Super glue won't help you now

Most people look for the quick fix. Instead of spending time looking for the right tools we patch things up with bandages, band-aids and sometimes super glue. We think the "problem" is sorted, when all we are doing is hiding the truth from ourselves. We couldn't be bothered (we say we don't have the time etc etc) to work out the proper way of doing something, or more importantly, we don't think we should have to find the proper way of doing something, so we take short cuts.

Don't get me wrong - short cuts can be a good thing - in some cases - but not when it really does take time AND effort AND determination AND perseverance to get through to the end.

- You may have a brilliant idea for a new product, but you can't be bothered to talk to the bank, make a prototype, talk to the manufacturers, refine the prototype, work out a marketing strategy and tell the people about it.....
- You may want to lose 10 kilos to get into that suit for your wedding - but you can't be bothered to go for a walk every night, do 30 push ups and 30 sit ups - after all you have 6 months - so you tell yourself you'll start next week....3 months later you haven't lost any weight, in fact you've gained a bit becuase you've had too much preparation to do, to think about eating properly so you've been living off fast food and coffee. Drastic measures are called for and .....

How many times do I have to repeat this - there is no such thing as a magic wand, magic bullet or magic pill - You can't wish things were different, you have to do something to make things happen.

Put it like this -
- The dieting and weight loss industry don't want us to lose weight and keep it off (they may say they do - but) because we are worth nothing to them thin and healthy.
- There is a never ending light globe, but how many do you think the company would sell before it went out of business?
- Does the pharmaceutical and health care industry "Cure" us or show us how to manage our problems? Take Type II diabetes as a good example - most people know that Type II is caused by the foods we eat, surely by not eating the foods that caused the problem in the first place we should be able to reverse the problem - yes? Every book / journal article and health mag I've read on the subject says - YES - but are you given a healthy eating plan or are you given drugs to lower your hypertension, cholesterol and blood pressure etc etc?

Do you see what I mean - we want things to be different, but most of the time can't be bothered to do the work. Our goals and our plans falter at the first sign of "well that didn't work"

So - hands up - did you manage to complete any / all of your goals for 2009? If you did manage to complete your 2009 goals, another question - did you set your sights too low? If you didn't complete your goals - did you set your goals too high, too far out of reach or were they just dreams?  - Remember when I said "I wish things could be different" - that's the difference between a dream and a goal.

Goals that do not inspire you, goals that are not written down, worked out and worked on - on a daily basis are lost in the day to day mire of "stuff" that needs to be done.

Believe me when I say I can be just as guilty of letting "stuff" get the better of me as everyone else. The difference I suppose is that I KNOW I need to do something about it. Remember I am working on me, just as much as you are working on you.

Do you have your goal list handy?

On a scale of 1 (does not excite me at all) to 10 (can't wait to get up in a morning) rate them.

Anything less than a 6 or 7 should be discarded.

For those items you have marked a 6 or 7 - what can you do to turn them into a 9 or 10? Because only the items marked 9 and 10 out 10 will EVER be worked on - anything else is just fluff and tools for procrastination.

What should be on your goal list? Well that is up to you of course, I'm not about to tell you what you should be doing - not everyone wants to be a millionaire, size 6, drive a beemer or have a dozen kids and run a rescue shelter for sick animals - we are all very different (and thank goodness for that). All I am asking you to do is think about it, give you some tools to help you think about things in a slightly different way and motivate you to make some changes.

All the affirmations in the world won't help you if you say the "right" things but continue to do the wrong ones.

"I'm going to make a million this year
I'm going to be the best sales person this company has ever seen
I'm going to get straight A's on all my assignments
I'm going to...... yada yada yada"

You know the old saying - actions speak louder than words?

Well - what ARE your actions saying about you?

So -
- Find your goal list, or spend some time today and write one.
- Get detailed. It's no good saying - I want to be a millionaire by the time I'm 30 - how are you going to make that happen (and winning lottery, waiting for Great Aunt Doris to die or wait for your knight in shining armour to come galloping up DO NOT COUNT)....what brilliant ideas do you have?
- Break it down - what can you do today? eg., Want to start a business - what on? What will be your target market? Web based - Is the domain name available? Do you have a product to sell or do you need to establish credibility first? Are you going to use affiliates? Where will the store be? What will it look like? Where will you get your stock? What prices will you charge? Have you considered the overheads? Future growth in the area? Long hours?
- Add a time line - how old will you be when you have achieved this?
- What kind of skills do you need to cultivate in yourself to make these things happen.

Live your dreams, make them tangible - get right inside them and make them so real you can't but help bring these things into being. That's what goal achievement is, go on you know you want to.

With many thoughts
Elle

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