The turning of a new year wouldn't be complete without some goal setting. After reflecting on the year gone by, it's time to look ahead to your bigger and brighter future. Now, I've not really been one for long-term goal setting, as I know my aspirations change and evolve frequently. However, I've come to learn that goal setting can take many shapes and forms. Here are my favourite alternative goal-setting exercises:
VISION BOARDS
Find photos, sayings, colours and shapes that speak to you and which depict the life you want to live this year. Put the pieces together on a board in an arrangement that speaks to you with a photo of you at the centre. Hang it on a wall you see often at home and make it your computer backdrop or your cell phone's home screen to help you focus on the things you want to bring to life. Spending time putting positive energy and brain power into what you want will both attract you to it and it back to you.
MARKING CALENDARS
A calendar shouldn't just be for scheduling appointments. It should also be used for scheduling our goals and dreams. Want to travel? Want to take a course? Need to schedule self care? Plan your goals, aspirations and dreams ahead of time and watch them come to fruition. You're more likely to do the things you plan in advance and schedule time for, and the more you see these events in your calendar the more they become your reality and make them happen.
ATTENTION SETTING
Much like intention setting, this involves a change in your habits and personal nature. You're going to want to feng shui your home to allow for this. If you want to eat better, swap the bad for the good foods. If you want to read more than you watch, leave books on your coffee table and hide the remote. If you want to exercise more, leave your exercise equipment and clothes in the way. The more readily accessible you make the things you want to incorporate into your life, the more inspiring your new habits will become and your old ones less tempting.
TO-DO LISTS
These are not only handy for every day use, but also for monthly goal setting and goal adjusting. It's important to revisit your goals on a regular basis to make adjustments where necessary. Start a to-do list on your computer home screen and enter in your top 3 goals at the start of the list in bold, never erasing them. At the beginning of each week, add 5 items to the list that relate to you achieving your goals so you know where to focus your time and energy for that week. At the end of every month, adjust your goals based on your progress and re-word them as your path to achieving them evolves.
We are human and we forget really easily, especially in today's over-stimulated world. We even forget our dreams if we let ourselves get bogged down by minutiae. The above alternative goal-setting exercises will make your goals visible keep them active in your brain and body. They will become a part of you as you manifest your reality through regular practice.
Watch as your life evolves around you!
