Are You Ready to Succeed?

We've come to the end of the month, a month that I have dedicated to strategies for reaching your goals.  You possess the tools now to set and achieve your goals successfully.  If you have followed the principles of Brian Tracy, author of Goals, as I have blogged about them, you are working on the following steps.

Write down your goals on a calendar or paste them into a scrapbook or on a vision board.  Set a timeline for your goals.  Examine your values and incorporate them into your goals, making sure that none of the goals conflicts with any other goal.  Choose a major definite purpose for which you have a burning desire.  Find someone to be accountable to as you progress towards your goals.  Seek out a support system, whether it's your best friend or your Facebook community, to cheer you on.  Nurture your creativity, whether through prayer and meditation, or through exploring nature or a visit to the art gallery.  Plan to work hard and sacrifice smaller rewards now for larger ones later on.  Plan to manage your time wisely.  Visualize your goals on a daily basis, bringing you one step closer to success.  Be prepared to fail successfully, knowing that you will likely make mistakes on the journey. Be prepared to practise an attitude of gratitude.  Be prepared when that golden opportunity presents itself.  Call on the Holy Spirit, or superconscious mind, to guide you along the way.  Above all, believe in yourself!

I posted my vision board on the rec room door right beside my computer chair where I can study it everyday, burning the images into my mind.  I hung a calendar on the wall beside my computer desk, marked with my monthly goals.  I am ready, willing and able to put my plan into action.  I look forward to measuring my progress at the end of the year.  I hope you will join me in my journey.  Are you ready?

For more information, read Are You Ready to Succeed? by Srikumar S. Rao at http://www.amazon.ca/Are-You-Ready-Succeed-Unconventional/dp/1401301932.

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Self-Discipline

"Self-discipline is a learned skill, not an innate characteristic." (Amy Morin)

Maybe your goal in 2015 is to lose weight.  One of the keys to your success will be self-discipline, a skill to which you must devote intentional, dedicated practice.  Know that developping self-discipline takes time and hard work.  There is no easy fix.  Here are six tips offered by Amy Morin to reach your goal.

1.  Acknowledge Weakness:  You might say:  "I could lose weight if I wanted to."  That statement infers that you really don't need to stop overeating, that you really don't have a problem.  The first step to stopping a bad habit is acknowledging you have one.  

2.  Establish a Clear Plan:  Write out a daily, weekly and monthly plan that you can follow.  Planning ahead can help prevent you from slipping back into old ways.  For instance, my husband planned on eating canned salmon last night.  I cooked mini-burgers for the kids.  Even though, he was sorely tempted by the burgers, he stuck to his original plan and ate the fish.  

3.  Remove temptations:  If your weakness is sugar, avoid buying sugary foods and stocking your cupboards with them.  Use natural sugars like honey, as substitutes for sugar, in your tea and your baking.

4.  Practise Tolerating Emotional Discomfort:  Practise handling boredom, frustration, loneliness and sadness in a constructive manner, thereby increasing your tolerance and your self-discipline.  When frustrated, rather than reaching for a bag of popcorn like I did last night, do a set of stretches or go for a jog.  

5.  Visual Your Long Term Reward:  Sacrifice immediate gratification for long term rewards.  Visualize your new slim and trim self in a new outfit.  Post a photo of yourself when you were slim on your fridge as a reminder.

6.  Recover from Mistakes Effectively:  We all make mistakes.  We all fall off the wagon at some point.  Acknowledge your mistake and move on.  Don't let the mistake define you, but rather let it strengthen your resolve!  I ate the bag of popcorn last night.  Rather than dwelling on the mistake, I can plan to do a set of stretches tonight.

Self-discipline will serve you well in life, whether it's applied to losing weight or quitting smoking or curbing your overspending.  The skill can be applied to both dropping bad habits and forming good habits.  Self-discipline has served me well in keeping a daily appointment at the gym for the past five years.  Practise it daily -- you will be amazed at the rewards you reap!

Source:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/10/03/6-ways-to-develop-the-self-discipline-necessary-to-reach-your-goals/.

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