Focus: 1 Health and 1 Personal Development Goal for 2015

Wow, it is 2015 already! It slips in so quickly, don’t you think? Rather than start from the laundry list of massive goals one usually sets January 1st, let’s develop a plan for one health goal and one personal development goal. As I’ve written many times, it’s often better to stay away from massive goals this time of year.

During the 1980’s the back of my business card had a quote by Herophiles: “When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot become manifest, strength cannot be exerted, wealth is useless, and reason is powerless.”

It’s my experience that our professional and interpersonal success is limited by our personal development. So, when we spend time developing “self” we bring so much more into our lives.

Shall we begin?

Step 1) Write down what you’d like to feel in each of the two areas (health and personal development).

Step 2) When feeling this way, what does it bring into your life?

Example: “I want to feel more energized and vital.” This will allow me to engage in activities I love more fully with my spouse. I want to be able to wake up fully refreshed after a solid night’s sleep and do more hiking, kayaking and scuba diving with him. In feeling more vital, I can also be more fully present in my work to catch the subtle nuances in my creativity for writing, speaking, and coaching.

Step 3) What are 3 to 5 things you can do to bring more of this wish and feeling into your life?

Hint: make them small steps, ones that you know you can achieve.

For example: 1) better quality sleep, 2) to drop 10 pounds of weight, 3) reduce my stress by 10 percent.

Now, how will you achieve each step and how will you feel while achieving it?

In example

1a) For two weeks beginning tomorrow I will go to bed 15 minutes earlier then reassess how I did at that time and renegotiate my next step. Those 15 minutes, while not a lot, are powerful and accumulate weekly to almost 2 hours more sleep each week!

1b) I will meditate beginning this Saturday twice daily for 3 minutes each time during the week and I will also use an 18 minute meditation I love on the weekends. I’ll reassess my progress in two weeks. I am starting at a self-perceived stress level of 8/10 and my goal is to lower it by 2 points or more…down to 6/10. Meditation relaxes me so I sleep better. Even better, I feel like my vitality on a scale of 0-10 is about a 5. So rather than focusing on “STRESS”, I’ll focus on increasing my energy/vitality scale from 5 to a 7 or more.

1c) I choose to not drink any alcohol for the month of January because I know I feel more motivated, rested and clear headed when less toxic.

1d) I choose to make my meals 40-60% raw and the remainder good quality organic proteins whenever at home during this month. I have energy to burn when my menu is clean.

1e) I will restart Bikram yoga and commit to two classes per week and my bootcamps twice weekly as well. I’ll check-in with my progress mid-month.

Notice with each of the above, there is a start and finish time allotted that is reasonable. The goal is measurable and achievable. Why I am doing this is clear, as well. I want to feel more energized so I can more fully participate and ENGAGE in life with my spouse.

In next week’s blog, I’ll remind you how to make affirmations from goals that orient your brain towards success.