It is Spring here on the spectacular Oregon coast, my favorite season, in the most beautiful part of the world, in my humble opinion. As the blossoms appear on the trees and tree frogs start to make their presence known and birds loudly celebrate the warmer weather, I am reminded that we’re approaching the middle of the year at a rapid pace. Just the other day, we were talking about New Year’s resolutions. Now, over a quarter into 2014, we should start seeing some progress towards the goals we set out to achieve.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t enjoy being one of those people who always complains about the same old stuff, without ever doing something to change my circumstances.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. – Albert Einstein
How are Your Goals Coming Along?
Have you set New Year’s resolutions or do you have a goal setting system that you follow?
We all have dreams, but I firmly believe that the first step towards achieving them, is to realize that they are achievable and to set a deadline to achieve it by.
A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline. – Harvey MacKay
Many people don’t know where to start working towards their goals, and since they don’t really believe that those goals are achievable, they remain stuck in the same old rut – depressed and defeated. But today I want to tell you that whatever you dream, and most certainly your lifestyle design goals, are totally achievable.
The only difference between you and the people living the lifestyle of your dreams is that they never doubted that they could have it all. I’ll tell you how to design your lifestyle, once we have sparked your goal-setting super-powers.
Tim Ferris, author of the 4-Hour Workweek, has a radical goal setting exercise. He suggests making a 6-months and 12-months goal list of things you want to be, do and have. He advises readers to consider what they would do every day, if they had $100 million in the bank.
As a mobile entrepreneur, who traveled the world, living life-changing experiences, Tim has discovered that DOING is much more fulfilling than HAVING. However, he insists that you can have it all and I agree with that.
The key is to find the joy in striving towards your goals every day, taking small steps that lead you to your goal. If you dream of living on the Greek Isles, spend half an hour a day learning the language, geography, and the way of life there. Learn how to cook Greek dishes. Doing these things will give you great pleasure and will start to open up new ideas on how you can achieve your goals, even if they seem inconceivable right now.
If you have a great goal that you are passionate about, you need to live it, breathe it, and work on it every day.
3 Mid-Year Tips to Reset Your Goals
If your goals have gone stale, but they are still there, somewhere, deep inside of you, now is the time to reset them and start working towards them once again.
Here’s how:
1. Remember that you’re the captain of your ship
Do you want to live an exciting, vibrant life on your own terms? Well, you can! You can give yourself permission to do what you need in order to achieve the lifestyle of your making. You can allow yourself to be different. Your life is your own and only you get to decide what you want to allow in your experience. You have, within you, unique gifts and abilities that only you know how to use.
Choose to do things that bring you immense joy.
2. Look after #1
Umm… that would be YOU! That’s right. It’s good to indulge in a little self care. Think about what helps you relax, where you get your inspirations from, and what you enjoy doing the most. Your dream lifestyle does not need to fit to a pattern – it can be as unique as your fingerprints.
Spend time doing a little soul searching, and decide exactly how you want your life on this planet to look.
3. Be bold, brave and unbeatable
Once you know exactly what you want, it is time to go for it! There will never be a “right time” to do certain things, unless you simply do it right away. Unsurpassed joy does happen according to a schedule. It responds to your action.
Start taking action to make your dream life a reality. Of course change can be pretty scary and you can take small actions if you want, but don’t stand still. Be in motion at all times and at some point you will gain momentum and move forward.
Have faith. Believe in yourself. Be brave. Your dream lifestyle is within your reach. Live life unbound.
Would love to hear in the comments below how your goals are coming along for the year and how you reboot when you find it necessary.