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 »

My Amazon Campaign – What a Huge Success!

Posted in setting goals on November 19th, 2009

The Amazon campaign was a great success. I am thrilled!

We made it to the top 20 in three categories success, careers, and Happiness

The results exceeded my expectations many times over!

Thank you everyone. I could not have done it without your help.

The Big Day Has Finally Arrived!

Posted in life goals, setting goals on November 5th, 2009

The Day for My Amazon Book Launch Campaign!

When I wrote Keep Any Promise, I made a promise to myself that this book would become a best-seller.

Why? Not for fame and fortune, although some of that is nice, but my ultimate goal was to help millions of people keep the promises they make to themselves and their loved ones so they could reach their goals and lead a more fulfilling and happier life.

I know that is an audacious goal but if you have been following me at all, you know I believe strongly those are the kinds of goals that we can all accomplish.

You may ask, “if I buy this book, how will it specifically help me?”

When you read Keep ANY Promise – a blueprint for designing your future you will learn proven set by step techniques to easily set and then reach your goals.

Also:

  • You’ll learn to redefine your definition of the word “Life“
  • You’ll discover how the word “choice“ can be one of your most important tools
  • You’ll experience chapter after chapter of time tested, practical techniques and the innovative strategies that have helped so many to overcome the challenges of living a fulfilling life
  • You’ll experience a combination of compelling stories and ground breaking insights that allow you to anticipate and to understand and work through any obstacle that has held you back

So today is the day and I am now asking you to do 2 two things to help me.

First go to this page to find out how you can order the book. If you purchase the book today from Amazon you will also receive 28 different gifts from Best-Selling Authors, Experts and Multi-Millionaires worth up to $4600.00!

Here is the link http://www.keepanypromise.com/booklaunch.asp

Remember it is important that you do it today!

The next thing I ask you to do, is Tweet about this by clicking on the Tweet button at the bottom of the post. It is really simple and that will take you to your Twitter page where you can just click to send out your Tweet.

If you aren’t on Twitter, then you could send an email to your friends and collegues telling them about this book and recommending they check it out.

Will you help me keep my promise by letting the world know of this resource that has already helped so many? If so go to:

http://www.keepanypromise.com/booklaunch.asp

How Bullfighting Can Help You With Goal Setting

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

Attacking bull.I read something interesting about bullfighting the other day that I want to share with you. There is a place in the bullring where every bull feels safe. If the bull reaches this spot, he stops running and rests.

It might seem like the bull has given up or injured himself when he enters this place, but this is not the case at all. Rather, this break from the action enables him to gather up his full strength again so he can continue fighting.

This safe place is called the “querencia.” This spot is different for every bull. It is the job of the matador to figure out the location of the querenciais for the bull and then prevent the bull from entering this sanctuary.

What is the “querencia” in your life? It doesn’t have to be a physical place, although it can be. It can also be a state of mind or a particular memory or mental picture that makes you feel safe and whole. It can also be as simple as a photograph or other object that, when you look at it, makes you feel at home and secure.

When you find it difficult to achieve your goals or to temporarily get off the treadmill of your life, enter your “querencia,” even if just a few minutes. Read the rest of this entry »

Goal Setting Step 3 – How to Measure Your Success

Posted in life goals on October 24th, 2009

mesaurementimageSo far we learned how to define a huge goal and set a deadline in our process to achieve our goals. Today we will discuss how to measure our success.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is not defining clearly how they will measure “success”.

For some goals, it is easy to define how you will measure progress. But I believe everything can be measured, directly or indirectly via a proxy.

For example, if your goal was to “lose weight and get fitter,” you could measure weight loss, your Body Mass Index, the distance you can easily walk or run in a given time, etc. These are very concrete ways to measure weight loss and fitness gain.

If your goal was “improved family relationships,” it is more difficult to measure progress.

In this case you may have to define a whole set of “soft” performance measures to give you a good way to assess your progress.

In this example, is the frequency of family contact increased, especially if there is geographical distance between family members? Are the interactions deeper and more meaningful and satisfying? Are you increasingly happy emerging from those interactions?

Remember my audacious goal was to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, at 19,340 feet, one of the world’s seven peaks and Africa’s tallest mountain. I  set a very clear timeframe of reaching this goal in 1.5 years, taking the opportunity of a three week school break in January 2005 that my daughter would have to undertake the trek with me.

My measure of success was simple: get to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro at 19,340 feet without endangering my life or those in the group. Read the rest of this entry »

12 Steps to Achieving Your Goals – Step 2 Set a Clear Deadline

Posted in life goals on October 21st, 2009

deadlinephotoIn my first blog post about the 12 steps to achieving your goals we discussed the SMART (or S.M.A.R.T.) system of goal setting, which is based on goals being specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. While I agreed this is a very useful way of looking at goals, I believe it misses out on MANY other key factors that you will want to consider if you wish to achieve huge goals.

We also learned that Step 1 to achieving your goals is to focus on the goal that has the most meaning in your life. Did you decide on your huge goal?

Today we will concentrate on Step 2 in goal achievement which is Set a Deadline for your goal.

Think about a time in your life when you had a deadline. Perhaps before leaving for a trip, handing in a school assignment, or completing a project at work? You were likely extremely focused when you had a deadline.

Likewise, it is important to define a deadline or timeframe for achieving your goal. I highly recommend a three-year timeframe for a huge goal. But go with whatever timeframe your instincts tell you to pick.

My audacious goal was to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, at 19,340 feet, one of the world’s seven peaks and Africa’s tallest mountain. In mid 2003, most people would have dismissed it as a pipe dream, given I could not walk to the end of my driveway.

I then set a very clear timeframe of reaching this goal in 1.5 years, taking the opportunity of a three week school break in January 2005 that my daughter would have to undertake the trek with me, and selecting the best possible time for good weather. Read the rest of this entry »

Goal Setting – Learn Why Creating a Life Blueprint Will Make You Happy

Posted in life change, life goals on October 10th, 2009

If you are like most people, whether in your twenties or eighties, there are likely a number of areas in your life that leave you feeling disappointed. Are you satisfied with every aspect of your life? Are you living the life of your dreams, and thriving, day to day, month to month, year to year – or is your life a struggle. Are you just surviving or getting by?

Ask yourself these 10 questions and answer yes or no.

1.       Do you have the financial freedom you desire? Is your family’s financial future secure, and well able to ride out economic downturns?

2.       Are your family relationships everything that you desire them to be?

3.       Is your health, fitness level, weight and energy at an optimal level?

4.       Do you love what you do and are you using your talents to their maximum?

Read the rest of this entry »