Your Personal Health and Fitness Goals

November 25, 2012 By

Your Personal Health and Fitness Goals

Do you understand your personal health and fitness? Do you get what it takes to be in the shape that you are striving for? Well let me tell you something, understanding this is paramount to you achieving your goals.

So what do you need to know? How do you achieve the body and spirit that you are looking for? What time commitment do you need to be able to give? Will you need to get a gym membership?

There are many questions that you need to sit down and ask your self. First thing you need to ask yourself is this.

What Kind Of Body Do I Want?

This is literally the most important question you can ask yourself about your personal health and fitness. The answer should not be a cut out from the latest sports illustrated or men’s health magazine. You need to sit down and truly understand what kind of body you are wanting to achieve. This is the best way to start and the only way to understand how to build up to that.

Remember health and fitness really centers around a couple main points, the two “center pillars” if you will are exercise and diet. There are other factors as well but these two are the two that you have the most control over and the two that will produce results for you.

Also remember, as a quick side note, it is possible to change your genetics, it is a difficult thing but don’t think because you parents are over weight, or your parents are super skinny that you can’t have the body you want. The simple fact is, you have to work for the body of your dreams.

So as a final note, when you sit down and discuss your personal health and fitness with yourself remember to ask yourself some real meaningful questions. Don’t model your body after swimsuit models, do however set some attainable but difficult goals for yourself. You can really achieve anything you put your mind to.

Your Personal Health and Fitness Goals

Your Personal Health and Fitness Goals

To get a better understanding of your goals and some great exercises and diet information to help you get n track and stay there visit the site that really understands health and fitness – The Internet Health and Fitness Database.

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Affirmation statements -we hear them spoken often by motivational speakers, authors, writers etc., but what can we personally do to harness the power of affirmations in our own lives?

Think about a time in your life when you desired to make a change – something major, like finding a new job, moving to a new city or home, or something less momentous like a New Year’s resolution to improve your overall health. Can you think of a past experience like that? Now, think about the tools that you used or steps that you took to help guide you through that transition and keep you focused on achieving your goals while making that change.

These tools in effect, involved you setting in motion a series of events to accomplish the goals you’d set out for yourself, and one of the easiest ways to achieve success is to create affirmations.

Affirmations are very easy to use and quite powerful once you get the hang of practicing this daily exercise. Affirmations keep you focused on what’s important to you and help you achieve positive transitions. Basically an affirmation is a declaration that something is already true and has come to fruition in your life in the present moment. You have to believe what you are looking to achieve or obtain has already arrived in order for ‘it’ to show up in your life.

If your desire is to create personal well-being, first choose a phrase that describes what you desire. For example, if you desire to adopt a healthier lifestyle, then your affirmation statement could say, “I feel good and look good when I live a healthy lifestyle.” Or “I enjoy the great feelings I get from exercising daily.” Short powerful statements are more focused and work much better to bring about results than long, drawn-out paragraphs.

There are some rules to follow when creating an affirmation that I’d like to share with you.

Rule # 1: The phrase must be in the present tense, such as “I feel good”, as opposed to “I will feel good” which implies that at some point in the future you ‘might’ achieve your goal. Remember to phrase your affirmation as if your desire.

Rule #2: The statement must always be written from a positive perspective, instead of a negative one. For example, you wouldn’t say “I don’t feel good when I am not healthy” as this places your health – which you are trying to change – in a negative context. Always phrase your desire/affirmation statement in a positive context and in the present tense.

Rule #3: Repeat often. After you create an affirmation, write it down on something that you can keep with you, like a notebook or card to put in your purse or wallet, or place it somewhere that you look at often throughout your day such as on your bathroom mirror or your desk at work. Make sure that you read your affirmation statements as many times during your day as possible.

Studies have shown that using the power of affirmations can lower stress and I have found this to be true in my own life. When I get clear about what I want in my life and focus on my desires with affirmations every day, I am more content and peaceful. What we focus on grows, so the more you focus your attention on your affirmations, the more likely you are to create positive changes in your life and achieve your dreams.

My favorite book on affirmations and the power of healing is Louise Hay’s, You Can Heal Your Life. In this fascinating book you can learn more about the healing power of affirmations and how you can harness them to improve your overall health and well-being. And frankly, who wouldn’t like to live a healthier, more serene life in these turbulent times?

Using the power behind affirmations can truly change your life for the better. Put this into practice this week by writing down three short affirmations about three areas you’d like to make positive changes in your life. Be sure to state your desires in the present tense and in a positive way. Practice repeating these statements as many times as you can for 7 days and see what wonderful changes reveal themselves in your life.

September 27, 2012 By

Inspired by her passion to support others on their own personal growth journey, Carolee Laffoon founded Affirmations To Go, a company which encourages people to create lasting personal affirmation products to carry with them daily to keep them focused on their goals, hopes and dreams. Carolee publishes a monthly newsletter “Affirmation Inspirations” to share her favorite affirmations, inspirations, and product specials. Visit Affirmations To Go and sign up to receive her newsletter as well as participate in her special monthly Affirmations product giveaway.

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Setting and Achieving Meaningful Goals

September 26, 2012 By

Setting and Achieving Meaningful Goals

Serving both as an overview to goal setting, this article takes you through a process from reviewing your vision statements to formalizing and locking down goals that are meaningful and actionable.

The difference between a Vision, a Goal, and a Plan

Visions, Goals, and Plans are important tools which are used together. However, each serve a different purpose to help you get from where you are to where you want to be efficiently and effectively. Unfortunately, most people skip the vision step completely, rush the goals step, and as a result are setting themselves up for failure in the planning stage. A good analogy is taking a trip.

A Vision captures the main decision you make on where you want to go on the trip. It frames, but does not answer, the details of the trip.

A Goal captures the key decisions related to that trip. When will you leave and return? Will you fly or drive? What activities do you want to do while there?

A Plan captures the details which will allow you to complete the trip, meeting the goal you set for the trip. What is your flight itinerary? What is your budget? What hotel(s) will you stay at? When will you do your chosen activities while on the trip?

It is important to note that once set, you should stay fixed on your vision, be slow to change your goals to get there, and yet stay flexible on your plans to achieve the goals. This is called staying fixed on the “What” but flexible on the “How”.

Start by reviewing your vision statements

Do you have a vision for your life? If not then you should take some time to do so. If you already have a set of visions statements, then before you start setting specific goals, now is the time to look at the overall vision statement for your life, and the related vision statements for each area of your life, and ask yourself the following questions, making changes if necessary:

Is it inspiring and can you emotionally commit to achieving it?

Is it truly important to you?

Is it stretching, but can you still see yourself achieving it?

Is it truly your own vision and not someone else’s (parent, boss, etc.) for you?

Is it positive and sustainable over time?


Remember there are four parts to a great goal

Since you’ve already set some compelling and clear vision statements for your life, the next step is to create great goals. A goal statement is made up of four components:

An Objective statement stating the goal in a specific and positive way (often very similar to the Vision statement; “I will be independently wealthy.”).

A Measure statement stating how you will know when you have achieved it (“I will have achieved this when I have a net worth of $5 million.”).

An Importance statement stating why it is important that you achieve this goal (“This is important because I want to focus on working with non-profits to help them achieve their missions while enjoying travel around the world.”).

A Timing statement stating by when you would like to achieve it. (“Given where I am I will achieve this in ten years time.”).

Note, the objectives for your goals do not have to match 1:1 with the vision statements you have created. The reason is that sometimes a vision requires multiple goals to achieve it, and other times a single goal when accomplished can move you toward multiple visions.

Choose one or more Vision statements to write three objective statements for

Someone once asked what the difference between a dream and a goal was. The answer: A dream dies at dawn. As you’ve heard, it isn’t enough to have a clear picture of what you want (a vision), you need the detailed goals and plans to make it a reality. Following the step-by-step process described below, and available in our My Goals tool available on Percess, spending just a few minutes each day, you’ll build step-by-step detailed, compelling and achievable goals like you may never have before in your life. If you are already an old pro at setting goals, then this is a great opportunity to update and upgrade your goals to set you up for success in your plans.

So, after you have reflected on your Vision statements, select up to three visions or desires to make Objectives statements (and ultimately Goals) for. Why only three? Why not more?

First, we have limited time and resources. Even though we can do things to free up time, as the quantity of goals we are actively working on at any given time increases, our chances of success drop. The reason is that as the number of goals increase it becomes easier to be distracted, overwhelmed or discouraged. To be clear, each goal you work toward may have multiple smaller parts to it. However, try to stick to just three at any given time.

Second, in any given situation only a few things really matter, and some potential goals are better done after others are accomplished (new career after completing the needed training).

Third, it forces us to focus on truly big goals and not get distracted by little goals.

Fourth, by focusing on fewer goals we are more likely to make what we feel is significant progress sooner. This helps to maintain our momentum as well.


Create your Objective Statements

After you have selected the Vision statement(s) you want to use, create three nearer-term Objective statements to use as the base for your goals. Read them again to yourself, reflecting on your individual life area and overall vision statements. Are you really excited about turning these three Objectives into a reality in your life? Once you have reflected and refined as desired, it is time to flush these Objective statements into full goals.

Turn your Objective Statements into Goals

Now, for each, write below the Objective statement your Measures, Importance, and Timing statements associated with the goals. An example is shown below (look at structure, not content which may or may not be relevant or resonate with you):

Vision: I want the physical health to be able to enjoy the activities I love.

Goal

Objective: Dramatically increase my endurance and energy level.

Measure(s):

Conditioning to complete a 10K without stopping.

Energy to stay up until 11pm without being tired.

Strength to work in the garden as often I want to.


Importance: This is important because my not exercising the way I need to is keeping me from fully enjoying my children, caused me to pass on fun outdoor activities with friends, and causes me to feel tired a lot of the time. I don’t want to be one of those lonely people, barely able to move themselves around when I am older, having missed out on being part of great memories when I was younger.

Timing:

I will start an exercise routine on xx/xx/xxxx

I will run a 10K on yy/yy/yyyy

I will have the energy I want by zz/zz/zzzz


Evaluate and Refine Your Goals

Once you have done this for each goal, review them to see if they are SMART (Stretching, Measurable, Achievable, Related, and Timed).

Stretching is important since it is hard to have an inspiring goal if it isn’t stretching you in some way relative to what you have achieved in the past.

Measurable is important as this will not only give you a benchmark to measure yourself against but also help provide some insight into what may be necessary as part of the plan you will build to achieve this.

Achievable is clearly important but by achievable we mean merely that it is potentially achievable. How you achieve it won’t be set until the planning stage. Use this for a quick reality check here.

Related is a check to make sure this goal is related to your visions and priorities.

Timed is to give you a sense of urgency and a date by which you want to enjoy the benefits of hitting the goal. Note, timing may change a bit as you go through the planning phase and identify the steps needed to achieve the goal.

Once you’ve review the goals, made any changes you wish you should set them aside for a few days and then come back and refine them if/as desired. This is to make sure they are really yours and what you want to focus on. Make sure you spend sufficient time on the Importance statement as this will help ensure you have the clear motivation to work toward the goals, and help provide perspective on if you really have captured the objective in the way you want to.

Expand Goal Detail

In this step we are going to add additional detail to your goal which will help guide your plan development.

For each goal, ask yourself: In order to achieve this goal I will need to:

Overcome these challenges

Leverage these strengths

Acquire these knowledge/skills

Work with these people/organizations

It is important to note that you will very likely not have all the answers to the above questions. The point is to start thinking about what will be involved in achieving the goal so you can think better about how to break it down into manageable pieces. Think of this as a first pass. You’ll have additional opportunities to refine it further as you go forward and develop your plans. Once you’ve made a first pass, set this aside for today and then review it again tomorrow if/as helpful.

With regard to overcoming challenges, these could be a perceived lack of resources, time, connections, etc. These are items which you would like to address as you move forward.

With regard to leveraging certain strengths, these are what you bring with you. They can be tangible in the sense of financial resources, etc., emotional in terms of desire, dedication, energy, etc. or functional in terms of skills, habits or connections, etc.

With regard to acquiring knowledge or skills, we are always in a process of growing and learning. As you set goals you will likely want to add to or enhance a part of your skill set. Goal setting is a great opportunity to get the reason and energy to do so.

With regard to working with other organizations, nothing really great has been done alone. Even Edison had Watson, and today working with other people and groups is even more important. Who should you get to know or leverage in order to create a win-win relationship?

Repeat for each Goal and check quality

For each goal ask yourself if you can say yes to each of the following statements:

These goals reflect my fundamental values and the vision I have for my life.

These goals are inspiring to me, and I have completely committed to them.

I accept full responsibility for achieving each goal

I will make the necessary tradeoffs which will let me achieve the goals.

I will review each night how my day went overall relative to my goals.

I will plan each night the next day’s activities which support my goals.

If you can’t truly commit to each of the above statements, then you should take a step back and further refine your goals or the vision for your life. You’ve spent decades getting to where you are today; spending another day, or even a week, making sure you are headed in the right direction going forward is more than worth the effort.

Congratulations!

You have now likely done a better job of creating meaningful goals than 90% of the people who attempt to do so. Now it is time to think about your plans…

Setting and Achieving Meaningful Goals

Setting and Achieving Meaningful Goals

[http://www.percess.com] is a leading online resource helping people live a life of achievement, meaning, and enjoyment both personally and in their business. We do this through a bi-weekly newsletter, our online assessments and tools, and educational articles and programs. These resources help guide you from where you are to where you want to be, while enjoying the trip.

Copyright 2008, Percess Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Achievement – How To Define Achievable Goals In 7 Steps

September 25, 2012 By

Achievement – How To Define Achievable Goals In 7 Steps

Many people have a history of unachievable goals, unrealised ambitions and disappointment. One of the key reasons for this is that they leave the definition and achievement of their goals to chance and have no process to follow to make sure that they achieve their goals consistently. Here are seven steps to follow that will take the chance and luck out of your success.

#1 – State it in the positive.

Many people when specifying their goals state what they don’t want. So if you know what you do want, then ask yourself the question,”What specifically do I want?”

#2 – Specify the present situation.

An important step in defining your goals is to state your starting point, so ask yourself “Where are you now in relation to the outcome?”

#3 – Specify the outcome.

Utilise all five senses to make the achievement of the goal seem real, so ask yourself “what will you see, hear, feel, touch, taste, smell when you have achieved this goal?”

#3 – Specify the evidence procedure.

Measuring the achievement of the goal is important so, “how will you know when you have achieved this goal?”

#4 – Examine the desirability?

When you have achieved the outcome what will it give you or allow you to do?.

#4 – Make sure it is self-initiated and self-maintained?

Many people make the mistake of defining goals for other people, such as “my goal is to lose weight, because my husband or wife wants me to”. Make sure that the goal that it is for you and only for you otherwise it is unlikely that you will succeed.

#5 – Define the context?

When you achieve the outcome, when will you achieve it, where would you be, there when you achieve it and who would you be with.

#6 – What resources are required?

If the achievement of the goal needs specific resources, then do you have those resources available and if you don’t have them, can you get them. Have you ever done this before, or if you haven’t, do you know anyone that has. One of the most important aspects of achievement is your behaviour so can you act as though you have already achieved this.

#7 – Is it ecological?

In this context, ecological simply means, “will achieving this goal have a negative effect”? That may mean negative effect on you your family or your environment.

The key question here then is for what purpose do you want to achieve this goal, what will you gain or lose if you have it and what will happen if you achieve the goal and what would happen if you didn’t achieve the goal.

Like any journey it’s important to know what the first steps are, what the last steps are and quite often when we have taken part in a major event or we have achieved something outstanding we often have a feeling of anticlimax so it’s vital in this context that we know what the next steps will be after we succeed with this goal.

Achievement – How To Define Achievable Goals In 7 Steps

Achievement - How To Define Achievable Goals In 7 Steps

If you’re ready to transform your own achievement then take a copy of my FREE e-book “7 Practical Steps to Transform Your Consulting Business” contains more guidance on transforming a consulting business and can be downloaded from http://www.harperhallettconsulting.co.uk

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The ABCs of Achieving Your Life Goals

September 17, 2012 By

The ABCs of Achieving Your Life Goals

At the beginning of each year, many people enthusiastically set New Year resolutions. However come end of the year, they find that nothing much has been achieved. Year after year, history repeats itself. Why is this so?

Throughout our lives, we have dreams. A teenager dreams about becoming a movie star, a young adult dreams about making his first million by 26, a middle-aged lady dreams about setting up her own business, an elderly person dreams about getting a degree. However, it is a sad fact that many dreams remain unfulfilled, many goals remain unaccomplished. How can we change that?

In this article, let’s return to basics and discuss the ABCs (in reverse sequence) of achieving your goals.

CLARITY (5Ws & 1H)

First of all, you have to know exactly what you really want to achieve. You must be very clear about your goal. A friend of mine said she would like to make a lot of money, so I asked how much a lot is; she couldn’t give a figure. Another friend said he aspires to be a successful businessman, so I asked what type of business he would like to go into; he couldn’t specify one.

Here’s a question: If you do not tell the taxi driver where exactly your destination is, can he drive you there? The same goes for goals. If you do not know specifically what you really want to achieve, you will not achieve, you will not know how to achieve, and nobody can help you to achieve.

Be as detailed and as specific about your goal as you can. Use the 5Ws and 1H concept that journalists use to help them write their news stories. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What:

o What exactly do I want to achieve?

o What are my interests, talent, and area of expertise?

o What is important to me in life?

• Who:

o Who can help or mentor me?

o Who are my potential customers and competitors?

o Who am I pursuing my goal for?

• Where:

o Where should I start my business?

o Where can I pursue my degree or learn the skill?

o Where can I showcase and sell my talent?

• When

o When must I start pursuing my goal?

o When must I achieve my goal?

• Why

o Why do I want to achieve this goal? (A compelling reason will see you through obstacles and adversity)

• How

o How can I achieve my goal?

o How can I become the person I want to be?

o How can I attract more customers and outperform my competitors?

The clearer you are about your goals and the more compelling the reasons for wanting to achieve them, the more likely you are going to succeed.

BELIEF & BEHAVIOR

Ask any child what his ambition is and you are likely to hear similar answers like “I want to be: an Astronaut like Neil Armstrong, a Scientist like Albert Einstein, a Billionaire like Bill Gates, or a Superstar like Britney Spears etc.”

When a child makes a statement like this, through his eyes, you can only see enthusiasm. He does not doubt his ability in achieving his ambition, he does not ask “what if I can’t”, and he does not think that his ambition is impossible to achieve. He has only a pure thought, “I want to be (fill in the blank)”.

Why is it that children dare to dream big while many adults don’t? Why is it that children say “I want to…” while many adults say “I like to but…”? Why is it that children think “I M Possible” while many adults think “IMPossible”? The answer lies in our environment and experiences, from which we have been conditioned to believe what we can and cannot do.

Get back to being a child in this regard. Be as bold as a child, be positive in your thoughts, believe that you can, and behave as if you have already achieved.

A child who wants to be a pilot will imagine that he is at the cockpit and “fly” around the house. A child who wants to be a singer will imagine that he is standing in front of a huge audience and sing and dance on his bed. If you want to be the CEO of your company, you need to behave like a CEO. This includes dressing, walking and speaking like a CEO.

When you believe that you can, you behave like you can. When you behave like you can, others will see that you can. Opportunities and resources will then come your way and you will be on your way to success.

ATTITUDE & ACTION

It is often said that a good attitude (mindset) is more important than good aptitude (skills and ability). Many employers favour and hire individuals with good attitudes even though these people do not possess the best aptitude.

Do you possess the desired attitude for achieving your goal? This includes being willing to go the extra mile, working harder and longer hours if necessary, learning the required skills, sacrificing personal leisure time, and even working for free etc.? Are you prepared and determined to pay the necessary price in advance to achieve your goal? You must be, only then will you succeed.

Taking action is the next step. Without action, there will be no results. Taking action requires you to plan your work and work your plan. Be committed and dedicated towards your plan and your goal. Put it into your action plan to affirm your self-belief everyday. Put your goal and its reason on your computer desktop, in your car, on your mobile phone, in your wallet, and on the mirror to constantly remind and drive yourself.

Along the way, set sub-targets and reward yourself when you achieve them. For example, if you set a goal to achieve $1million in sales in one year, you can work on a quarterly target of $250,000 and reward yourself when it is achieved. Give yourself with a good holiday or buy yourself a good home entertainment system and enjoy your reward. Rewarding yourself will motivate you to continue on the challenging journey towards success.

Whether you are investing $200,000 in a business, leaving your $100,000-per-annum job to pursue your passion, or stepping on stage to perform for a 1,000-strong audience, taking the first step and moving out of your comfort zone usually requires much courage.

A crystal-clear goal, together with a constantly affirmed self-belief will help to strengthen your courage to pursue, to overcome, and to achieve.

(An article written in 2007)

The ABCs of Achieving Your Life Goals

The ABCs of Achieving Your Life Goals

Sharing by Jensen Siaw, Founder & Principal Personal Empowerment Trainer of SPEAK For Life Training Pte Ltd. As an Executive Coach and Personal Empowerment Coach, Jensen has empowered professionals, managers, entrepreneurs, media personalities, parents and youths in achieving GREATER JOY, PEAK PERFORMANCE and BREAKTHROUGH SUCCESS through seminars, workshops, talks, personal coaching, therapy and radio shows. Contact Jensen at eCoach@SPEAKForLife.com or http://www.SPEAKForLife.com

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Affirmations are simply statements that we make to ourselves; it’s our self-talk. You use affirmations all the time, whether you’re doing so intentionally or unintentionally. If you make a mistake and you think to yourself, “I’m always making mistakes, I never do anything right”, you’ve just made a negative affirmation. If instead you make a mistake and you think to yourself, “That’s OK, I have the ability to correct this”, you’ve just made a positive affirmation.

Your self-talk has an enormous impact on your conscious and subconscious minds. By repeating positive affirmations you can reprogram your thought patterns. Creating new thought patterns will allow you to begin to change your underlying beliefs and the way that you think and feel about yourself, others, and your place in the world. In this way, you can improve your life dramatically through the use of daily positive affirmations.

Choosing Your Affirmations

Shakti Gawain, author of Creative Visualization, offers the following advice for choosing your affirmations:

o Always phrase your affirmations in the present tense, as if it already exists. Say “I enjoy being at my ideal weight” instead of saying “I will reach my ideal weight.”

o Affirm what you want, not what you don’t want. Instead of saying “I am no longer a procrastinator”, say “I always get things done on time.”

o Don’t simply go through your affirmations by rote; add positive feelings and emotions to your affirmations.

o Choose affirmations that feel right for you. If you come across an affirmation that you like but you would feel more comfortable changing a couple of words, go right ahead.

Use Three Different Pronouns

A technique that you can apply to make your affirmations more effective is to write down the same affirmation using different pronouns. For example, if you want to affirm that you’re surrounded by positive people who want the best for you, you can write down the following three affirmations (in this example your name is Joan):

o I am surrounded by positive people who want the best for me.

o Joan, you are surrounded by positive people who want the best for you.

o Joan is surrounded by positive people who want the best for her.

When you say affirmations in the second and third person it’s as if someone else is talking to you or about you. Your internal critic is less apt to interject a negative comment if it thinks someone else is making these positive affirmations about you.

Affirmations Can Be General or Specific

Affirmations can be general or they can be very specific. Some examples of general affirmations are the following:

o Abundance is all around me.

o Abundance is my birthright.

o There is more than enough for all.

Use general affirmations to “set the stage”. Once you’ve established clear, well-defined goals for yourself you can create specific affirmations to help keep you focused on your goals and to strengthen your belief in your ability to reach your goals. For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds in the next three months by exercising, your affirmations could be the following:

o I now jog for 40 minutes, 4 times a week.

o Jogging helps me to lose weight and makes me healthy and fit.

o I am now lifting weights 3 times a week.

o I enjoy going to the gym and lifting weights.

o I am getting excellent results from jogging and weight lifting, and it shows.

o Every day I am getting fitter and fitter.

o I now weigh X amount of pounds (your target weight).

o People comment on how much thinner I am and how good I look.

You Have to Be Able to Believe Your Affirmations

Whenever you choose to change anything in your life, you’re choosing to move out of your present comfort zone. We should always strive to grow and expand our definition of ourselves and of what we are capable of. However, you have to make sure that your affirmations are not so far off from where you are at the moment that there’s no way you can get yourself to believe what you’re affirming.

If you don’t believe the affirmations you’re saying to yourself, then you need to start with a less ambitious affirmation and gradually make your affirmations bigger and bigger. For example, if you currently make $3,000.00 a month, it may be difficult for you to believe “I am now making $50,000.00 a month”. However, you can probably believe the following affirmation: “I am now making $4,500.00, or more, a month”. As you move forward and begin to see results you can progressively increase this number until you do feel comfortable affirming that you make over half a million dollars a year.

Repeat Your Affirmations Often

There is much power in repetition. Positive affirmations are not something that you do once in a while, instead, you should expose your mind to the affirmations that you choose for yourself as often as possible. In the words of Robert Collier: “Constant repetition carries conviction.”

Write down your affirmations and place them where you can refer to them often (you can even carry them around in your wallet). You can say them out loud to yourself every morning when you wake up and at night before going to bed, or you can set aside a few minutes each day to scribble them on a sheet of paper several times to help reinforce the message in your mind.

Taping the affirmations in your own voice and listening to the tape while you’re relaxing-or, even better, meditating– has had extraordinary effects for countless people. Louise Hay, author of the International bestseller “You Can Heal Your Life”, recommends that you sing or chant your affirmations. Some people leave a CD with positive affirmations playing softly in the background while they sleep at night.

In addition, there are several programs that allow affirmations to flash on and off on your computer screen unobtrusively, helping to program these affirmations into your subconscious.

Affirmation Bath

Practitioners who offer healing workshops often use a technique called “affirmation bath”. Basically, several people stand around one person and they all begin saying positive affirmations directed toward that person. The person is “engulfed” by positive messages from others. You can try this technique if you can find several like-minded people to participate in this exercise with you.

Release Any Negative Feelings That Arise

Negative feelings can act as self-imposed stop signs to getting what you want in life. If you feel any discomfort, self-doubt, fear, anger, and so on when saying your affirmations, you need to let go or release these negative feelings. One way to do this is by using the Sedona Method. As stated before, you have to add positive feelings and emotions to your affirmations, and if negative feelings are getting in the way, you need to be able to let go of them.

Your self-talk can either prevent you from getting what you want in life, or it can be a powerful catalyst for creating the life you’ve always wanted. Create a daily practice of using positive affirmations to help motivate, support, and inspire you to go after your dreams.

August 25, 2012 By

Written by Marelisa Fábrega who blogs at http://abundance-blog.marelisa-online.com

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Achieving Goals – 5 Common Reasons Why We Don’t Successfully Achieve Our Goals!

August 24, 2012 By

Achieving Goals – 5 Common Reasons Why We Don’t Successfully Achieve Our Goals!

Everyone sets goals… some we achieve and others we don’t. There are many reasons why we don’t achieve goals… some of the common reasons can be prevented if we only knew what to do and how to do it.

5 Common Reasons Why We Don’t Successfully Achieve Our Goals:

Lack of plan –you can have a great goal you want to achieve, for example, set up a website for a business with no website design experience or skills (this was actually one of my goals less than a year ago) but have got no idea how to go about it. You need to have a plan of attack… you need to know what you need to do, when you need to do it, and how you’re going to do it. Without a structured plan made up of easy to accomplish steps you’ll find yourself doing many things and getting nowhere fast.

Vague goals — having vague goals produces vague results. One of the keys to successfully achieving any goal is to be very clear about what you want to achieve. You may not know all the details but you at least need to know what you are “aiming” for. You need to know what your target is… if you don’t know what you are aiming for, how will you know if and when you have achieved it?

Distractions– you set a goal that will change your life in some way e.g. losing weight, saving money for a new car, changing career… setting goals means you have to make changes in your life in order to achieve this goal. Distractions will happen along the way… distractions are inevitable. If your commitment to your goal isn’t that strong, distractions will win and take your focus from your goal… and your goal is abandoned. When goals are abandoned and not achieved, nothing in your life changes.

Thoughts and beliefs — you may have a very clear goal, e.g. lose weight and get fit, you may have a solid plan to achieve your goal, you may consistently take the necessary action to achieve your goal, but your predominant thoughts and underlying beliefs may in fact prevent you from ever achieving your goal e.g. “I’ve been on diets before and they haven’t worked”, “I hate doing exercise”, “losing weight is no fun”, “I will never lose weight”. If your thoughts and beliefs aren’t aligned with your goal, it is highly unlikely you will never achieve your goal.

Giving up — obstacles, problems, rejections and failure can dent our confidence and be difficult to overcome. All too often people give up on their goals too soon, frequently just before they would have been achieved. The reality is: you will come across obstacles, problems and difficulties in your journey to achieve your goal, but it’s important to persevere, to keep going, and find solutions to difficulties. If you give up on your goal… nothing in your life changes. And the bottom line is… if you truly want to achieve something, you will find a way!

Have you experienced any of these reasons for not achieving your goal?

Achieving Goals – 5 Common Reasons Why We Don’t Successfully Achieve Our Goals!

Achieving Goals - 5 Common Reasons Why We Don't Successfully Achieve Our Goals!

Jeanne May of Aspirations Plus, works with spiritually minded people providing them information, inspiration, guidance and support to achieve their goals and dreams. I invite you to learn the Secrets of How to Achieve Life Changing Goals by visiting http://www.aspirationsplus.com/alcgpromo.html

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Achieving Goals In 5 Disciplined Steps

August 20, 2012 By

Achieving Goals In 5 Disciplined Steps

For many years people have been blaming their fate or destiny for their failures. Many people believe that success is derived out of your past life karma. I honestly don’t know much about karma and being born with a fate but I surely do know and believe that we humans have the power to change our fate and destiny. For those, who still disagree with me will soon change their thinking.

Many of use see an aero plane flying in the sky each day and we all know the science behind the plane flying and we still feel amazed to imagine a heavy piece of equipment flying. Well, this invention just did not happen. We all know that the Wright Brothers had to go through numerous failures and embarrassment before they could create a plane that could fly. Were they destined to create a plane? Was it their fate that got them to create a plane? I doubt. Read on…

It was their observation of the birds and the desire to fly which made them create the machine which we today call Plane. It was their burning desire which was so strong that made them work for years and hours each day before they met with success. All the failures, taunts, embarrassment and frustration were small compared to their burning desire to fly. It is only through a Burning Desire can a man achieve the impossible.

Look at all the scientific advancements. The very advancement of a computer in front of you on which you read this article and the Internet on which you downloaded this article are all proofs of Burning Desire of man to create something.

Obstacles come and it is up to us how we deal with them. Failures will come for a long time, before we can achieve something. It is the manner in which the Universe functions. To reap fruits from a tree, you must first plant the seeds and nurture the tree well.

Achieving anything is possible as long as you have the Burning Desire to achieve it, i.e. creating the next scientific experiment, topping your exams, receiving the next promotion, losing your weight, learning a new art… Anything is possible. The recent slogan of Nike Shoes says it all “Impossible is nothing”.

If you have a Burning Desire and sow the seeds of intention, the universe conspires to help you. This happens only if your intentions are true and pure.

If you dream of achieving something then sow the seeds of intention in the universe by always being positive about that dream and always thinking of that dream, the universe will conspire to help you. You might dream to work at Microsoft and if you sow your intentions right, somewhere some how you might just bump into a person who could help you.

Therefore, keep dreaming, always have the burning desire to succeed and read the following steps to achieve your goals. But remember, it requires a disciplined approach while following it.

5 Disciplined steps to achieve your goals

Please note that the steps mentioned below require a disciplined approach. By discipline I mean that no matter what difficulty you face in achieving your goals, you must stick to your desire to achieving your goals.

1. Define a goal for yourself

The first step towards achieving your goal is to be able to define it. While defining your goal you should keep in mind the SMART principle i.e.

S = Specific

M = Measurable

A = Attainable

R = Realistic

T = Timely

Specific

Be very specific of what you want. If you want to buy a car, just don’t say my goal is to buy a car. You should rather say, I want to buy a Mercedes and the model number.

Measurable

You should be in a position to measure your success towards the goal only then will you be in a position to alter plans or make new ones if you are not heading anywhere.

Attainable

The goals that you make for yourself should be attainable as per your skills, attitudes, abilities, etc. Making an unrealistic goal will not only make you frustrated, but will also play on your mind and make you lose your self-esteem.

Realistic

Like I mentioned earlier, your goals should be realistic. Your goal is probably realistic if you truly believe that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know if your goal is realistic is to determine if you have accomplished anything similar in the past or ask yourself what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

It is only if a man believes in something does he accumulate the will to give all that he has towards his goal. Always remember, where there is a will there is a way.

Timely

While defining your goal you should always attach a time frame to achieve it. If you decide to lose weight, you should have a goal with a time frame in mind. E.g.: “I wish to lose 10 KGs by the end of 2007″.

Once you have created a SMART goal, the next step is to write it down in big bold letters and stick it at a place where you won’t miss reading it every day. Read your goal statement each day and night and work towards it.

2. Work towards it

Now that you have created a goal for yourself, the next step is to initiate action and work towards it by giving all efforts possible. This is the most difficult part in achieving a goal. Many of my friends have taken this advice by defining their goals and writing it down, but they fail at the most critical step i.e. to initiate action.

After your goals are clear, the time to take action is NOW. Just start working towards it. Ask yourself if you’d be happy to achieve your goals? If yes, then why not start working towards it once you have a clear vision of your goal. If your goal is to lose weight, then the next logical step is to find out how you could achieve it. Join a gym, consult a doctor, etc. Just do everything possible towards achieving your goal.

3. Manage your problems well

Yes, problems will come. It’s the way in which the Universe works. It will test you endlessly till that time you don’t attain your goal. Nothing comes easy. Even a diamond has to go through endless pressure and heat to reach its final form.

It’s how we react to problems that makes all the difference. Many things will come your way and distract your mind and that’s the time to keep your cool and keep driving on.

4. Monitor your progress.

Now that you have defined your goal, have started working towards it and are battling your way through problems which come through; its time to monitor your progress.

The reason why you should monitor your progress is to know if the action that you have initiated is helping you to near your goals or not. If you feel that the action is not helping you much, then you should try to alter your path of working.

May be you were doing it all wrong. Don’t panic at this stage. Appreciate the knowledge that you have gained of how not to achieve your goal. That’s experience.

5. Ask someone to mentor you

Very few people have the privilege of being guided by a mentor. If you wish to become a singer or a dancer, then seek the help of a mentor. The experience of a mentor will not only lead you through a correct path, but will also help you become the best in a commendable time frame.

As my closing remarks, Thomas Edison had to go through thousands of failed experiments to achieve the goal of inventing the perfect light bulb that we use today. At a press conference when he was asked about his failures, he quickly responded saying “I have successfully discovered 1000 ways to NOT make a light bulb”.

This shows that he had a goal and a burning desire to build an electrical bulb. This proves that despite facing so many problems and failed attempts at altered paths his vision never shook to achieve creating the first electrical bulb ever witnessed by mankind.

Some quotable quotes

Obstacles are those frightening things that become visible when we take our eyes off our goals.

- Henry Ford

Set your goals high and don’t stop until you get there.

- Bo Jackson

You must take action now that will move you towards your goals. Develop a sense of urgency in your life.

- Les Brown

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

- Mark Twain

When you cease to dream you cease to live.

- Malcolm Forbes

So what are you waiting for? If you have the desire, then march ahead and achieve your goals

As a continuation of this article, I am planning to release a FREE guide on how to meditate successfully and improve your life as a whole. To keep yourself updated on when the guide will be released, subscribe to our newsletter and grab your copy as I release it.

You can share this article with your friends and family to help them as well.

Achieving Goals In 5 Disciplined Steps

Achieving Goals In 5 Disciplined Steps

My name is Sunil Bhatia. I am a hard core Software & Web Applications Architect with an incline towards helping people advance their careers to the next level. Over the years in my career, I have been mentored and guided by many people and I wish to share all my learnings and observations through my site called http://www.careercurry.com You can also subscribe to the newsletter on my site and get updates new articles as I upload them. Thanks in advance for visiting http://www.careercurry.com

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Calculator Income Investment Retirement Planning – Map Out Your Retirement Goals Today

August 20, 2012 By

Calculator Income Investment Retirement Planning – Map Out Your Retirement Goals Today

A calculator for income investment and planning retirement is a very important way to help you achieve your retirement goals. Quite simply, these calculators will help you simply input the data you need, and figure out whether or not that particular investment you are looking at will help you to have enough money for when you retire. This alone takes a lot of hassle out of trying to do this on yourself.

A calculator for income investment and planning retirement is readily found on the Internet, and you really don’t have to search very hard to find these. In fact, a quick Google search will provide literally millions of results per capita for income investment in planning retirement.

However, here’s another thing you need to be aware of; you can ever hope to know how much money you’ll need for retirement planning unless you know exactly what you want to achieve their your retirement years. I’ve said it many times before, but it cannot be stressed enough; if you don’t know this information, you will never get to where you want to be for your retirement. Now, in addition to a calculator for retirement planning, it is very helpful to utilize retirement planning software help you keep track of your income and expenses.

In fact, without knowing this information, you can never hope to achieve the retirement goals you want. Now, once you have your income expenses on either a balance sheet are income statement, it makes it much easier to track where you are financially; believe it or not, the vast majority people have no idea what their financial picture looks like.

You see, most people were not educated very well financially in school, and therefore do not keep track of their finances effectively. Retirement planning software will help you do this quickly and easily.

Also, a calculator for income investment and planning retirement can be a great way to help you achieve your retirement goals. By utilizing both of these instruments, you will achieve whatever retirement goals you’ve set for yourself, no matter how lofty or unachievable they may seem to you know. Hopefully this important information will help you attain your retirement planning goals, no matter how lofty they may be.

Calculator Income Investment Retirement Planning – Map Out Your Retirement Goals Today

Calculator Income Investment Retirement Planning - Map Out Your Retirement Goals Today

For more great retirement planning investment advice, check out http://www.online-retirement-planning.com and get some great retirement planning help.

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