Category Archives: Goals

Remove a Mountain

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“The person who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

-Chinese Proverb

Image of a boy carrying stones

Image from Flickr

Where are you today in regard to some of your most ambitious personal or professional goals for the new year? Are you in full stride, ahead of schedule?

Perhaps you are stalled, have lowered your sights considerably, or have stopped completely.

Today’s quote points to the small, consistent efforts we can all make on a daily basis to begin again, make progress, and eventually move mountains.

EXERCISE:

What are the “small stones” you will move today, to make progress toward your most desired personal or professional objectives?

The new year stands before us

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“The new year stands before us like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.”

-Melody Beattie, American Self-Help Author

Image from Flickr by Babak Fakhamzadeh

Who doesn’t like a good story filled with excitement, adventure and extraordinary accomplishments?

A challenge for many of us is that we are often listening to the tales of our friends and colleagues rather that creating and sharing our own stories.

Let’s flip this challenge on its head by dedicating ourselves to being more prolific story-tellers in the new year.

EXERCISE:

Answer the following questions, and put a plan of action into place that makes you the main character in far more stories throughout 2017:

  1. What new and exciting places will you go to in the new year?
  2. What great professional achievement will you pursue and accomplish?
  3. What significant personal achievement will you realize?
  4. What community-based contribution will most benefit from your unique abilities and talents?

Friday Review: Goals

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FRIDAY REVIEW: GOALS

How high do you set your goals? How diligently do you pursue them?  Here are a few goal-related posts you may have missed. Click on the link to read the full message.

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“A good goal is like a strenuous exercise. It makes you stretch.”

 

 

 

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“The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there.”

 

 

 

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“It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.”

 

 

 

 

finite number of heartbeats

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“I believe every human being has a finite number of heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine.”

—Neil Armstrong, American Astronaut; First person to walk on the moon

Image of Neil Armstrong

Image from pics-about-space.com

As a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut. The idea of great adventure, testing oneself, and having “the right stuff” was right up my alley.

A highlight of this dream was to watch Neil Armstrong take his first step on the moon in 1969, going where no man had gone before (I stole that line from Star Trek!).

For me, Armstrong set a strong example of using each and every heartbeat to accomplish something extraordinary. He continued to contribute in many ways until he passed away in 2012, at the age of 82.

EXERCISE:

What important and energizing personal and professional goals are you working on or plan to begin? Make sure they pass the “get your heart pumping” test.

Why You Started

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“Remember Why You Started.”

-Author Unknown

Image from family-180.com

Image from family-180.com

We are now almost two months into the new year, which is a good time to check in, revisit resolutions and key goals, and your most desired intentions.

How are things going?

See if you are exceeding expectations, are satisfied, somewhat satisfied, a bit stalled, or even at a dead stop.

Did you do what many people do by simply taking on too many things at one time? If you did, consider paring down the list to the one thing you most desire, and remind yourself why it is your top priority.

Examine this goal with your head, your heart, and your gut, to rekindle its importance and value. Some might suggest “your why should make you cry.”

EXERCISE:

With this renewed commitment in place, please devise an unstoppable and fully guaranteed plan of action in which you will use all the resources and support structures available to remember why you started, and to finish strong.

A Wonderful Thought

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“What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven’t happened yet!”

-Author Unknown

image from searchengineland.com

image from searchengineland.com

Today’s quote caused me to pause a bit longer than I normally do as I look to the New Year ahead. Instead of looking at the year as a whole, or even fleshing out the priority goals and objectives I wish to tackle, I plan on looking at each day as a unique and precious gift.

One way to see the value of this exercise is to take a trip into your past to examine and pleasantly re-experience, through memory, some of the really great days and experiences. As you take the time to do this, count how many great days you can recall. The list will probably be finite.

EXERCISE:

How can you design the coming year, proactively and intentionally, to have as many remarkable days this year as you have had to this point in your life?

Better to be a lion

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“It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.”

-Elizabeth Kenny, unaccredited 20th Century Australian nurse

Image from Flickr by Tambako the Jaguar

Image from Flickr by Tambako the Jaguar

Take an inventory of your life’s greatest moments—the ones where you did or were part of something remarkable, noteworthy, and of course, memorable. What were you doing at the time? I would guess that on many of these occasions you were reaching for some goal, striving for something you desired, or operating beyond your comfort zone inspired by a high-priority commitment.

Rarely do great accomplishments occur when we simply move day-to-day, grazing on the same grasses of our personal or professional worlds.

EXERCISE:

How and in what ways can you rally your inner lion to courageously roar, chase, and pounce on the successes you desire?

“Be mindful of the future…”

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“Be mindful of the future… but not at the expense of the moment.”

– Qui-Gon Jinn, a fictional character in the Star Wars saga

 

Image from ompuertoviejo.wordpress.com

Image from ompuertoviejo.wordpress.com

I’ve noticed recently that many people get ahead of themselves, living far too often in the future. See if any of these scenarios apply to you:

  • You are constantly thinking about the upcoming weekend.
  • You find yourself frequently envisioning your next vacation.
  • You can’t wait to retire from your job—which may be many years away.
  • You often anticipate your next job or promotion, or the one after that.
  • You can’t wait to have that next new suit, car, or bigger home.

Although I am a big advocate of having goals that spur all of us on to achieve better futures, I see far too many people missing out on the daily activities that make their journey worthwhile.

EXERCISE:

How would being mindful of the present provide you more satisfaction in your personal and professional life, as you pursue your goals and visions for the future?

“Coasting only happens when …”

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“Coasting only happens when you are going downhill.”

—Mike Rayburn, one of the youngest inductees in the Speaker Hall of Fame

Photo from dimitri.co.uk

Photo from dimitri.co.uk

When was the last time you took a bike ride outdoors? Try to remember a specific ride with many hills. Close your eyes and visualize the effort and “burn” it took to climb the steepest and longest hills. Experience the relief of going over the crest, when you began coasting, allowing gravity to make your journey far easier.

EXERCISE:

Examine some of the current professional or personal hills you are on, or intend to climb. How will the pursuit of reaching the top make you even stronger for future challenges?

If you happen to notice that there are very few or no hills ahead, perhaps you are coasting, and headed downward. Make a point, once you have relaxed or recovered, to find the next hill worth climbing.

“There is no elevator to success…”

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“There is no elevator to success. You have to take the stairs.”

-Author Unknown

Stairs to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty Photo from Buildipedia.com

Stairs to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty
Photo from Buildipedia.com

The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor has 356 steps.
The Washington Monument in Washington D.C. has 897 steps.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, has 1,710 steps.
The Empire State Building in New York City has 1,860 steps.

Your journey to success has     ?     steps.

When I was a young adult, I visited New York City, seeing many of its sites, including the Statue of Liberty. I actually walked up the entire 354 steps, to look out what, at the time, were some pretty small windows.

I distinctly remember the tremendous burn in my thighs, my loss of breath, a good bit of sweating, and my legs feeling like jello on the way down.

These days, I see many people looking for the elevators and escalators of life, hoping to break little or no sweat on their journey to success.

For many—including myself—it is through burning efforts and striving that we most often achieve and truly appreciate our greatest successes.

EXERCISE:

Where in your past have you taken the stairs of life and achieved success?

What climbing is still required of you in order to rise to your next level of professional and personal achievement?

There is a very useful book by Rory Vaden titled Take the Stairs. It may help you get off on the right foot!