‘Begin to imagine what the desirable outcome would be like. Go over these mental pictures and delineate details and refinements. Play them over and over to yourself.’
Maxwell Maltz - US plastic surgeon, motivational author, and creator of the Psycho-Cybernetics, 1927-2003
Sitting beside my husband and my father, while they watched the soccer that had been heralded as ‘the match of the season’, I wasn’t watching the match, but their reaction to it. The final score was nil-nil and the post-match analysis from the experts in the television studio was also interesting. The big question being asked was did the teams really intend to win this game or were they happy to have a draw? The disappointment from my two chaps watching was interesting. They wanted to see some good, clean, aggressive, football, but the tactical game doesn’t necessarily make for good viewing. What was the outcome? For the teams, a step further on their move towards their final achievement, but at home, two very disappointed viewers.
I have no personal interest in soccer, nor any other sport (as a spectator), although I have great respect for the commitment from the individual players. Any activity that requires someone to dedicate their time and energy to a particular aim can only be something I can appreciate. All my work is about helping others do just this, so it is not only the effort that I am interested in, but the motivation behind it. Earlier in the day, I had heard a radio interview with Dame Kelly Holmes (UK Olympic athletic gold medalist) who was talking about goals and how to set them effectively.
What was her motivation? She’s retired from athletics now, but still driven to make the most of her new goals, even though it’s not necessarily in the field of athletics. She’s tasted success, so is motivated to succeed. She knows what the outcome is that she wants to achieve. How about you? Do you know what it is that you desire? What are you hoping to achieve? Have you really thought about it? For each and every action you take you should be clear about its purpose. What is your intended outcome?
Have you really considered what it is you are aiming to achieve? What is the outcome you intend? Are the steps you are planning realistic and achievable? Do they stretch you enough to be challenging, but rewarding? Consider everything you aim to do this year. Have you thought it through properly? It each step clear to you? Is everything you are planning to do designed to move you towards your goals?
What did you avoid doing last year? Is it something you can discard because it really has no meaning in your plans for the future, or is it something that you really need to address? What result do you want? If you keep deferring taking action, then what are the chances of you moving forward and achieving your aims?
What do you want to achieve for yourself this year? Not professionally, but for you, personally. Are the outcomes you want to achieve based on your personal development - mentally, physically? Do you need to improve your fitness, your nutrition, and your mental acuity? Would you like to take up a new hobby or go back to study? Picture yourself doing this new thing, being that new person. Picture the outcome you desire. Now take action.
What do you aim to achieve physically this year? Are you happy to stay as you were? Or is 2006 the year that you have decided to take command of your own health? What does being more active mean to you? Can you picture how you want to be? What will you look like? How will you measure your level of fitness, of stamina? Do you need to enlist help? (I can recommend this!)
What do you really want to achieve this year and beyond? Have you written it down? Made any plans? I am not talking about New Year Resolutions here, made on the spur of the moment, but of real desire for change, for development, for the building of dreams. What makes you yearn to have it, to be it? What is the thought that won’t go away?
Without taking action, the changes that occur are not of your own making, but usually as the result of someone else’s activity. Is this what you want? Or do you wish to take control of your own future and be pro-active? By doing something new everyday to move you towards your desired outcome, however small that action may be, you will be in the driving seat.
There is a whole year ahead of you for creative pursuits. Is 2006 the year you take up painting? Dance? Join the Drama group? Start that novel you’ve been thinking about for years? The opportunities for creativity are all around us and we can incorporate them into our daily lives with just a little thought and imagination.
Not everything we do has a monetary price tag. However, there may well be a cost in time and effort. Weigh up the expense of carrying forward with your plans. Then look at the cost of not doing anything. In the long-term, which will be dearer? If the cost is too high, be it in monetary, relationship or exertion terms, then that is something you need to consider carefully. If, however, you achieve what you set out to do, with time and effort and hard graft being the only main expense, then you know it was worth it.
Kate Harper is based in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland. Check out her website http://www.harpercoaching.com
She works with people who are fed up with moaning about their lives and have decided to do something about it. If that is you, please take a look at Kate’s website. Her special interest is in promoting Wellbeing and Self Confidence through coaching. She is happy to work with people from any part of the world.
“The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that is difficult.” Madame Marie du Deffand
Take your first step today and contact Kate.