Goals: 5 Reasons for Writing Them Down
by Anthony D. Carter
YOU determine what your goals are. Your goals guide your life. It is important that you write those goals down. Here are 5 reasons for writing your goals down:
MIV-Makes It Vivid – Your goals take on a life of their own when you write them down. The written word is more powerful than the thoughts which come and go throughout the day. When you write the goal down it become concrete and real to you. Before you write your goal down it is only an aspiration. It is a wish.
PCR-Provides Constant Reminders – Out of sight, out of mind is the saying that can apply to your goals when you do not write them down. With so many obligations pulling at us in a typical day it is difficult to keep our mind centered on our goals if we don’t see them often enough. In order to hit our goals we must be able to see them and think about them throughout the day so they don’t get lost in among our other responsibilities. Regularly reading your written goals gives you constant reminders during the day. As you keep those goals in front of you impress them upon your mind.
EP-Establish Priorities – Written goals help you prioritize your activities. You especially need this in the beginning. Before the habits have been developed you need to remind yourself of what you are trying to accomplish. Otherwise you will find yourself operating business as usual. I always use written goals to help me establish the order of my priorities for any given day when I first set my goals. Because I have them written down and I am looking at them constantly, the task associated with my goals rise to the top of my list of things to do.
KYF-Keeps Your Focus – When you write your goals down and read them regularly you begin to center your attention on their completion. As your focus on them becomes stronger your goals are kept at the forefront of your thoughts. Every time you read your goals you are giving your subconscious a clearer image of the target.
MIAH-Makes It A Have To Have – When you write your goals down you begin to put importance on them. Your goal moves from being something nice to have to being something that you must have. When your goal is written down and you can read it and think about throughout the day it begins to matter more to you. It becomes something that you think about constantly.
From Anthony D. Carter – a leading expert on goal setting.
Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anthony_D_Carter
Life’s Daily Menu For Successful Living
by Ed Foreman
Which side do you choose?
Life comes to you each day and
you get to choose what kind of a day you’re going to have.
MENU
HOW TO MAKE A “TERRIFIC” DAY
| APPETIZER | FARE |
| Awaken Early | Appreciation for Life |
| Inspirational Reading | Good News Immediately |
| Early Morning Walk or Run | Smiles & Enthusiasm |
| Devotion & Thanksgiving | Recognition & Expectation |
| Brief Regular Exercise | Vibrant Health & Strong Body |
| Positive Cassette Tape Message | Vision & Encouragement |
| Shower & Readiness | Freshness & Anticipation |
| ENTREE | FARE |
| Nourishing Breakfast (25%) | Alertness, Energy, Vitality |
| Multi-Vitamin + E + C + A | Energy, Vitality, Immunity |
| Wholesome, Positive Thoughts | Accomplishment & Wealth |
| Pleasant Greetings to All | Many Friends & Happiness |
| Give Sincere Appreciation | Love, Honor & Cooperation |
| Listen More, Talk Less | Respect, Approval, Knowledge |
| Plan for the Day & Future | Creativity & Organization |
| Do One Task at a Time | Accomplish Greatly |
| See Your Work as Pleasurable | Outstanding Achievement |
| Moderate Lunch (50%) | Alive, Alert & Awake |
| Work/Rest/Work/Rest | Prosperity & Satisfaction (MCR) |
| Count Your Blessings | Abundance, Love & Serenity |
| Play & Relaxation | Happiness & Enjoyment |
| Moderation & Temperance | Clear, Calm & Organized |
| Reasonable Dinner (25%) | Comfortable & Relaxed |
| DESSERT | FARE |
| Review Your Accomplishments | Peace of Mind & Success |
| Prayer | Homage & Self-Confidence |
| Relax & Sleep | Sweet Dreams & Full Life |
MENU
HOW TO MAKE A “TERRIBLE” DAY
| APPETIZER | FARE |
| Awaken Late (Have to Rush) | Anxiety & Bitterness |
| Go Get Newspaper (Like a Dog) | Mostly Bad News |
| Digest Bad News on the Run | Feel Bad & Get Mad |
| No Devotion or Inspiration | Low Spirit, Easily Offended |
| No Exercise | Sluggish, Tired & Run Down |
| Radio or Television Report | Disaster, Trouble & Despair |
| Too Late to Get Bath | Sleepy, Stinky & Unkempt |
| ENTREE | FARE |
| No Breakfast or Coffee & Donut | Hungry, Mean & Nervous |
| Cigarette, Candy, Cola | Hacking Cough, Indigestion |
| Negative, Derogatory Thoughts | Problems & Depression |
| Unfriendly & Ugly to Others | Few or No Friends |
| Criticize, Condemn & Complain | Condemnation, No Love |
| Dictate, Direct & Demand | Disrespect & Ridicule |
| No Plans for the Day or Future | Disorganized & Sour |
| Tackle Everything at Once | Confusion & Disorder |
| See Your Job as Necessary Evil | Barely Get By |
| Lunch-Greasy & Hurried | Drowsy, Gassy & Dull |
| Work/Work/Work/Work | Little Money & Fatigue |
| Curse Life & Gripe | Poverty, Hate & Worry |
| No Play & No Relaxation | Tension & Frustration |
| Indulgence & Dissipation | Illness, Tired, No Confidence |
| Dinner-Drink & Eat Heavy | Burp, Barf & Nightmares |
| DESSERT | FARE |
| Worry, Fret & Be Tense | Sickness, Fear & Failure |
| No Prayer of Thanksgiving | Selfish, Resentful & Jealous |
| Stay Uptight & Poor Sleep | Bad Dreams & Half-Life |
Given these choices, which side of the menu will you choose today?
Happiness is Contagious
Reuters reports that researchers have confirmed that happiness is contagious and they have the statistics to prove it.
Getting connected to happy people improves a person’s own happiness, they reported in the British Medical Journal. James Fowler, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego, said “If a social contact is happy, it increases the likelihood that you are happy by 15 percent, But every extra unhappy friend increases the likelihood that you’ll be unhappy by 7 percent.”.
“Among other benefits, happiness has been shown to have an important effect on reduced mortality, pain reduction, and improved cardiac function.” he said.
So, if you want to be happy and healthy, it helps to have happy friends. To increase your chances of having happy friends, BE a happy friend.
Validation
A short film about the magic of looking for the best in people.
This movie has played at 34 film festivals worldwide and won 17 awards.
Ready, Aim, Aim, Aim…
Some people are always getting ready, but never quite pulling the trigger. They are putting the “final touches” on a project (or as we say in Texas “They’re fixin’ to do it”). This keeps them from being as successful as they could be. (I say “they”, but I am as guilty of this as anyone…).
There may be a couple of reasons for not completing the project, publishing the article, or whatever. One is procrastination. Another is perfectionism.
Sometimes we procrastinate because of “information overload”. With all of the resources we have available today, with the internet, etc. we could go on forever researching the right answer (or the wrong answer). The trick to this one is knowing that we will NEVER have ALL of the facts. There are diminishing returns for additional research. We must determine when we have enough information to move forward.
Procrastination drains us of energy, because the project remains on our to-do list. Our mind keeps nagging us with ideas for completing it, thus distracting us from what we are doing. There are only 2 alternatives to get this mental energy back. Either we decide we are never going to complete it, and permanently drop it from the list, or we get busy and get it done. As Ed Foreman says, “If you’ve got a frog to swallow, do it first thing in the morning.” The sense of accomplishment we get from completing a goal enhances our self esteem and gives us the energy to tackle the next one.
Another reason a lot of us have for not completing the project is that we want it to be absolutely perfect. Our name is going to be associated with it and we want a spotless reputation. What we need to remember, though, is that no one will get any benefit from the project unless we put it out there.
I remember early in my computer programming career when management chose to release a product with a known bug! I was flabbergasted! How could they publish something that we knew had an issue??? They pointed out to me that the benefits of using our software would by far outweigh the issue in one little part of it. Something software companies learned early on was that it could be fixed in the next release (and yes, there would always be a next release…).
The solution to perfectionism is to remember, as one mentor kept telling me, “Good enough is good enough!”. Aim for perfection, but put it out there when it works well enough. You can always improve it later.
Now, Ready, Aim, and FIRE!
Thoughts Are Things
Long before the movie “The Secret”, Ed Foreman has been teaching that “Thoughts are things that manifest themselves in your life”. Ed explains it differently than the “new age” presentation.
Thoughts lead to Actions which become Habits that create the Character you become.
If you think about your dreams and goals, what happens? You begin to smile. You get a spring in your step. You begin doing the things that will bring about your goal. The thought has become an action.
Any action repeated over and over for about 21 days becomes a habit. The longer you habitually do something, the easier it is to do. Most of what we do every day is done because of our habits. Have you ever left the office thinking you need to stop at the store on the way home and the next thing you know, you’re pulling into the driveway at home? That was because the drive home was a habit. In this way the action has become a habit.
All of your habits make up your Character. For example, if you have the habit of getting up early to work out, you will be healthier. If you have the habit of thinking positively, when something doesn’t go your way, you will put all of your efforts into finding another solution. You will be known as that kind of person. All of this together is your character, and it makes up the quality of your life.
Thus, what started as a thought has manifested itself in your life.
So, what are you thinking? What do you read when you don’t have to read? What do you listen to on the radio? What TV shows do you watch? Choose your thoughts carefully. They are what you become.
Someday Syndrome by Ed Foreman
The Someday Syndrome by former US Congressman and speaking legend Ed Foreman. The Someday Syndrome is one of the most sad and tragic facts of life. You can avoid the syndrome, but you must take action before it’s too late.
From the DVD “Make Every Day a Terrific Day!“. Posted with Ed’s permission.
A Fun Way to Get In Shape
My wife joined a local gym. I didn’t. She is already in pretty good shape. I, on the other hand, am in terrible shape. I work sitting in front of a computer all day, almost every day. The most exercise I usually get is drying off after a shower (sorry about that mental picture). I was too embarrassed to go to a gym. But I knew I needed to do something.
Then I saw a commercial for the Nintendo Wii Fit. It looked perfect for me.
Unfortunately, in this area, and apparently most areas, the Wii Game Console and the Wii Fit are scarce. I tried searching online… buy.com, amazon.com, walmart.com, target.com, bestbuy.com, circuitcity.com. They all said out of stock. Finally I checked eBay and bought one the same day. (I don’t know why I didn’t think of that earlier).
The Wii Fit is actually fun! You have a choice of categories: Strength, Balance, Yoga, and Aerobics. It comes with a plastic “board” that lies on the floor. You stand on it for most of the games and it detects your center of balance, weight, movements, etc. The Wii Fit calculates your weight, BMI, and your balance. You can then set a goal and graph your progress.
For the exercises, you have a wii personal trainer. This is perfect for me because the trainer is inside the game (not a real person), so there is no reason to be embarrassed. The trainer shows you how to do the various exercises, games and yoga poses. You can even jog along with the wii trainer on an island.
One caution, though. Start slowly. I jumped right in to it when it arrived and I had trouble walking for two days afterwards.
Also note that the Wii Fit needs to be connected to the Wii Game Console (purchased separately). You also want to be sure you are buying the Wii Fit Board and Game. Some stores are selling a Wii Fit “Starter Kit” that only includes a mat and a cover for the board.
You can get a good idea of how the Wii Fit works in this video:
