staying present wilst looking forward - part two

Chatting to The Queen about her goals for 2013

Turning Your Fantasy Blue Print into Lifechanging GOALS!

So now you have your two lists.  You have clarified what your current reality is, and you have a fantasy blue print for 2013. When I said crash course, I meant it.  This is by no means a comprehensive coaching approach.  However, it is a great start if you are new to goal setting or wish to explore the idea further.  I am going to ask you a couple of very simple questions.  You will need another piece of paper to make some notes for this.
   
                Q. Which of these points on my fantasy blueprint would I like to prioritise for development in 2013?
There might be one, or a few.  There might be some which link up together, if you can spot a clear pattern or link, you might wish to identify the first part of the chain and start there.
                 
                 Q. What are the benefits for making this happen?
If there are no clear benefits, you probably won’t make it happen.  
 
And now we can create the goals for your chosen area/areas for development.  In the world of crash course goal creating it is probably best to stick with the old tried and tested SMART goal approach.  Let’s now reword your chosen point/points into nice smart statements which will create your goals.  
 
Is it Specific? What exactly do you want?  If you do not know what you are aiming for, then how will you know if you have ever achieved it?  Not “I want more money”, but “I want £50,000”.

Is it Measurable? How will you know you have £50,000? In a shoe box under the bed?  Paid off the mortgage?  In a contract from a new job? It could be “I want £50,000 in my bank account”.

Is it Achievable?  You might actually want to be a millionaire, and are currently on minimum wage or unemployed.  Pick something that stretches your comfort zone, but could actually happen.  See it as the starting point if you have much larger ambitions.  Remember it is completely ok if you miss your target.  What you don’t want to do is set yourself something that is so daunting you cannot bear to start working towards it.

Is it Realistic?  Are you able to identify ways in which you have the skills, resources, drive and desire to make this happen?  All goals, from wanting more money to losing weight, require you to look at what you can do to make them happen – AND THEN DOING THEM!  If the goal is starting to look unrealistic then tweak it now.  Or look at your list again and ask
yourself honestly if your heart is somewhere else on the fantasy blueprint.  Do that instead.  Follow your heart.

Is it Time Sensitive?  “I want £50,000 in my bank account by 31 December 2013”.  Setting end dates ensure you know  exactly what you are working towards and give a clear way of knowing if your goal has been achieved or not.

Be forgiving and flexible. There is no point in getting half way towards a goal, realising the goal posts have moved (for whatever reason) and keep running in the same direction.  If your situation, or perception of your goal, changes, then tweak it by all means. Don’t beat yourself up over any perceived failures or blockages, life changes, or light bulb moments.  Just move on.  Forgiveness and flexibility are the absolute backbone of achieving your goals and happiness.

The next question I am going to ask is very important, so make sure you write down all of the answers you can think of for it.
             
                 Q. How?
There are many ways myself, and my clients, find to facilitate movement towards achieving our goals.  Some ideas may be simply diarising one action every single day towards its success, visualisation exercises, meditation, timeline planning, setting up additional supervision to ensure accountability, committing to regular down time or exercise.  Do whatever is right
for you which will move you one step closer to achieving your goals. And then ask yourself how again, and keep going.

Having an element of accountability can help.  Telling someone what you going to do, or writing it down for your own reference can both be great ways of helping you to achieve your goals.  You don’t have to share your dreams or goals with anyone if you are not ready to. I encourage you to go for them anyway!  If you would like to share your possible goals for 2013 in the comments then please do. No one here at The Happy Hunt will ever laugh at anything you want to be, do, have, or think.  I will ban them if they do!

Please also sign up to my newsletter by dropping me a line on my ‘contact me’ page, or email me at cghunt@live.com.  In Decembers newsletter I will give you additional information and tips on goal setting and coaching techniques you can do yourself.  
 
There will also be a discount code for my new e-course, How to Find Your True Direction in Life, Making IT Happen, launching in the new year. For any of you out there who are struggling to identify a truly fulfilling direction in your life - this package can help you find it, and give you all of the tools you need to start working towards making it your reality.  

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