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Where your focus should be for best results

Vision is important. Having the big picture in mind for your business or project is essential. But here’s the caveat: Once you have the big picture, you must break it down into small, manageable pieces.

 Do you have a step by step outline to achieve your big goals?

I ask this because one of the main causes of overwhelm and stress with any project lies in looking at the big picture for far too long. It seems that we like to dwell more on the expected outcome, the end result. We often want to get to that place as fast as we can. But working on a large project or big goal requires another skill set altogether. 

You must step away from the big picture, or adjust your focus so-to-speak. Blur the bigger picture and focus on the step you’re taking right now.

Breaking your project or goal into smaller pieces and working on one piece at a time is how you can actually accomplish big things. It’s in managing the little things, one step at a time, that a power is unleashed. Procrastination and stress are reduced and a whole lot of benefits await you if you can just focus on the one step you are taking right now:

Reduced stress and overwhelm
Imagine standing at the bottom of a mountain and looking at the summit. You’re going to climb the mountain. Do you keep looking at the summit as you climb all the way up? No, of course not. When you look at the summit it’s overwhelming. The scale of the journey is too big for your brain to manage. It will instinctually resist, get stressed and start telling you how hard it is, if not totally impossible. This is why small steps are so important. It makes it more manageable, more consumable for our brains. Consequently it reduces stress and overwhelm about the big climb that is your project or goal. 

Feeling more engaged with the project or goal
If you’re keeping your eye on the end result as you work on your big goal you’re going to be more attached to the end result. The end result is important, but it comes… at the end. While you’re in the middle, be in the middle. This is how engagement is increased. Staying with the step you’re working on increases your concentration and connection to what you’re working on. Feelings of engagement are generated when you stop treating the thing you’re working on as a means to an end, to get to the result. Try it, you will enjoy it. Trust me.

Feeling more in control of large goals and projects
Large goals and projects are exciting… until they’re not. Until you feel overwhelmed, out of control and spiral into an attitude of reluctance. It’s so big you feel like you have no control. That’s why breaking it all down into bite-sized pieces is essential. This is the only way to accomplish big goals. If you thought those people who are achieving big goals were just doing bigger things, then you’re wrong. Quite the opposite thing is happening. If anyone is achieving big goals it’s because they’ve mastered breaking it down into small pieces to keep them feeling in control. Bottomline: the more you feel in control, the more motivated you are to keep going.

Increased quality of work
When you focus on the step you’re taking right now, more care and attention will flow into what you’re working on. The result is a significant increase in the quality of your work. And increased quality also contributes to some of the enjoyment- see the next benefit…

More enjoyable process
An increase in the quality of your output is certainly satisfying. In addition to this and perhaps more significantly, is the enjoyment created in the focused doing. Allowing yourself to focus on one thing brings you into the present moment and helps you move into “flow”. Whether you call it flow, being in the zone or just presence- it’s all the same. When you are fully present with what you’re doing, the process automatically becomes joyful.

Prevents burnout
One of the major causes of burnout is in trying to things all at once. This is what can happen when working on a goal or project without breaking it down into the small steps. In fact, having no plan at all is what usually contributes to burnout because there’s a big effort put on many things all at once with no sequence or defined paramenters. It’s difficult to a) maintain this momentous effort and b) recognise any real progress. Focusing on one step at a time gives you one thing to put your energy into with a clear result or stepping stone being accomplished at the end. You will feel the progress.

It’s more trackable in smaller pieces
As I just mentioned, the small pieces become stepping stones. If the whole goal is broken down into 5 stepping stones, then you know after accomplishing 2 of those then you’re almost half way. This is great for tracking progress, resources and managing your time. When you can track it, you can anticipate all of these things much easier.

Eliminate resistance
A wonderful thing happens when you focus on one step at a time. Your brain relaxes a little. It can see that it can manage the task because it’s a small task and only one single task it has to deal with. The effect of this cannot be underestimated. The resistance you naturally experience when working on a big project or goal- all that procrastination- is overcome just by staying with the one smaller task at a time. When your brain has no resistance, you can easily start working. So it’s goodbye procrastination and hello efficiency. I say yes to that!

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Will you keep, modify or drop?

It’s the second quarter of the year already! Can you believe it? I hope you have had a great start to the year working on your goals. How are they progressing? It’s so important to check in about now and do a quick review of how it is all going.

Why?

So you know how far you’ve progressed with each goal and so you can clearly see what is and is not working. It does not have to take long, but this simple one act can make all the difference! You see, the goal-setting process is actually more flexible than most of us think. Well, it’s a paradox in a way. You have to fully commit and not waver, yet you must be flexible to allow your goals to evolve or change.

If it sounds confusing, stay with me… 

When you set your goals at the beginning of the year, you had to make choices about very specific directions you wanted to go in. Then you made a plan and started to go to work. You have had the end result in mind as you continue to move forward one step at a time.

That commitment and certainty to your goals path still remains important but now you must evaluate how that path is serving your goals. And if those goals are still relevant. A quick way to do this is to ask good questions.

These questions will help you to establish if your goals are still relevant. This is the first step.

For each goal you have, ask yourself:
Is this goal still important to me and my business?Will achieving this goal still have the impact/effect I thought it would when I first set the goal? Or is the outcome likely to be less impactful?

Next, you need to establish if the path you are on with your goals is serving its purpose or needs adjusting. Adjusting your goals path can be necessary for all sorts of reasons. It could be taking longer to progress than you thought. Maybe what you’re doing is not working at all. This is why we need to remain flexible. We must be willing to make changes based on the feedback we get from the review process.

Ask yourself:
Is the time-frame to achieve this goal still realistic?Am I getting good ROI with the actions I am taking? This could be time or monetary investment.Has another way to achieve the goal become apparent?

With your answers you can then decide whether to keep, modify or drop each goal. This review of your goals now, will help you avoid getting to the end of the year (or goal time-frame) and finding that you don’t have the results you wanted or that they have become irrelevant.

I hope you find it helpful in becoming more focused in the pursuit of your goals over the next few months.

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The 5 Most Common Mistakes of Goal Setting

1.You have no action plan
This is by far the most common error when we set goals. The intent is set and we even establish a time-frame, but we don’t create a plan. A plan is just a written step-by-step process to get you to where you want to go. Having a plan greatly increases your chances of achieving your goal. It also prevents overwhelm, stagnation and procrastination because the path is laid out for you and broken into smaller steps. You can approach it one small step at a time. Remember, bite-size pieces is easier for our human brains to deal with, especially when we’re doing something new.
2.The goal is unrealistic
Your goal can be unrealistic for a number of reasons. Usually it arises from expecting that you can do something in a much smaller space of time than is humanly possible. Any perfectionists and high achievers please note
… We are all human and we can only do what we can do. Setting super high standards will not make you better but just set you up for disappointment. The other major reason for unrealistic goal setting is in lack of factoring in the overall context of the goal. Our lives (work, business, personal etc) don’t happen separately or in a vacuum. Your goal is only one part of the whole. It may be an important part but it is still only just one of a few  parts. You need to factor in the context of the goal- your life  and business situation. Are you in the middle of moving, a family crisis, have 3 projects due at the end of the quarter? All of these elements, whether from personal or professional life will impact on the total resources that you can allocate to your goal. Factor in these other things that are “on your plate” to help you better set a more realistic goal.
3.You set it and forget it
Goal setting and achieving is an ongoing process, not a one-time event at the beginning of the year or quarter. The nature of working with goals is organic in the sense that you often need to modify as you go. In other words, flexibility is key. Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t mean you should create a goal and then “go with the flow”. No, you need a step-by-step plan on how you will achieve it. But then you must remain flexible to modifying it along the path you’re treading. Reviewing is the key to this process, so you need to be looking at your goal plan regularly to stay on track. Often the path to our goal is different than what we planned, so must adjust as required.
4.You don’t really want to achieve the goal
Is it possible that we actually want something we don’t really want? Yes. This is no personal flaw of yours. This can easily happen when we see a bright shiny outcome and from the outside looking in, we think to ourselves that that’s what we really. But having that thing, it turns out, actually involves doing or being certain things that really aren’t our game. An example of this: Having a multi-million dollar business speaking at live events around the country.  From the outside this looks amazing to you. Living your purpose and teaching others while getting to travel is a fantastic idea. Behind this goal are the background mechanics to make this work. You have to be willing to travel, stay in hotels alone, be away from your family and partner/spouse regularly. The idea of spending hours in airports and hotel rooms suddenly hits you and you realise you don’t want that goal after all. And that’s okay. You can however skip the whole process of discovering this after already spending lots of your time on it simply by understanding your values. Knowing your values will help you better decide on the goals that will truly bring you fulfillment.
5.Limiting beliefs stop you
We all have beliefs that we have established and often been unconsciously living by for most of our lives. Our early life has a large influence on how we perceive the world and these “learnings” and ideas end up manifesting as our belief systems about the world and other people. Everyone experiences this and most of us are unaware of most of our beliefs until we come up against a situation that challenges them.  This can be a situation where you feel stuck, unable to make progress or changes that you want. This is where working with a qualified coach can really help. They can help create awareness around the limiting beliefs and help you overcome them. It is difficult for us to see our own blind spots, no matter how aware we are of ourselves. If you find yourself in this situation, I recommend opting in for my FREE Introductory Coaching Session. I can help you create ways to move forward and away from feeling stuck or limited in your choices.

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How to stay on track in 2019

So how are you feeling about your goals for 2019?

Probably pretty damn good, I would expect. Like most of us you’ve likely had a nice break and are now full of energy and enthusiasm for what lies ahead. At this stage, your goals seem exciting and very doable. Sure, they will require discipline and your focused attention, but you’re feeling confident. 

This is the first stage of goal setting. You are confident and energised. You are 100% committed to your goals. This first stage is what I call the fun part of goal setting. It’s the easy part. While your resources are at an all-time high, it’s kind of easy to be 100% committed to your goals. However, it’s in the next stage of goal setting that the challenge really sets in. 

The second stage of goal setting is where it gets harder and where everyone falls off the wagon! I mean everyone! And only some get back on. Think about New Years Resolutions. How many people do you know that make resolutions? How many follow through and get the results they want? Yes, that’s right, not so many!

In this second phase of goal setting the journey gets rough and the resources you had in phase 1 are limited. The enthusiasm and energy you had before at the beginning will not get you through the second phase of achieving your goals.

It’s not a failing on your part. It’s all about the system-or lack of- that sets you up to fail. We are all humans and we all struggle with similar things when it comes to achieving goals or resolutions. We seem to think if we decide to do something different, that’s enough. 

To get through phase 2 of goal achievement and making it to the promised land (realising your goal) you’re going to need some tools! If everyone falls off and only some get back on track, then what are those“some people” doing differently than the rest?

They have a system to get them back on track ASAP! You see it’s not a short sprint, but more of a journey of consistency. To stay consistent, you need a system that keeps you… consistent. The best and easiest way to do this is to implement a tracking system. 
Your goals require you to do certain things regularly, to modify your behaviours.  You need to define the behaviours you need to change or implement. Then, put them into a tracking system. Then you check it daily and review and re-set it each week.

I’ve created you a personal Tracking Tool to get you started, so click here to download!

It’s simple but profoundly effective. It only takes a few  minutes a day but will deliver huge amounts of value as you move further through the year. A personal tracking table will help you to: 
👍 see what your actual results are
👍 monitor what is/isn’t working
👍 indicate to you immediately when you have fallen off track
👍 and help you get back on track quickly

This is a simple and easy solution that will deliver you big results. I use it myself to help keep my core behaviours on-track. It’s easily one of the best tools I’ve ever implemented and I know it will help you to achieve what you want for 2019!
Click here to download the personal tracking tool.

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5 ways to make your 2019 goals achievable

It’s that time of year again! Talking plans and goals for 2019. The last few weeks I’ve been focusing my blog and Facebook lives on the theme of Planning for 2019. Today it’s all about goal setting and more specifically, 5 ways to make sure you achieve your 2019 goals!

From my own personal experience and working with my clients through the goal setting process, I have found specific things that hinder goal achievement that can be very simply overcome in the initial goal-setting process. What I mean is, getting off to the right start and laying the right foundation is the key to you avoiding the pitfalls of non-goal achievement. The great things is that these 5 basic “rules” for goal setting are really easy but will make a big difference!

Here are the 5 ways to ensure that your 2019 goals are achievable:

1. Write your goals down
I know it may sound obvious and you are likely already doing this, but did you know that by doing this one simple step in writing your goals down, you have actually increased the likelihood of goal achievement by 42%? Yes, it’s true! Alarmingly, most people don’t write their goals down, so just by doing so you’re way ahead! The act of writing or typing the goal out also brings it into the physical realm. Your brain can literally see the idea on paper or on your screen and so it already becomes more realistic, more tangible, as opposed to a thought floating around in your mind.

2. Follow the SMART goals format
Your goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-framed (SMART for short). This ensures you have defined the goal well and it is clear what the successful outcome will be. It also ensures that there is a way to measure success. How will you know you’ve achieved your goal? The goal must answer this by clearly indicating measurement. Your goal must be attainable (there is an actual chance that the goal can be attained) and it must be relevant. Are your goals relevant to you and your business growth? (Make sure you review my blog on Power Priorities before you answer this.) And lastly and perhaps most importantly, the goal must be time-framed. In other words, there must be a deadline to achieving the goal.

3. Create a written goals plan
This is by far the most overlooked step in the goal setting process. Goals are often written down but there is no plan made. When you have no plan, it is the equivalent of standing at the base of a mountain and looking up to your goal at the peak of the mountain. It’s overwhelming and more daunting than inspiring! You want to create a plan of action to get you up the mountain so-to-speak. A step-by-step process on how to achieve your goal makes the process easier as it breaks it down into smaller steps and gives you smaller goals to work on and achieve. As you achieve each smaller goal you get closer to achieving the big goal. This will help you get started as you’ll know what to do and when, you’ll be more efficient and you’ll be able to monitor your progress. So many benefits, you simply must have a goals plan!

4. Create accountability
We are all human and can at times fall off the wagon. Even the best, most disciplined of us, can have moments when we do not follow through. It’s not because we are lazy or because there is something wrong with us, it’s simply because we’re dealing with the change process. Working on any new goal will require you to do new things, essentially enact new behaviours and ways of being in the world. This process of change by its very nature is unnatural to us. Our brains tend to resist change. So creating new habits and behaviours can be challenging.  Ideally, working with a coach who is familiar with the change process, will make this process much easier for you. The key here is accountability. You can create accountability by stating publicly what you intend to achieve. Knowing that others are expecting you to do something can keep you more on-track with your goals. You can also get an accountability partner, someone who will hold you accountable for what you said you would do and you can do the same for them.

5. Stay focused on one step
The goals you set are likely challenging and require a certain amount of change from where you are at the moment. If we go back to the mountain analogy, you really want to make sure you are not gazing up at the top of the mountain the whole way as you may find you want to give up. In other words, stay focused on the smaller goals, the step that you are working on at the moment. If you have your goal plan laid out, that’s all you need to do- focus on the step you’re on, then move to the next, and repeat until goal achievement is inevitable!