendars... or blank paper and a pen.

3. The outcomes. Identify the key issues and new priorities. Specific goals and objectives with a timeline to complete things in. Determining critical next steps for the health and vitality of the business.

There are still a few weeks left until the New Year. Pull out your calendar and block out an afternoon, a day or several days to work on your business. Planning today for a bright tomorrow is a terrific investment of your time and brain power.

I work with clients all the time on their negative thoughts and limiting beliefs - whether it's about money or relationships or work or family... you name it. But now I'm working on some of my own.

I've been working on some health issues lately and one of the important components to regaining my health is daily movement.  I thought if I was doing something 30 minutes 3 times a week, I was doing pretty well. But my doctor is encouraging me to do something active every single day.

Here is my inner battle to shift my stinkin' thinkin' about exercise:

"I hate to exercise!"

"C'mon, E. Is that really true? You don't hate all exercise and you don't hate it all the time. There are some parts you like sometimes."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"Well, you like being out in nature when you walk Andy in the woods."

"Um, yeah, I guess so. But I hate to sweat!"

" Yes, but remember that guy you dated in college who thought that sweat was sexy? Try to remember that."

"Uh, OK. But I get so tired when I exercise."

"Just think how tired you get when you don't work out for several days in a row. Exercise actually helps you to feel better and have more energy, even when it's hard to get motivated."

"Yes, you're right. OK so what can I think so that I can have a more positive attitude? I don't want to say stuff that isn't true for me!"

"Well, try these affirmations:

- I feel great after I exercise.

- My body gets healthier each time I work out.

- Andy needs to be walked anyway!

- I am learning to appreciate the important role of exercise in my life.

- I sleep better when I exercise.

Everytime I catch myself thinking 'I hate exercise" I immediately stop myself and say "WAIT! that's not totally a true statement. What is true for me?"

Try it and see what works for you... let me know what habits you are trying to change.

Click here to read the Time magazine story about clutter and simplifying your life.  A Guy Named Dave is on a personal quest to scale down on "stuff" and has received a lot of media attention lately because of it. You can read all of his 100 Thing Challenge ideas at his blog. 

I know that I do not choose to reduce all of my personal possesions to 100 things. What about my books? My photos? My jewelry? Those are all beloved and sacred to me!

But do I have too much stuff? Yes.

Does it feel good to get rid of stuff no longer used, wanted or loved? Yes.

Does releasing stuff create space? Yes.

So I have embarked on my own 100 Thing Challenge which is to release 100 Things from my posession. Decluttering always feels good and if I have something that someone else could enjoy that is no longer serving me, that makes me even happier.

So far, I have released 43 items. 10 pieces of jewelry, 19 articles of clothing, 5 pairs of shoes and 9 other random knick-knacks. It felt good to donate some to a church yard sale (all proceeds went to our church) and some to Goodwill.

I would have written about this sooner, but I've been busy releasing my 100 Things...

Anyone care to join me? I invite you to comment!

I've talked with several clients in the past few weeks about this notion of self care and I'm amazed at how many of us resist this idea. We are programmed to take care of others, put others' needs and concerns before our own, give, give, give until it hurts and then give some more.

What's the end result usually? We end up wearing cranky pants! We become tired, overworked, overwhelmed, under appreciated, resentful, unhealthy, cranky, crabby and noone wants to hang out with us and then we don't even want to hang out with ourselves anymore because we are miserable.

That is not a fun way to live and if you recognize elements of this in your own life, I encourage you to stop now and take a hard look. You can make some changes right now that will benefit you for the short-term and the long-term! 

Claiming Elizabeth's Year of Extreme Self Care reminds me that I deserve to treat myself with love and attention.  What are the benefits? 

- I am balanced, happy and whole

- I feel solid and confident about my life and who I am

- I am able to be fully present for the people in my life (family, friends, clients, colleagues) who need me

- I'm more fun to be around because I am enjoying life

- I'm more productive in every area of my life

- I'm a more insightful coach, a more loving wife, a patient and caring friend, an enthusiastic networker who enjoys meeting new people

What if you claimed this year as YOUR year of Extreme Self Care? How could that change your life?

How about you? Do you have a problem relaxing?

The crazy thing is, I thought I was doing a good job of being relaxed. I've been eating healthy and going for walks and spending time with my husband and friends.

But I think it's more than that. It's bigger than that. I think I need to be looking at the bigger picture of my life.

I think this is probably going to be my theme for 2008. Or at least a sub-theme!

I just started teaching the January Jumpstart Program this week and in the first module, I'm asking participants to tease out their goals for the year which will utimately lead them to their "theme for the year".

As I was pondering the homework I gave the class the other day, I realized that I need to remind people to look at not only what do I want to accomplish this year? ("the norm" for goal setting) but also

What do I want to EXPERIENCE this year?

How do I want to FEEL?

How do I want my life to be DIFFERENT and more ____________________(joyful, playful, loving, creative, dazzling, peaceful, etc) than it currently is?

I think if we focus more on the desire of BE-ing and less on the DO-ing that it eliminates stress and expectation and we have more freedom and passion to pursue our goals and dreams!  

I think I'll go relax now...