Paul Palmer, proud to be a pisces man

DoweEp you have meaningful goals in every area of your life? Everyone should set meaningful goals for 2010. Goal-setting is a life-long “homework assignment.” I am confident that by doing this, you are setting yourself on the path to a fun, enjoyable and fulfilling life.

When you have all of your goals, written as if the future you want has already happened, what do you do next? The next step is vitally important, because we must be able to “see” ourselves into this new reality. Human beings think in three dimensions: Words (or language) that trigger Pictures, which cause Emotions (or feelings). So, it is important that the words of your goals cause the exact picture of what you want.

For example, if I want everybody receiving today’s message to have the same picture, and I say the word “dog” to you, it will trigger a picture in your brain. However, it will trigger thousands of different pictures, for the thousands of people receiving this message. Now, if I say, “white, brown and black Bassett Hound, with long ears, short legs and a white streak running up his forehead,” I have most of you picturing the same type of dog.

Take a look at your goals, and make certain that they cause you to picture exactly what it is you want; and these pictures should cause you to feel a positive, warm sense of accomplishment. If you need to, add words of clarity and emotion, turning your goals into a moving image of your future.

Now, at least twice a day, you should read each goal, take a moment to close your eyes and picture what the words say to you, and feel the emotions of each goal becoming real. Each goal will take 15-20 seconds, so you can work at 10 to 15 goals at a time. This is the visualization process that will take you from “want to” to “I am.”

If you and I did our jobs right this week, you probably had an exciting day and evening, experimenting with this whole new world of goal-setting. Are you working with each of them twice a day? This brings up another question: How good are you at keeping agreements . . . with yourself?

In their book “Life 101,” John-Roger and Peter McWilliams pointed out that the agreements we make are always with ourselves, although sometimes they include other people. In that sense, they’re like relationships. All of our relationships are with ourselves, but often they include other people as well.

Now, your word is one of the most precious things you have, but many people think very little of breaking it. This is a mistake for two reasons.

First and most obviously, it weakens your credibility with other people. But even more importantly, it weakens your credibility, trustworthiness and reliability with yourself. You can’t help but act in ways that reflect that. So, once you make an agreement and give your word, do everything in your power not to break it. A broken word, like a broken cup, can’t hold much for very long.

When you lovingly keep your word, that is, keep it strong, keep it dependable, and keep it true, you will know the power of accountability. And when you lend this power to a worthy cause that you believe in, its effect will be doubly powerful.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Trusting yourself is the first secret of success.” But how can you trust yourself unless you honor your agreements and keep your word?

Paul Palmer

let your life speak because you are the most important person in your life

Technorati Tags: goal setting, paul palmer, visualise your future

You should now have your lists of wants, balanced in the different areas of your life. You have checked them against your values, and each supports the other. Now, how do we turn those “wants” into meaningful and achievable goals?

Today, take one of your Balance Wheel sections. One that I place the highest value on is family palmer, yes I emphasise that it’s my family. One of my goals and personal affirmations is to spend time with them, and to be available whenever I’m needed.

Now, it is important to understand the difference between “want to” and “do.” “Wants” set up the “do’s” in your life, and your goals will need to be written to reflect the “do.” So, when my goal is to spend time with my children, I write the goal like this: “I spend quality time with each of my children. They all know how important they are to me.”

Suppose that you are a single mother, trying to balance work and home and family. It is a difficult road to travel, one filled with many choices. You want to spend as much time with your family, but you have to work. Guilt kicks in as you attempt to do it all. Now, thinking of work as a “have to” causes additional stress, which can shadow your work and home time. To remove the “have to” from work would help a lot, so your goal would be written as, “I love the work I do, because it affords me what I need to spend time with my kids.”

One final tip: When you write out your “wants” and goals, make sure you write them in the present tense – the future as now. Take out the “going to” and replace it with “I am.” You are seeing your future as if it has already happened.

Take each of your Balance Wheel “wants” and turn them into goals for the future, written in the present tense. You have come a long way in the last few days, and have started on the path to a successful year.

Paul Palmer

Technorati Tags: goal setting, paul palmer, wants