There are many obstacles to achieving our goals, from not really knowing what it is we want to achieve (a lack of real clarity on the outcome) to fear of failure or even success! I have written about many of the obstacles we may face in previous posts (just check out my link on obstacles, here) and today I’m going to expand further and take a look at what it really means to put in the effort to achieving our goals. Before we start though, let me just say that if you’re on the cusp of starting out on your goal(s), you may find this post somewhat challenging or even an obstacle to starting! Of course, I hope that’s not the case and that you find some value in the words that follow below. [Read more…] about It’s Not Easy, But It’s Worth It!
goals
5 Reasons You Should Take Action on Your Goals NOW!
Taking action on our goals doesn’t only provide the benefit of seeing our goals brought to fruition and the joy we will feel when we reach that point. Between the start and the end, or, between now and then, there are many other excellent reasons and/or benefits which we can enjoy en route that will help to fuel our resolve to keep going. Let’s take a look at five of these reasons.
1. Your positive motivation will spill over into other areas of your life!
Yes, that’s right! Once you pull yourself up off the sofa and start doing something, anything, towards your goal, you will find that your overall energy will increase.
There’s a general belief that we don’t have enough time and energy to cram anything else into our lives and so setting and pursuing a goal will only add to the sense of overwhelm we already feel. But, the opposite is actually true! By doing some work on one of our goals, we will feel more energised and this will provide the additional energy, and by default, time, that’s needed to help us keep on top of all the other ‘busy’ work we need to attend to. [Read more…] about 5 Reasons You Should Take Action on Your Goals NOW!
Failure is a Necessity!
Failure Is A Necessity!
Some of my most popular Facebook updates recently have been around the perception of fear. It seems that many people are fearful of starting a new venture. Taking steps outside our comfort zones can create anxiety and distress, and the further we wander from the perceived boundaries of our comfort zones, the worse this anxiety becomes.
In today’s post I’m going to take a look at some of the fears that may be holding us back from reaching or even starting our goals.
I guess one of the major reasons we’re afraid to fail is because we think we’ll look stupid – to others, but, more importantly, to ourselves. For many of us, we tend to be our harshest critic and not only berate ourselves internally with tough and unkind words, but often we go on to verbalise not only our dislike of our failure to those around us, but also our dislike of ourselves for having failed. In doing so we ensure that we have garnered support for the critical bombardment with which we are punishing ourselves. In this context, is it any wonder that we fear starting a new project which could end in failure? [Read more…] about Failure is a Necessity!
Why it’s Good to be Making Messy Progress!
Set the kind of goals that will make something of you to achieve them. Jim Rohn.
When we set goals, and then set about achieving them, we usually feel a certain amount of resistance at some point into the proceedings because we will be stretching ourselves beyond our comfort zones. This is a natural feeling, although for a lot of people, the experience can be so uncomfortable that they give up on their goal believing that they are not doing the right thing for themselves (it just feels all wrong, they say). However, this just isn’t the case. As Jim Rohn points out in the quote above, in progressing and achieving our goals, we will actually become a different person. We will know more, we will have experienced more, we may have had to make some tough decisions about things which need to be dropped from our lives etc. Is it any wonder then that we initially feel uncomfortable with the changes?
As we know, change of any kind can be difficult to accept and then to integrate into our lives. Sometimes change is imposed upon us, and whilst we may fight for things to go back to how they were, this might not be possible. There could be unwelcome changes in the workplace resulting in a new boss or a change in our responsibilities, perhaps the children leave home allowing us far more time to ourselves and it feels strange, or maybe the perfect relationship we thought we had with our partner isn’t what it seemed and suddenly and unexpectedly it’s over. [Read more…] about Why it’s Good to be Making Messy Progress!
Did You Notice….?
Have you ever noticed how you stop noticing things? It’s almost as if we become blind, both to the physical and non-physical things.
I noticed this a few days ago, when, for whatever reason I became aware of the naked bulb in my kitchen. I don’t remember how or when it happened, but the glass shade that belongs over the bulb got broken and, weeks later, it still hasn’t been replaced. I had, to all intents and purposes, become blind not only to the physical appearance of the naked bulb, but also to the need to replace it.
This got me thinking about other things that we need to change but inadvertently don’t see, even though this may be causing us some kind of pain (physical or otherwise) or is more apparent (to others) in our tangible environment.
Part of the reason for this I guess is that we fill our lives to such an extent that it clearly is impossible to remember to notice everything. On some level though we are prioritising those things which are important to us, or, more likely, we are prioritising those things and/or people which are demanding something from us. But how often do we actually take the time to consciously consider that we are noticing the right things?
But noticing the ‘right’ things isn’t always easy to do of course, particularly if those things have an emotional charge and we would actually rather not deal with them, despite knowing that once we have processed our thoughts and feelings we will be able to move on with our lives more authentically and calmly. [Read more…] about Did You Notice….?
Interviews with Successful People: Richard Powell Conquers Kilimanjaro!
In October 2013, Richard Powell, an IT Manager based at Cardiff University, set off on a challenge he’d been preparing for for a year – to climb to the peak of Kilimanjaro. Although he tells me that his initial motivations were more selfish than altruistic, it’s a credit to his determination and motivation that along with reaching the peak, he’s also raised more than £5,000 in sponsorship and other fund raising activities for his chosen charity, Tenovus (a cancer care and treatment charity).
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to interview Richard about his experiences.
You’ve recently successfully climbed to the peak of Kilimanjaro, can you tell us about the experience?
We prepared for the climb for about a year before the actual event, but in all honesty nothing really prepares you! I think the first realisation of the enormity of the challenge hit me when we flew into Africa and instead of flying over Kilimanjaro, we flew around it and were looking out of the windows and upwards towards the summit! [Read more…] about Interviews with Successful People: Richard Powell Conquers Kilimanjaro!