Goal Setting – Enlist All Possible Resources to Help You Attain Your Goal

Posted in goal setting, setting goals on March 3rd, 2010

karimgoalsteamStep 9 in my series, The 12 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Often when we are faced with a goal to achieve, we assume we have to accomplish the goal on our own. Why do we put this pressure on ourselves? This is surely one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make!

There are many, many resources in the universe that we can tap into. We need only ask. Since your ultimate aim is to achieve your goal, does it matter if you achieve your goal on your own, or if you get help along the way?

Enlisting the help of those around you (and I am deeply convinced that most people want to help) makes it much easier to reach your destination.

So enlist every resource you can in helping you achieve your goals. Especially seek the help of experts who can help accelerate your learning, and soon, you will be well on your way to exceeding your goal.

Resources can be people, tools, financial or spiritual systems, or anything you wish. You might also want to include the resources that you would like to enlist, but feel you cannot for one reason or another. Then watch what happens!

Read the rest of this entry »

Goal Setting – To Achieve Your Goals, Focus on the Solutions to Overcoming Your Obstacles

Posted in goal setting, setting goals on February 22nd, 2010

karimsolutions

Step 8 in my series, The 12 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

The next step in achieving your goals after you define your obstacles is to find solutions. If you have defined the possible obstacles to your goal, your mind will suddenly perceive solutions where none existed before.

This is because as humans are instinctive problem-solvers. Most people make the mistake of not listing their obstacles on paper; maybe because we are afraid to acknowledge they exist. But once you do your perspective usually changes.

Don’t make the mistake of not thinking of solutions. For each obstacle you defined brainstorm one or more possible solutions and write them down. If you find that you are unable to define all your solutions on the first try, don’t worry. Just keep coming back to your list, and eventually solutions will become apparent to you.

Remember, problem solving is ingrained in our nature as human beings!

I have used as an example for outlining the steps to achieve your goals, my audacious goal to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. I set a clear time frame to reach this goal in 1.5 years. My measurement of success was to get to the top of the mountain without endangering my life or those in the group. I defined 10 compelling reasons why I was undertaking the climb and printed these out to review whenever my resolve waivered. I defined the key benefits I would gain by reaching my goal. I then defined and listed the consequences of not achieving my goals. I wrote down the many obstacles there were many in my path. Read the rest of this entry »

Goal Setting: To Achieve Your Goals, Define Your Obstacles

Posted in goal setting, life goals on February 16th, 2010

karimobstaclesStep 7 in my series, The 12 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.-William Ellery Channing

Life throws us many challenges, which we often view as obstacles that prevent us from getting to our goals. Instead, you may want to consider embracing these obstacles. For in them lies the solution to achieving your goals.

Why? Well, over thousands of years, as a species, man has learned to out-think obstacles and find solutions. This has been the primary reason for our survival as a species, and for the progress we have made.

So if you define your obstacles carefully, you will find that your mind very quickly finds solutions, no matter the circumstances. It’s a remarkable skill we all have.

I have used as an example for outlining the steps to achieve your goals, my audacious goal to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, at 19340 feet, one of the world’s seven peaks. I set a clear time frame to reach this goal in 1.5 years because of a three week school break in January 2005 that my daughter would have to undertake the trek with me. My measurement of success was to get to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro at 19,340 feet without endangering my life or those in the group. I defined 10 compelling reasons why I was undertaking the climb and printed these out and kept them with me to review at all times. I defined the key benefits I would gain by reaching my goal. I then defined the defined the consequences of not achieving my goals. Read the rest of this entry »

Goal Setting – To Achieve Your Life Goals Define the Consequence of Not Reaching Them

Posted in goal setting on January 25th, 2010

karimConsequencesStep 6 in my series, The 12 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

Our greatest glory is not in never failing but in rising every time we fall.-Confucius

The psychologist Sigmund Freud observed that the human mind is consciously and subconsciously motivated by two forces: the need to avoid pain and the need to gain pleasure. Pain is often more immediate than pleasure, so we may become more concerned with avoiding pain and, in general, develop a preference towards avoidance.

For this reason it is important to define with clarity the consequences of not achieving your goal, something many people forget to do.

Put another way, what is the pain that will result from not achieving your goal? As you define these consequences, you will be motivated to avoid this pain and to focus on your goal, especially if you have also clearly outlined the benefits of achieving it. Read the rest of this entry »

Add the 4 Laws of Action to the Law of Attraction to Achieve Your Goals

Posted in General on January 17th, 2010

karimachievegoals2Do you think you can really just think and grow rich?

If so, you’re in for a rude awakening. I am sure that even Napoleon Hill would agree with me that you cannot merely think and grow rich. The Law of Attraction only works when paired with what I like to call the Laws of Action.

As a former manager of large building projects, I know that you can’t think a building into existence. That would be absurd. Yes, every project begins with a vision and inspiration. But you can only visualize for so long. For the building to take form you first need detailed blueprints. Then you need to assemble the right materials. And finally, you need to hire the right people with the right skill set.

Why would you think that’s any different to your business and life goals? I’ve talked to many people who visualize and use affirmations, waiting for the Law of Attraction to work, but they remain stuck in a rut.  They’re sitting around wondering why they’re not making any progress.

Why Most People Fail to Successfully Achieve Their Goals

They are missing ACTION. They are NOT taking steps to achieve their goals. It’s like they’re waiting for results to come on a silver platter just because they’re visualizing success.  I’m going to tell you right now – you get exactly what you put into it.

If you take action and you increase your speed of implementation, you’ll experience an exciting phenomenon. In fact, there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to achieve more in the next 12 months than you did in the previous 12 years. Read the rest of this entry »

Goal Setting – To Achieve Your Life Goals Define the Benefits You Expect to Gain

Posted in goal setting, life goals, setting goals on January 10th, 2010

opportunityStep 5 in my series,

The12 Steps to Achieving your Goals

Opportunities? They are all around us…. There is power living latent everywhere waiting for the observant eye to discover it.-Orison Swett Marden

To achieve your life goals you need to define the key benefits or results you expect to gain. Once you do that, you will be more driven to do what it takes to achieve those goals. Make your list of benefits as detailed as possible: the more benefits to be gained, the greater the focus you will have on the goal.

Getting clear about the benefits of achieving your goals is therefore critical to achieving your goals, which is in turn crucial to keeping your promises to yourself, your family and the rest of the world.

I have used my audacious goal to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, one of the world’s seven tallest peaks, as an example for outlining the steps to achieving your goals. First, I set a clear time frame to reach this goal in 1.5 years because of a three week school break in January 2005 that my daughter would have to undertake the trek with me. Then I decide to measure my success as getting to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, at 19,340 feet, without endangering my life or those in the group. I defined 10 compelling reasons why I was undertaking the climb. Read the rest of this entry »

New Year’s Resolutions – How to Keep Yours

Posted in goal setting, life goals, setting goals on December 28th, 2009

karimnewyearsresolutionsAsk Yourself  These 12 Questions So You Can Successfully Keep Your Resolutions This Year

Are you like most people who make New Year’s resolutions but never come close to accomplishing them?

If so don’t be discouraged. The New Year gives us a perfect opportunity to take time to evaluate our goals and priorities. But to make real progress achieving those goals you need to approach your goal setting at the beginning of the year in a structured way.

Unfortunately, most people simply make a list on a sheet of paper of the resolutions or goals they would like to achieve and leave it at that. That is the equivalent of building a house with a deck of cards: it may stand up for a while, it may even look nice, but very soon, it WILL collapse.

Why? Because there is no foundation, structure or framework for these resolutions.

But there is an easy alternative. It requires a little more work up front but in return, your chances of keeping your New Year’s Resolutions and meeting your goals and objectives are likely to soar.
I’ve put together 12 questions to ask yourself that should help you to achieve any goal. Answer these questions as they relate to your New Year’s Resolutions or any time you begin a new major endeavor: you’ll be astonished at the results.

1. Have you defined your most important goal? Pick a goal that is most important to you and simply write it down. REMEMBER: make this a huge goal, one that makes you gasp. The more uncomfortable and daunting it seems, the better. The mere act of writing down such a goal will inspire you.

2. Do you have a clear deadline? Although deadlines are not fun, most of us wouldn’t accomplish much without them and for this reason they are routine at school and in the workplace. You should also use them in your goal setting. Setting a goal is meaningless if you don’t set a time frame in which to accomplish it. This will spur you to action. I recommend a three year deadline for large goals.

THE SERENITY PRAYER and The Wisdom to Know

Posted in goal setting, life goals on December 17th, 2009

Guest Blog by Eileen Flanagan

Many of Us Know and Love the Serenity Prayer:

God, grant us ~
Serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
Courage to change the things we can,
And Wisdom to know the difference.

karimprayer

Many of us spend too much time anxious about things we cannot change: the economy, the weather, traffic on the freeway, or people who annoy us. As a result, we don’t have the energy to make the most of the opportunities we do have. Recognizing the difference between what we can and cannot change can help us live more peaceful and productive lives.
 
ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR CONDITIONING
Some people have a harder time with the first line of the Serenity Prayer, accepting the things they cannot change, while others have a harder time mustering the courage to change what they can. Often these patterns can be traced to family or cultural conditioning. Reflect on the messages you received growing up. Were you expected to be passive and submit to what others wanted? Were you trained to be in control, so that letting go is more difficult for you today? Sometimes just acknowledging your family or social conditioning can help you to let go of old patterns that are no longer serving you.
 
KNOW YOURSELF

Many spiritual traditions teach that knowing yourself is a lifelong pursuit, but one that can help you feel more at peace with yourself and other people. Spending time alone—walking in the woods, meditating, or journaling—can put you in touch with what’s really going on inside you. When you acknowledge these feelings, you can make a conscious choice about what to accept and what to change, rather than letting yourself be ruled by unconscious feelings.

Read the rest of this entry »

Goal Setting and Yoga

Posted in goal setting, life goals, setting goals on December 14th, 2009

health clubAs you may know, at my workshops I incorporate yoga or meditation  into our activities.

That is because yoga is one of the best ways to align our minds with our bodies.

Plus anyone can do yoga. You don’t have to be in top physical condition to start doing yoga exercises.

In yoga, you can break a sweat even when you aren’t moving. No running or jumping required.

The most important aspect of yoga is its focus on breathing and meditation. Yoga increases the oxygen in your bloodstream, which revitalizes all your organs, including your brain.

Yoga will also help give you more energy, a positive outlook and a reduction in mood swings. Read the rest of this entry »

Goal Setting Step 4 – Define the Compelling Reasons to Achieve Your Goals

Posted in life goals, setting goals on December 2nd, 2009

karimachievegoals

The next post in my series  12 Steps to Achieving your Goals

Strong reasons make strong actions.—William Shakespeare

If you cannot articulate a clear, compelling reason for why you must achieve a goal, especially a huge goal, you will likely not achieve your goal. Why? Simply because achieving any large goal will likely involve changes in your life. It will possibly take you out of your comfort zone.

It will most likely challenge your thinking. It may require hard work. So unless you have compelling and powerful reasons for why it is important for you to achieve your goal, you significantly diminish your chances of achievement.

Focus on why it’s really important to you to achieve this goal. Your reasons could stem from a huge challenge, from your pain, someone else’s pain, an image, etc. Think hard, and make these reasons as emotional as possible, as we are all driven by our emotions, no matter how rational we think we are.

Be careful not to focus on benefits, (define benefits) as we will look at the importance of benefits soon. Instead simply list why it’s important to achieve this result.

Here are the compelling reasons I listed to accomplish my huge goal.

  1. To prove to myself that I can take on a huge physical challenge and accomplish it
  2. A 21st birthday gift for my daughter Aliya that she will cherish for the rest of her life
  3. To inspire others to set and accomplish huge goals
  4. To experience and celebrate nature through a photo essay/s
  5. Because I have told the world I am doing it! Read the rest of this entry »