Do you ever find yourself stuck - unable to decide on the next course of action?

For example:

• Do you have a huge “things to do list” and don’t know where to start?
• Maybe you have a list of goals and don’t know which one to tackle first?
• Maybe you simply have a question which requires a YES/NO answer but you are truly stuck?

Can you identify with any of the above?

We all worry about whether we are doing the right thing or not at any given time. At a conscious level we are quite often paralysed into inaction because we don’t know what to tackle first.

Worry not, here’s a free tool which can help - whenever you find yourself stuck on any question whatsoever at a conscious level, use this tool to get the answer from your other than conscious mind:

Click Here To Answer Your Question

All the best,

Tom

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Should it be the carrott or should it be the stick?

Perhaps you’re looking to influence your own behaviour, perhaps others. You have a pre-determined goal where you want a specific outcome to take place but which should it be?

But why should it be one or the other?

You could adopt an approach whereby both are adopted in order to hit a specific goal. I’m not talking seriously punitive (unless you have a sadistic streak with others and/or a masochistic streak with yourself - both of which have negative consequences) when it comes to “punishment”.

You could for example have a graded system of reward for hitting a goal - this works well if the goal is quantatively measurable (eg. I’ll do 100 sit-ups). Perhaps you can reward yourself commensurate with your achievement.

For 100 sit-ups you get X.

For 120 sit-ups you get X+Y.

Etc…

Failing to hit the hundred in the first place would be the “punitive element” (i.e. you just don’t get anything at all).

Or as a punitive task, maybe you could integrate something you don’t particularly like to do but you know will ultimately be very good for you - again this is another positive way of punitively rewarding yourself.

Of course I’ve talked about “self” here but the same principle applies to others.

And how about the concept of letting the action be the reward in itself?

Here’s an interesting article on just this concept by Keith Rosen:

Let The Action Be The Reward

All the best,

Tom

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Here’s a quick snippet from a recent blog by Linda “Goal Queen” Geyer:

”

• Desire to be better off than you are right now.
• Clarity for the reason why you want to be successful.
• Focus on your goals by reading and being an active participant in personal growth and development.
• Strong positive mindset where you allow your positive thoughts to control your actions.
• Honor your own commitments.”

Powerful concepts succinctly put, click here for the full post.

All the best,

Tom

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Have you ever asked yourself the above question (perhaps spelled differently or indeed differently worded .
I know I have, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa…

I certainly am responsible for the cock-ups I have brought upon my own head, we all are.

Fear not, here’s a very useful little exercise you can apply to make sure you are on the right track to achieve your goals - or at least ensure you are able to stop at the next station and get off the train! .

1. Take 10 minutes out for yourself (no distractions).
2. Ask yourself each of the following questions and write the answers down (don’t worry, it’s just for your eyes only so be honest):
Why did I start doing what I’m doing?
Why am I still doing this?
Why should I keep doing what I’m doing?
3. You will definitely see things a lot more clearly or as a wise man I know oft told me: “Tom, I can’t give you certainty but I can promise you clarity…”
4. Remember the reason regularly why you started doing this to reinforce your actions.
5. Rinse and repeat the above - it doesn’t take long but it could save you a whole lot of time in the long run.

A very useful checklist to bring you back on track.

All the best,

Tom

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I think the first time I knew anything about “Ironmen” (and ladies too of course) was watching an episode of Magnum years ago. In it he entered the triathlon on Hawii and did a u-turn to solve the case (and making others watching believe he’d lost the plot entirely).

Many people think such extreme sports are just not good for the body - or at least they cannot envision themselves completing what they perceive as superhuman feats. I hear you on that if you’re thinking that, I’m certainly in no shape right now to undertake such a feat.

That said, who knows what the future holds…

But, back to goal setting for a moment, I came across this article and found it a very interesting read. It focuses on 3 key aspects you need to concentrate on in order to achieve your goals:

1. Getting and staying “in the zone”

Optimal Performance Zone
Always achievable, but not always easy to achieve, is the goal to be activated but not stressed out before and during the race. It’s good to review past experiences in sport and life when you have been really “on”, or “in-the-zone”…

2. Paying attention to the here and now:

Attentional Control
Your goal for any key race, regardless of fitness level, should be to remain as “on-task” as possible all day long. This is no small feat in Ironman. It’s a long time to be out there! One of Lisa Bentley’s biggest strengths as an athlete, in training and racing, is her ability to focus on “what is happening right now” for a long time…

3. Having the right technical skillset

Technical Expertise
Your goal should be to perform within your own level of personal expertise. This includes being systematic about your tested nutrition regime, swimming, bike climbs and descents, run pacing, etc., to the best of your ability…

For the full ironman article click here.

All the best,

Tom

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I was looking for the latest news on the blogosphere on goal setting and came across Donna Doyan’s blog, specifically this article on little goals.

In it, she shows the power of achieving little goals giving you momentum and carrying toward the bigger ones.

She also mentioned an acronym “SO-SO” - I had never heard before. “Same Old, Same Old” or as the French would say “Plus ca meme change, plus ca meme chose”.

Now, you may already know what SO-SO stands for but there’s a great quote by Will Rogers I’m very fond of:

“We’re all ignorant only on different subjects”

;-)

So are you having a SO-SO day? Come to think of it, was September 11 a SO-SO day for you?

This may seem somewhat heretical but why shouldn’t it have been?

The last 5 years have seen the media burn the images of the twin towers into the public psyche and the events of the day will never be fully understood (except by those in the know - all you need do is have a look at Google Video and search for the 9-11 conspiracies to see there are at least a few unanswered questions).

It was indeed a terrible day and I can remember watching the video of the days events unfolding on the Internet and TV. But, here’s the rub:

On this planet every day, 150,000 people die (100,000 due to “natural causes”).

On September 11 2001, an extra 3000 people died unnecessarily.

September 11 was indeed a SO-SO day in terms of daily deaths - but not on the way our lives have been impacted as a result, unfortunately in a detrimental fashion.

There is of course many lessons but the one I’m trying to make a link with here is to do with whatever goals you may have (and if you don’t please start to write some down). Have small goals and hit them, have HUGE goals and hit them but if you make every day a SO-SO day and continue to do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.

Think different, be different.

All the best,

Tom

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Just a very quick post to point you in the direction of a quick freebie being given away by Shane Ellis. It is a small section of his eBook and allows you to document your goals in a simple yet powerful way.

Check it out here:

http://www.shanesellis.com/?p=66

All the best,

Tom

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Achieving Goals: It’s All About Change – The Catch?

Change is uncomfortable.

Setting and achieving goals is about something more profound than creating change. It’s about managing change, and putting your future completely in your control.

No matter what it is you want to achieve. Financial Freedom ideas, health , mind, body and spirit goals, you can have what you want.

Now to work…

Get yourself a folder to hold your printouts in, put in a divider with the title “Goals Brainstorming”. Next, print out the accompanying: “Brainstorming Goals” worksheet below. Now get yourself comfortable. You’ve got some thinking and ulimately some changing to do.

Now for a toughie - “What do you want?”

If your life could be anything you wanted it to be, what would it be right now?

Answer the questions in your worksheet.

For example

• Where would you live?
• Who would your friends be? What kind of people would you like to spend your time with?
• How would you spend your time, if you could be doing anything at all that you wanted?
• What would you eat? Wear? Listen to?
• Would you work? If so, what would you do? If not, what would you do?
• What do you want to learn? To know? To be?
• Where would you like to vacation? What would you do?
• What else would be a part of your perfect life?

Start writing. Write down the answers to every one of those questions. Be complete. List everything you’d like to have in your life. Don’t assign money values, or think about cash in the bank right now. That’s for later.

While you’re writing these things down, add anything else that you would really like to make a part of your life. Take your time.

You can have anything you want (within reason, you’re not going to become a billionaire overnight – sorry). Make a list of all the things you want.

We will stop here today - “What, where’s the rest of it?”, I hear you say. Well, I have a confession to make and I have a sneaking suspicion you may identify with it – at least at one point in time or another.

Have you ever run through a self improvement course, eager to ‘get it finished’ and realise the benefits? Personally, I’ve gone through so many courses/books/CD’s it’s painful to recall.

Well, that’s not what we’re going to do here. This is your life, take the time now to sit down and really think about what the goals are in your life right now. You may even find you can’t think of any major goals – but hey, that’s ok too.

Just take your time and really think.

So then, back to the worksheet!!!

Part II coming very soon…

Wishing you the best of success,
Tom O’Brien
Editor
http://www.SelfHelpTips.com