Setting Goals

The seasons are changing and it’s no secret another terrific summer has passed us by. For us New England folks we can certainly relate to Shel Silverstein’s poem, “Here comes summer. Here comes summer. Woosh, shiver, there it goes.” Fortunately Fall is just as fabulous as Summer, we can replace our beach days and barbeques with warm sweaters and some apple pie. This seasonal shift is a terrific time to refocus, reset and realign our goals.

Wait! Do you have goals? Do you want to earn more money, have more time with your family, be less stressed, have less clutter? When asked, most people say yes but in fact what they have are desires, wishes and good intentions. A goal without a plan is just that, a wish.

To make your goals a reality, to reach your peak potential, you need a plan but according to Tamara, you first need to set the foundation for success in place. This foundation is based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, when you meet your basic needs (food, shelter, employment, safety) you are then able to move on to focus on secondary or higher levels of fulfillment (healthy relationships, personal growth, productivity).

What is this foundation when it comes to reaching our peak potential? Truly, the basics. A place that you love where you can work and think, time to recharge, an organized home/office and a healthy lifestyle. Most people start the year off with good intentions (In 2014, 62% of Americans to be precise) to get organized, exercise more, eat better but come June only 46% are still working on them, by the Fall that number is even lower.

So how can you improve your odds of being successful? Start with the basics. Love where you live. If you have a paper problem, address it. If you are tired, stop watching tv in bed. Unplug. Decide what is important to you and align your choices with your goals. This is the key. It’s known as Choice Management and is one of the biggest distinctions between those that are successful and those that aren’t. Tamara reminded us that “Time happens, we can’t manage it. We can manage what we do with our time.” Or as she likes to think of it as “the joy of missing out”. If you skipped attending a meeting and opted to receive the typed minutes instead, what would you do with those extra 60 mins? Would you go to the gym, take your kids to the school bus, make dinner, make a plan to optimize the week? Every decision we make about how to spend our time is either in line with reaching our goals or detracting from it. Success is calculated. It is a series of steps taken with a particular goal in mind.

So get up, get going and start living. What are you waiting for? You have an amazing life to live.