Happy New Year!
At the start of each New Year most people are on a high. Even if they’re suffering with a big hangover from the celebrations of the night before, they are still feeling optimistic as they think of the year about to unfold.
A new year is like a fresh sheet of blank paper, anything can be drawn on it. It’s like the next chapter in the book you can’t put down, about to be opened and read. It’s exciting!
One of the first things you might want to do is think about how you want this year to be different. What you want to achieve or change. Many people set new year resolutions at this time of the year and I am sure you already know the importance of setting goals as opposed to making a new years resolution so I won’t talk about that right now.
So goals are the way to go. Because when you set a goal it gives you clarity and direction and means you become a lot more committed. The language you use when you set your goals is vitally important here too and this is one of the mistakes many people make.
What I do want to share with you right now is the importance of resources, because lack of resources or really understanding or identifying the resources we need is one of the reasons many people don’t achieve their goals.
When most people think about resources, they imagine things like books, pens, a computer, weights at the gym, a Fitbit, money, a new savings account, a course and the list goes on. These are what we call external resources. They are important, but they’re not the only resources we need.
It’s our internal resources that are even more important than those external ones. Because no matter how many tools and strategies we use, if our mind isn’t on the same track, then we might struggle using those strategies and end up missing our target.
Internal resources are feelings, abilities and qualities. We engage and use these through choice even though that choice is often an unconscious one. When we are engaging the resources we need at the time, then we give ourselves maximum opportunity to achieve our goals.
And its about first making a conscious choice to utilise what we need and I’ve created a process to help you do that.
Decide on your goals
This is the first step because without first knowing what you are aiming for then you will find it difficult to identify which resources will serve you the most. So get clear on the goal you want to achieve, grab a notebook and write it down using an effective goal-setting model like the SMART model.
Write a list of resources you may need
There are so many different resources we may need to achieve goals, but we are mostly not aware of them. Internal resources, can be anything from strength, courage, connectedness, motivation, confidence, determination, focus, calmness, and the list goes on. So open a new page in your notebook and write a list of resources you think you may need to achieve your goals.
Identify the resources you will develop or use
We require different resources to achieve different goals. For example if you set a goal to develop a more loving relationship with your partner, then motivation probably wouldn’t be one of the resources you would need most, you would be more likely to need a resource like compassion. So out of the list you have made highlight the ones you need and plan to utilise them.
Display them where you will be reminded
Just as a vision board and visualising our goals keeps them in the forefront of our mind, the same goes for our resources. Displaying your written resources will give you a reminder especially when the going gets a little tough. So write your resources in colour on a big piece of card, or even on your vision board together with all your images and display them to give you a gentle reminder when you need them the most.
We have the ability to make different choices about which resources we use every day. And, the more conscious awareness we choose to have around this, the more opportunity we give ourselves to achieve what we want. Make a conscious choice to use the resources you need to be in the place you want to be at the end of 2019.
If you are ready to learn more about this and arm yourself with the resources and tools that will help you achieve your goals, then register for my first event of the year POWER START 2019. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER