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Goals: Staying Consistent & Motivated

abloomingheart7

“It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”
― Anthony Robbins

Hello Everyone! These past six months have been quite the experience. I have continued to work full-time, start a doctoral program, continue working out (ish), and find simple activities that I can truly enjoy and bring peace to my life.

Reflecting back on this year, I think the main lesson that I learned is that there is power in consistency. We can start a diet, workout routine, a new hobby, but unless we are consistent with our actions, we will never see the results that we want to see.

We have officially closed out one year and are on to the start of a new decade (I know crazy, right?!) Many of us have already planned out our new year’s resolutions. It is great to visualize what you want the next chapter of your life to look like, but I do encourage us to think about attainable goals that can be measured and also create a game plan to help us stay on track.

For example, one of my biggest mistakes when setting goals is that I will write something like “loose 15 lbs”, sometimes I’ll even write “loose 15lbs by June”, but when June comes around I have not lost a single pound… I start to get discouraged and all bummed out.

Alternatively, I realized that setting a goal and creating a plan actually helps me with consistency and getting the results that I want.

Getting Started

The first step is to actually get started. For me this means writing down the goals on paper. Nothing fancy, simply jotting down ideas of what goals I want to achieve for the upcoming year.

Generally, I try to separate my goals as they relate to the wellness pillars, which to recap are:

  • Spiritual – Seeking spiritual centered beliefs and practices
  • Intellectual – Engaging in creative and stimulating mental activities
  • Emotional – Awareness of thoughts and feelings, managing stress, embracing a positive attitude
  • Physical – Taking action to achieve and maintain physical health
  • Social – Connecting with others and establishing meaningful relationships
  • Occupational – Using skills/abilities to contribute and finding meaning in our day to day occupations

Create a Road Map

Next, I create a realistic plan to reach these goals. The key word here is realistic. I may want to run a marathon this year, but it is not realistic to sign up for a half-marathon (13 miles/21 km) when I have not conditioned for a 5K.

What is realistic is to start small and set milestones. This will help you see your progress and actually keep you on track towards your goal.

Here is an example: New year. New you.

The key to creating effective and sustainable goals is in the following:

  1. Start thinking about goals as serving a specific purpose
  2. Understand that attaining a goal is not always a linear process – you will encounter obstacles or limitations, that is OK
  3. Select goals that you are passionate about so that when you encounter obstacles you can find the motivation to continue towards your mark
  4. Think of ways to measure your progress. This will help you stay on track.
  5. Celebrate your victories (even the small ones)

Resources:

Highly recommended book: https://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Over-Until-You/dp/0684835282/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1524533776&sr=8-3&keywords=les+brown&linkCode=ll1&tag=themotivationame&linkId=1eb46464156359823ba5408dd672ff7a

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_90.htm

https://www.mindtools.com/page6.html

 

Published by abloomingheart7

Hi, let me introduce myself, I go by Carol Jacqueline. The blog, A Blooming Heart, came me to in the form of a dream. I asked God to lead me so that I may use my life as a vessel and blogging was imprinted in my heart. I continued to pray for guidance and one night in a dream… A Blooming Heart was born. My hopes are that you find encouragement and a sense of solidarity engraved in each word and image that is presented through this blog. The truth is life can become increasingly difficult and at times frustrating, at times we question our identity, our value, our self-worth, our purpose, and in really dire moments, our very existence. I am here to share with you my life experiences from a traumatic childhood, bouts with depression, heart-breaks, failures, hardships, and how I continue to see God’s love guiding me through every season. My prayer is that you receive encouragement in knowing that you are not alone. We are all in a struggle, that’s part of being human, but we all have hope in Jesus Christ. May each key that I press and each word that is posted come with the anointing of the Holy Spirit to help each reader in their current season. Whether that is a season of healing, waiting, hoping, dreaming, planning, no matter the season; may these words encourage you to keep believing and strengthen your heart to keep blooming. I pray that every heart is softened and every spirit is opened to the will of God and that in our pursuit of God we can make lifetime connections that will transform the world, one life at a time. Amen. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you will abound in hope and overflow with confidence in His promises.” Romans 15:13 (AMP)

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