Sorted! Tips to help you get more from work and life |
 |
| January / February 2006 | Feel fr*e to forward this, but please without cutting |
Do you have a vision for what you want to achieve this year. Have you made plans and set goals for the next 12 months? Yes? Well done.
If you find yourself in 2006 without any plans, goals or vision for what you want to have achieved by this time next year, now is the time to set some. If you don't, you'll end up at Christmas being frustrated because you'll feel that you've achieved very little. After all, if you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?
In the last edition of Sorted! I suggested a few key ideas for setting goals that stick. If you missed them you'll find them here.
In this edition I'm going to look at how to keep the motivation going once you've set your big vision or goals. We'll be revisiting the old joke: how do you eat an elephant?
- Take one bite at a time, so break down your task into bite-size chunks.
- Take it slowly; don't get indigestion by attempting too much at once.
- Be consistent.
- Add variety to the way in which your prepare and serve your elephant.
- Some parts need slower, longer cooking but taste just as good in the end.
- Enjoy each bite, savour it.
- Don't skip meals.
- Don't leave all the tough bits until the end.
- The only guaranteed moment you have to eat your elephant is now.
- Each bite you chew today is one less tomorrow.
Big visions and goals are proven to be the most motivating and inspiring - we're more likely to get out of bed in the morning for something truly challenging and exciting. However, they can also be the most daunting.
Over the last couple of years I have adopted a different way of approaching life, which has made a significant difference to the way I achieve my goals. It is very simple but don't let that fool you; it's also very powerful. Here is my approach to eating an elephant.
Be fully presentTo me, being fully present means focusing on the moment, staying engaged in the current task, enjoying and embracing whatever is in front of me.
How does being fully present help me eat my elephant?
Well, when I am living in the moment, it is easier to notice whether what I am doing 'right now' is helping or hindering my progress towards my goals. When you find yourself procrastinating or dithering, ask yourself, 'Is what I am doing right now helping me achieve one of my goals?'
Remember that the only time you ever have to do something is this moment right now. The choices you make from moment to moment are the tiny steps that move you closer (or otherwise) to reaching your goal and eating your elephant. It is making these small choices and doing the small tasks that make the difference.
Does that mean that life is all roses and champagne? Well, no it doesn't, it's not always easy. There are tough times, and days when it is hard to see beyond the cliff face in front of me.
Sometimes I have to be imaginative. Consider housework. When I am doing a task I don't enjoy, I encourage myself with visions of how I will feel when the task is complete, and what benefits 'getting it done' will bring.
Using each moment wisely, embracing and fully experiencing my daily life means I am living life being fully present.
You can't buy historyThe only opportunity you ever have to build a legacy to be proud of, and a future to be excited by, is NOW. You can't buy history. In other words, you have to create it, moment by moment. The reason that being fully present in each moment is important is because each moment is a building block for your future, and an imprint in your past.
This nugget of self-awareness came to me at the end of last year. Reviewing 2006, I noted a lot of firsts in my business, and that felt good. It dawned on me that I could not have bought the history I now 'own'; I had to create it. Bite by bite!
Of course, you can seek advice and support, watch out for pitfalls, and use shortcuts by buying in expertise. All this eases the journey. But it's still your journey, and sometimes we are so impatient to 'get there' that we forget to enjoy the journey.
What are you doing right now to create your historic legacy and compelling future?
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
Aristotle
Early one morning a man was walking along a beach, and he noticed that it was littered with thousands of starfish, washed up and dying after a storm.
In the distance he could see a young man picking them up and throwing them back into the ocean, one at time. When he was close enough, he said, "You're wasting your time. There are thousands of starfish here. You can't possibly make any difference."
The young man picked up another starfish and sent it spinning back to the water.
"I made a difference to that one," he said.
Each time you take a bite of your elephant, you make a difference.
Need some help eating your elephant? Do something that will make a real difference in 2006. Imagine the impact that improving your time management, communication or assertiveness skills will have on your business and personal life. These practical and fun workshops are guaranteed to get you thinking, acting and behaving differently.
How to speak and be heard -
Effective communication at work
Monday 23rd January or Thursday 16th March
Effective Communication takes real skill and these skills have to be continually developed and improved. The greater your awareness of your own and others communication style, the more effective your own communication will be.
The art of saying no -
Assertiveness skills at work
Monday 6th February or Thursday 30th March
Understand the benefits of assertive behaviour. Learn how to say no, set boundaries, address concerns of not being liked and deal with fear or anxiety. Improve your personal effectiveness at work by adopting a more positive and confident approach.
How to make the most of every minute -
Effective time managment for busy people
Thursday 2nd March
You are a busy person but would like to achieve more, feel more in control and get to the end of the day knowing you have made the most of every minute. Take a couple of hours to discover how you can use your time more effectively.
Price: Each workshop is £40Venue: The Abbey Hotel, Tintern
Time: 9.30am - 12 noon
Reserve your place by emailing me at sue@sortedcoaching.co.uk or call me on 01291 621985.
More information about all these workshops can be found on the Sorted Coaching website, Sorted Coaching Workshops
by Jim Rohn
One of the major reasons why we fail to find happiness is because we have not yet mastered the art of being.
While we are at home, our thoughts are still absorbed with solving the challenges we face at the office. And when we are at the office, we find ourselves worrying about problems at home.
We go through the day without really listening to what others are saying to us. We may be hearing the words, but we aren't absorbing the message.
As we go through the day, we find ourselves focusing on past experiences or future possibilities. We are so involved in yesterday and tomorrow that we never even notice that today is slipping by.
We go through the day rather than getting something from the day. We are everywhere at any given moment... except living in that moment.
Life is about learning to be wherever you are. It is about developing a focus on the current moment, and drawing from it all of the substance and wealth of experience and emotions that it has to offer.
Life is about taking time to watch a sunset and listen to the silence. Life is about capturing each moment so that it becomes a part of what we are and of what we are in the process of becoming.
Life is not about something we do; it is something we experience. Until we learn to be there, we will never master the art of living well.
This article was submitted by Jim Rohn, America's foremost business philosopher. To subscribe to his free ezine, go to www.jimrohn.com or send a blank email to subscribe@jimrohn.com © 2006 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide.If you don't wish to receive more bulletins please use the cancel subscription link below.
Contact Information
Sorted! is published by Sorted Coaching
T: 0845 638 1860
15 Wallwern Wood, Chepstow, Monmouthshire, NP16 5TX
Find out more at http://sortedcoaching.co.uk
At Sorted!, we help people develop personally so they get more from their lives and work.
©2006 Sorted Coaching